Global Theme: Whoever. Wherever. Whenever. Everyone has the right to seek safety. Every 20 June, the world celebrates World Refugee Day to honor refugees worldwide for their strength and resilience. This year, the commemoration focuses on the right to seek safety. Every person has the right to seek safety – whoever they are – wherever they come from and wherever they are forced to flee. Uganda remains a generous country with a long history of over 60 years of hosting refugees. It currently hosts over 1.5 million refugees, making it a top African refugee-hosting country and among the top five countries worldwide. Every migrant is entitled to safe and dignified treatment like any other human being as they seek asylum. Today, world leaders and their nations have been reminded not to discriminate against migrants at borders. Borders should remain open to all people forced to flee their homes besides seeking asylum is a human right. The World Refugee Day campaign presents a reminder of the big challenges refugees face globally as they seek safety. Ensuring refugee safety is a pressing issue in refugee protection. More people are on the move than ever due to wars, climate change, etc. Every minute, 30 individuals around the globe are displaced. There is growing xenophobia, closure of borders and fear of asylum seekers in many countries, which has led to a tendency not to see refugees as victims of war but as perpetrators of insecurity. This kind of aggression has interception measures and higher barriers to indiscriminate detention, threatening refugee safety. Today, Uganda hosts refugees from South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Somalia, and Eritrea. With the ongoing fighting in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda has opened its borders to over 25,000 new arrivals through the Bunagana border. Through the Office of the Prime Minister, UNHCR and humanitarian partners, the government of Uganda manages transit centers for asylum seekers along the Uganda/the Democratic Republic of Congo border and is responding to the emergency.  Despite struggling to sustain the refugee operations, Uganda continues to share its little resources with refugees. During the launch of the three-year Uganda Country Refugee Response Plan 2022/2025 (UCRRP) in Kampala, the Minister of Disaster Preparedness in the Office of Prime Minister revealed that Uganda needs 1.5 trillion annually to cater for refugees living in the country. Most people on the move are from poor countries; these countries cannot support Uganda to sustain the refugees. The host communities that welcome refugees are often struggling to survive themselves. However, the government of Uganda continues to establish safe access to all people forced to flee and integrate them within the settlements in the refugee-hosting districts. While Uganda continues to receive refugees and enable them to access the available services through government institutions like any other Ugandan, especially those services within their areas of residence or settlement, more must be done to support Uganda’s comprehensive policy on refugees. In 2018, world leaders adopted a new global compact at the United Nations: one on refugees and one on migration. Whereas the compact emphasized that refugees should be helped and treated with respect at every stage of migration, hosting countries are incapacitated to ensure refugees live dignified lives due to challenges in accessing the basic needs like food, shelter, medical care etc. The vulnerability of refugees is magnified when they have limited resources like food, medical care, financial resources, shelter for their families, poverty, security, fuel wood, access to safe, clean water, and their communities are major issues they need. Refugees within settlements face physical security challenges, and some live in constant fear due to inadequate protection within the settlements; this calls for amendment of the laws to better protect the refugees. There have been cases of kidnapping of refugees, trafficking of refugees, and disappearance of refugees. The Refugee Law Project’s 2001 paper on ‘Refugees and the Security Situation in Adjumani highlighted critical security threats refugees face. Victims of several war-related violence complain of meeting perpetrators within the settlements, and this causes people to live in constant fear within the settlement. More reinforcement should be doubled to address such issues that specific categories of migrants are appropriately settled for the safety and peace of all migrants. Notably, reported cases are properly investigated, and actions are taken. The government should consider high-profile asylum seekers and ex-combatants to help overcome their fears and protection needs. Break-down in the family network causes trauma and fear. This calls for prioritising family reunification to enhance the safety of individuals and their families. The family is considered to be the first unit for safety.  Family reunification needs to prioritise separated families and facilitate reunions with known family members within the settlements.  The national theme focuses on the right to seek safety, protection and conservation of the environment. UNHCR estimates that 20-25 million trees are cut down annually in and around refugee settlements. The urgent need for cooking fuel drives 90% of this deforestation. The refugees within settlements mostly are challenged with access to fuel.  The resulting environmental problems threaten safe living conditions and livelihoods for refugees. This calls for empowering refugees and host communities on environmental protection and conservation measures. We appeal for more interventions and funding for reforestation and the promotion of clean cooking energy programs to conserve the environment and support vulnerable refugee situations. This will help revert the degradation of the environment in refugee-hosting districts. UNHCR reports that as the wood collection perimeter widens with deforestation, women and children travel long distances to collect wood, putting them at increased risk of sexual and gender-based violence. Environmental degradation also heightens the risk of conflict between refugees and hosts. In addition, schools consume a lot of fuel wood, and alternative energy sources need to be established. The human waste within schools needs to be utilised to produce clean energy for fuel use by schools. Access to food within refugee families and reduced food and cash ratio threaten refugees' safety. World Health Organization states that food safety, nutrition and food security are inextricably linked. A lack of safe food creates a vicious cycle of disease and malnutrition, which overburdens public health services, disrupts social and economic progress and detracts from the quality of life.  The reductions by World Food Program on refugee food ratio and cash ratio coupled with the low income, unemployment, and poverty worsen the refugee situation at individual, family and community levels. The refugees should be supported with land and other alternative mechanisms for food production such that food security can be enhanced. Refugees need to be empowered with information such that they are not vulnerable and exploited as they seek alternatives for food production.   What is RLP’s position on refugees and migrants about safety?  Refugee Law Project programmes promote the safety and protection of refugees within Uganda. We have championed the promotion of understanding of refugee rights, their obligations and protection in Uganda. Basically, to broaden the understanding of refugee issues, safety and peaceful co-existence of the refugees with the host. We advocate for respect for the rights of refugees and other categories of migrants and non-discrimination against migrants.

