III 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 807 

Urging the Government of Uganda and all parties to respect human, civil, 

and political rights and ensure free and fair elections in January 2021, 

and recognizing the importance of multiparty democracy in Uganda. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 18, 2020 

Mr. MENENDEZ submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Urging the Government of Uganda and all parties to respect 

human, civil, and political rights and ensure free and 

fair elections in January 2021, and recognizing the importance of multiparty democracy in Uganda. 

Whereas the United States has an important interest in supporting democracy in Uganda and has consistently demonstrated support for the people of Uganda through efforts to advance good governance, economic growth, and 

improved access to health and education; 

Whereas Uganda has been an important security partner of 

the United States, including through its contributions to 

the counter-terrorism efforts in East Africa, and to the 

African Union Mission in Somalia; 


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Whereas Uganda remains one of the top refugee hosting 

countries in the world, a contribution that plays an important role in regional stability and humanitarian protection; 

Whereas more than 75 percent of Uganda’s population is 

younger than 30 years of age, and the political, economic, 

and social stability of country will be shaped by the welfare of its youth, and their access to opportunity, equality, and dignified lives; 

Whereas respect for human, civil, and political rights and 

deepening multiparty democracy are essential to Uganda’s long-term economic prosperity and political stability; 

Whereas the conduct of elections, particularly the January 

2021 elections, will have a significant impact on the trajectory of democratic growth in Uganda and its relationship with the United States; 

Whereas the National Resistance Movement (referred to in 

this preamble as ‘‘NRM’’) took control of the Government of Uganda in 1986 after period of protracted conflict and has dominated the political affairs in Uganda 

ever since; 

Whereas Yoweri Museveni has served as Uganda’s head of 

state since 1986, making him the third-longest actively 

serving head of state in Africa; 

Whereas Uganda has had national elections since 1996, and 

multiparty elections since 2006, all of which have been 

won by the NRM and President Museveni; 

Whereas the NRM has engineered changes to the Ugandan 

constitution in 2005 and 2017, which removed presidential term limits and age-limits respectively, and have 


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allowed President Museveni to remain in power for more 

than 3 decades; 

Whereas national elections in Uganda since 1996 have not 

met internationally accepted standards for free and fair 

polls, as the ruling party has leveraged access to, and influence over, state resources and institutions to tilt the 

electoral balance in its favor; 

Whereas Ugandan authorities have used coercive measures, 

including arbitrary arrests and detentions, torture, extrajudicial killings, and intrusive surveillance technology to 

intimidate and silence political opposition in the country; 

Whereas in March 2020, the Constitutional Court of Uganda 

annulled section 8 of the repressive Public Order Management Act of 2013, but Ugandan authorities continue 

to obstruct lawful assemblies by the political opposition, 

often through violence; 

Whereas the Museveni Administration has used arbitrary and 

partisan legal action, enabled by its control of the courts, 

to intimidate and silence members of the political opposition; 

Whereas Ugandan authorities have not been held accountable 

for human rights abuses, including those perpetrated 

against prominent members of the political opposition, including members of parliament; 

Whereas many Ugandan officials have not been held accountable for acts of gross corruption, which have been documented by Human Rights Watch in 2013 and other nongovernmental organizations (referred to in this preamble 

as ‘‘NGOs’’), despite the existence of anti-corruption 

laws, including— 

(1) the Penal Code Act; 


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(2) the Leadership Code Act, 2002; 

(3) the Inspectorate of Government Act, 2002; 

(4) the Anti-Corruption Act, 2009; and 

(5) the Public Finance Management Act, 2015; 

Whereas Ugandan authorities continue to deploy a range of 

restrictive and onerous administrative measures against 

NGOs, including— 

(1) the deregistration of more than 12,000 mostly 

local NGOs in November 2019; 

(2) the freezing of the bank accounts of some NGOs 

in December 2020; and 

(3) a broader range of actions designed to intimidate 

civil society, such as the denial of entry or deportation of 

some leaders of international NGOs in 2020; 

Whereas independent media outlets in Uganda have been 

placed under increasing duress by the Museveni Administration through regulatory and other administrative and 

legal actions designed to intimidate journalists who report independently; 

Whereas journalists working for foreign media outlets are 

now required to re-register with Ugandan authorities or 

risk criminal penalties and some foreign journalists have 

been deported from the country; 

Whereas Ugandan authorities have sought to undermine digital rights, including by— 

(1) subjecting people with large social media 

followings to onerous administrative regulation through 

the Uganda Communications Commission public notice of 

September 2020 and prior regulatory acts of the Uganda 

Communications Commission; 

(2) imposing burdensome taxes on social media 

users; 


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(3) blocking access to social media during the 2016 

elections; and 

(4) prosecuting some individuals who have criticized 

the Museveni Administration on social media platforms; 

