Report on Citizenship Law Uganda Tigranna Zakaryan 1. Introduction This report will discuss both the historical and current debates relevant to the laws on the acquisition and loss of citizenship in Uganda as a former British Protectorate, as well as in its post-independence era as the Republic of Uganda, initially, under the 1962 Uganda Citizenship Act and, currently, as defined by the 1995 Uganda Constitution 1 and the 1999 Uganda Citizenship and Immigration Control Act (UCICA)2, as amended in 2005 and 2009. Through the Ugandan case-study, the report will demonstrate the significant challenges with regard to fully enjoying citizenship rights based on the doctrines defining indigeneity and belonging in the Ugandan state. The report will also explore the rights of ethnic minorities and refugees, who are of particular relevance when assessing Uganda’s post-independence political history and citizenship laws and practices. Upon the introduction of the mass national identification registration drive, which is discussed in greater depth below, various communities learned that they did not have access to Ugandan citizenship— such experiences are prevalent during administrative processes such as attempting to obtain a passport and being subjected to difficult vetting and discrimination. While the depth of this report will not cover the experiences of those who are not listed in the 1995 Constitution, it will discuss to an extent, two particular case studies including the Maragoli community, as well as the Ugandan Asian community.3 These two communities have continuously argued to be included as indigenous of the grounds of being present in Uganda in 1926, and while progress has been made, their status continues to remain in the state of ambiguity. 1 Constitution of the Republic of Uganda. Uganda Legal Information Institute. https://ulii.org/ug/legislation/consolidated-act/0 (accessed 12 December 2018). 2 Uganda Citizenship and Immigration Control Act. Uganda Legal Information Institute. https://ulii.org/ug/legislation/consolidated-act/66 (accessed 12 December 2018). 3 For a more in-depth analysis of other communities in Uganda who have not been included under the Third Schedule of the 1995 Constitution, see further: Bronwen Manby, Statelessness and Citizenship in the East African Community, United Nations High Commission for Refugees, 2018. https://data2.unhcr.org/en/documents/download/66807 (accessed 18 December 2018). RSCAS/GLOBALCIT-CR 2020/8 - © 2020 Author 1