Deputy Speaker Tayebwa Urges Global Cooperation for International Security

Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa has emphasized the urgent need for enhanced multilateral cooperation, dialogue, and collective action to combat rising global security challenges. Speaking while co-chairing a joint parliamentary assembly of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) and the European Union in Brussels, Belgium, Tayebwa highlighted how persistent conflicts, organized crime, and geopolitical tensions continue to destabilize international peace and hinder development.

Addressing delegates under the theme ‘Global Security and Multilateralism in a Highly Interconnected, Multipolar and Fragmented World,’ Tayebwa noted that security and development are deeply intertwined. He pointed out that conflicts routinely disrupt essential public services, destroy livelihoods, and force nations to divert vital resources away from domestic development priorities.

Highlighting Uganda’s humanitarian role, Tayebwa shared that the country currently hosts over two million refugees, primarily fleeing conflicts in neighboring nations such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, Burundi, and South Sudan. However, he expressed concern that Uganda receives only a fraction of the necessary funding to support this population, forcing the government to reallocate national resources for humanitarian response. Despite these financial strains, he affirmed that Uganda remains committed to keeping its borders open to those seeking refuge.

During the assembly, other leaders also weighed in on global governance and economic stability. Sheema Municipality MP Dicksons Kateshumbwa called for reforms in global financial systems and increased development financing to prevent economic vulnerability from pushing young people into conflicts. Meanwhile, former UN envoy Mohamed Saleh Annadif and Zimbabwean delegate Lt. Gen. Michael Reuben Nyambuya stressed the importance of empowering developing regions and preserving the central role of multilateral institutions like the United Nations.

Read the full report on the Parliament of Uganda.