Whereas although Uganda is home to one of the premiere institutions of higher education in Africa (Makerere University), Ugandan authorities have taken repeated action 

to suppress academic freedom and intimidate students 

and faculty that have been critical of the Museveni Administration, including by firing and jailing professors 

who criticize the regime; 

Whereas same-sex relations in Uganda remain criminalized 

under section 145 of the Penal Code Act, and people who 

identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer 

(referred to in this preamble as ‘‘LGBTQ persons’’) face 

a range of direct punitive action from Ugandan authorities, such as arrest and detention, and a permissive environment that encourages impunity for attacks against 

LGBTQ persons; 

Whereas the Museveni Administration has deployed an escalating array of repressive measures before the January 

2021 elections, including placing uneven and partisan 

limits on the campaign activity of leading opposition candidates and arresting some candidates, which have triggered protests and the subsequent use of force by the security apparatus to put down the protests, which led to 

the deaths of at least 28 people in November 2020: 

Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) condemns the Museveni Administration’s 

3 assault on democratic freedoms, including attacks on 


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1 opposition politicians, assaults on journalists and 

2 media freedoms, and burdensome restrictions on 

3 nongovernmental organizations; 

4 (2) urges the Government of Uganda— 

5 (A) to respect the rights enshrined in the 

6 Constitution of the Republic of Uganda (re7 ferred to in this resolution as the ‘‘Constitu8 tion’’) and relevant international obligations, 

9 particularly the rights to freedom of movement, 

10 expression, information, religion, association, 

11 equality, privacy, and personal security; and 

12 (B) to take immediate steps to improve the 

13 pre-election environment and to create condi14 tions for credible democratic elections in Janu15 ary 2021 that enable Ugandan citizens the op16 portunity to freely exercise their right to vote; 

17 (3) calls upon the Government of Uganda and 

18 President Museveni— 

19 (A) to repeal repressive laws and adminis20 trative actions that are contrary to the prin21 ciples of good governance, a healthy democracy, 

22 and the rights enumerated in the Constitution, 

23 such as— 

24 (i) colonial-era laws that target the 

25 LGBTQ community; and 


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1 (ii) the Uganda Communications 

2 Commission’s September 2020 public no3 tice that, in conjunction with other regula4 tions, undermines digital rights; 

5 (B) to allow citizens, civil society organiza6 tions, and political parties to assemble peace7 fully and to freely express their views; 

8 (C) to immediately lift uneven and par9 tisan restrictions on political activities, includ10 ing the uneven, partisan, and violent application 

11 of COVID–19 restrictions on opposition polit12 ical gatherings and rallies, and to safely allow 

13 opposition parties to hold political rallies, meet14 ings, and demonstrations at times of their 

15 choosing; 

16 (D) to provide transparent, consistent, and 

17 nonintrusive procedures for nongovernmental 

18 organizations to register, and to enable them to 

19 carry out programs and other legal activity 

20 without interference from the state authorities; 

21 (E) to safeguard press and academic free22 dom, in accordance with the Constitution and 

23 the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 

24 adopted in Paris December 10, 1948; 


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1 (F) to condemn threats and attacks 

2 against opposition political parties and civil so3 ciety, and to ensure accountability for harass4 ment, intimidation, or physical attacks on mem5 bers of the opposition; 

6 (G) to end the escalating campaign of re7 pression against opposition candidates and their 

8 parties before the January 2021 elections; and 

9 (H) to guarantee the ability of domestic 

10 and international election observers to monitor 

11 the January 2021 polls without hindrance; 

12 (4) calls on the Secretary of State, and the 

13 heads of relevant departments and agencies of the 

14 United States Government to continue— 

15 (A) to speak out against the Government 

16 of Uganda’s efforts to undermine democracy; 

17 and 

18 (B) to hold the Government of Uganda ac19 countable for respecting the rights of its citi20 zens, in accordance with its Constitution and 

21 international obligations, including by— 

22 (i) considering the imposition of tar23 geted sanctions and visa restrictions on ac24 tors involved in undermining credible, 


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1 transparent elections, or for perpetrating 

2 or abetting human rights abuses; 

3 (ii) leading international partners and 

4 institutions, including those in Africa, in 

5 developing and implementing strategies 

6 and actions to promote and defend human, 

7 civil, and political rights and multiparty 

8 democracy in Uganda; 

9 (iii) immediately conducting a review 

10 of United States Government assistance 

11 and cooperation with the Government of 

12 Uganda for the purposes of reprioritizing 

13 areas and sectors of assistance should neu14 tral observers determine that the January 

15 2021 polls do not meet internationally ac16 cepted standards for credible elections; and 

17 (iv) insisting on full and public inves18 tigations that ensure accountability for 

19 acts of violence, harassment and intimida20 tion perpetrated against political opposi21 tion, journalists, and members of civil soci22 ety, especially before and after the January 

23 2021 elections. 

Æ 


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