Uganda Parliament Moves to Strengthen Laws for Migrant Worker Protection

The Parliament of Uganda has pledged a renewed commitment to enhancing legislative frameworks and expanding training for lawmakers to better protect Ugandan migrant workers abroad. Speaker Jacob Markson Oboth made the commitment during a meeting with the Chief of Mission for the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in Uganda, Sanusi Tejan Savage, who paid a courtesy call to Parliament.

During the discussions, Speaker Oboth highlighted the severe challenges faced by citizens working overseas, noting that his office frequently receives desperate appeals from grieving families. He expressed deep concern over impoverished households that sell land to finance travel abroad, only to face tragic circumstances without adequate state support to repatriate the remains of their loved ones for a cultural burial.

The Speaker also pointed to pending petitions regarding human trafficking, forced labor, sexual exploitation, and citizens trapped in foreign conflict zones like Russia and Ukraine. To close existing legal gaps, Oboth endorsed a proposal for dedicated anti-smuggling legislation, suggesting a Private Member’s Bill to fast-track legal tools against human traffickers. Oversight on migration issues will be channeled through the Parliamentary Committee on Defence and Internal Affairs.

In response, Savage reaffirmed the IOM’s enduring partnership with Uganda, detailing past interventions such as health surveillance at borders during disease outbreaks and the resettlement of over 15,000 refugees since 2020. He also highlighted successful charter flights that repatriated stranded Ugandans from the Gulf and East Asia, while proposing a structured collaboration between Parliament and national migration committees.

Read the full report on the Parliament of Uganda.