The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) yesterday concluded the Uganda national level meeting on the Kampala Declaration on Jobs, Livelihoods and self-reliance for refugees, returnees and host communities for Uganda.
The meeting brought together refugees and refugee representatives, the Refugee Investment Network, representatives from the Office of the Prime Minister, Interior and Immigration, refugee hosting district administration, Foreign Affairs, Refugee Affairs, Labour, Social Protection, Planning, Finance and Treasury, Agriculture, Education/TVET, the private sector and particularly banking services providers and microfinance institutions engaged in displacement setting.
It aimed at engaging government and private sector counterparts, the Washington, DC-headquartered Refugee Investment Network (RIN) and IGAD for the purposes of developing roadmaps that provide practical steps that government refugee departments and private sector actors can take to promote refugee economic inclusion and empowerment.
Otto Lucy, Principal Social Development Officer at Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development said: “Government of Uganda is committed to make the realization of self-reliance and resilience of refugees, returnees and host communities a reality through providing a conducive environment for them and implementation of the Jobs and Livelihood Integrated Response Plan with the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), Refugee Hosting Districts, Private Sector, Partners and Refugees themselves. We are currently working with partners to develop minimum standard indicators for measuring Self-reliance of refugees and host-communities in Uganda.”
Yemisrach Benalfew, Coordinator for the Strengthening of the IGAD Migration Policy Implementation Project (SIMPI) declared Kampala declaration is a holistic commitment made by IGAD member states in 2019 to find durable solutions in the IGAD region. The national consultation is a testament of the role of various key stakeholders –government offices including from refugee hosting areas, private sectors, banks, refugee led organisations, and partners – to support the self-reliance of refugees in Uganda.
The national meeting will highlight national achievements, priorities, and opportunities to invest on refugees in Uganda. The government of Uganda, with the largest refugees in the IGAD region, is also a country with various innovative approaches on livelihood and self-reliance. IGAD is pleased to collaborate with the Government of Germany through GIZ and Refugees Investment Network (RIN) for this national meeting in Uganda.
Milena Adnyanata, Advisor at the Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) sais German government through the GIZ walks hand in hand with IGAD in implementing the Kampala Declaration since its signing in 2019. We support IGAD in holding the annual regional Kampala Declaration Forum and the first round of national consultations like the one happening here in Uganda. These exchange platforms allow different line ministries as well as private sector, CSOs and refugee representatives to engage in meaningful discussions and puts the whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach into practice. Currently, the German development cooperation backs IGADs efforts in developing a comprehensive M&E Framework that enables IGADs member states to track the implementation progress of the Kampala Declaration in a systematic way.”