World Environment day is always commemorated every 5th of June. This year the theme is “Only one Earth” which was the motto for the 1972 Stockholm conference and it reminds us of actions we can take to sustainably use the earth given the raising impact of climate change that is affecting every living organism on the Earth. Scientists estimate that there are at least 8million species of plants, animals living on the earth today, including humans. These species live together in what we call an ecosystem. An ecosystem can be as large as desert or small as a pond and containing living and non-livings things like rocks, sand and humidity and all these depend on each other like a jigsaw puzzle. For instance, a change in temperature will have an effect on animals and plants. We live in a connected ecosystem however, due to the growth of the human population, we are seeing encroachment on it, which in turn has limited the ability of the ecosystem to deliver vital services to humanity. In 1972 the UN General assembly designated 5th June as World Environment Day(WED). the day is aimed to create awareness on the problems facing our environment such as air and plastic pollution, deforestation, illegal wildlife trade, sustainable consumption, rise in sea level and food security among others. World environment day helps to drive change in consumption patterns and in national and international environment policies. Refugee context Uganda continues to be the largest refugee host country in Africa with a refugee population of approximately 1,500,000. Palabek refugee settlement alone hosts over 63,000 refugees and 14 asylum seekers (UNCHR data as of Feb 2022). While forest degradation is not new in Uganda, increased influx of refugees may pose a threat as refugees and hosts will have an increased demand for firewood, timber and charcoal. The ecosystem has the potential of providing both the hosts and refugees with opportunities and security nets for alleviating poverty but there is need to sensitize both hosts and refugees on sustainable methods of harnessing nature while preserving it for future generations. The reduction of food ratios for refugees has forced refugees to supplement their incomes and food by encroaching on the environment to secure their subsistence needs. Refugee Law Project with funding support from the Ministry of Foreign affairs of the Kingdom of Netherlands, is working towards restoring the degraded landscape within the districts of Adjumani, Kiryandongo and Lamwo through growing assorted trees of nutritional and environmental value in partnership with schools and institutions in and around the refugee host communities. Over the last four years RLP has grown over 207 acres of woodlots established and managed under the supervision of the organization. This has enabled the communities to tackle some of the ecological challenges affecting them. What does the theme “Only one earth” mean to us? As we commemorate WED , we are reminded that if we do not protect the only natural resources we have then we are bound to loose all we have, including our lives. The earth is the only home that we humans have that sustains and nourishes us. But most certainly as humans many of us have embraced a path of self-destruction by destroying the many aspects of the earth that are important for human survival. This year’s theme hence reminds us that we need to take care of the only home we have through ecosystem restoration. Promote farmer managed natural regeneration. Although several initiatives have been practiced by different actors, there is need to build on the capacity of the local land owners on how they can allow Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR). This is a low cost sustainable landscape restoration technique that aims to improve the productivity of agricultural lands while increasing tree cover and biodiversity. It allows proper site species matching and conservation of the indigenous tree species that have several benefits to community in terms of fuelwood, medicine and shade. This approach being low cost can best be promoted in the settlements since it has no costs of acquiring planting materials like seedlings which are scarce and expensive for refugees. Such costs discourage refugee participation in landscape restoration activities. Promote enrichment planting of both the natural and artificial forest. Population increase has put immense pressure on our natural resources. Forests covers 31% of the Earth’s surface, 32 million of forest are lost annually and yet now 300 million people live in forest where they all depend on the forest for food, medicines, water among others yet no one is worried about the impact of the activities on the forest which we think there is a lot of need of enrichment planting to allow these forest to regain back the lost ecosystem. Involve the local communities in the restoration decision making and activities. Natural resources are at the heart of rural communities social, political and economic life as the primary source of livelihoods, nutrition and employment. But often restoration activities have ignored indigenous knowledge from the locals yet they understand better how the ecosystem has been lost and what have been some of the challenges and activities leading to their restoration. This has led most restoration initiatives to fail to achieve the targets because locals end up not owning some of these projects. Farmers remain pivotal to any successful land restoration and we also acknowledge the local actors have a wealth and depth of knowledge about where they live and tapping into the knowledge is key to long-term success of restoration projects. Secure land tenure rights to achieve restoration neutrality. Many of the worlds estimated 2.5billion indigenous people, afro-descendant and local communities lack secure land rights and at the UN Convention to combat Desertification (UNCCD COP15) discussions have been going on the importance of securing land rights for success of tackling land degradation. The Refugee Law Project has seen these challenges with the schools and institution where we partner on landscape restoration. Most sites have no ownership of the land because the partners have no land titles. This affects the progress of the restoration activities at various project sites. From the SRHR – EP project that RLP is currently implementing, there is evidence that Land Rights are the critical mechanism that allows people to find, implement and scale the most appropriate solutions for themselves and also for their communities. Tenure security also increases people’s motivation to protect and restore land over the longer term. Enhance youth and women’s rights and lives through gender equitable restoration. Women and youth play a critical role in managing natural resources and are most certainly the ones who get affected by climate change effects. In Lamwo for example, women in the settlement walk not less than 8Km to find firewood, spending at least 6-9 hours away from home on days when they have to collect firewood, Moreso they face constrains in implementing restoration practices as they don’t enjoy the same rights and resources as their male counter parts due to entrenched gender norms. Their limited access to and control over land mostly hinders their engagement in restoration activities. Limited rights to land are as result not only of formal policies but also customary rules which vary according to ethnicity, village, social status and position of youth and women in polygamous families (Konate 2006). Unequal ownership of assets like fertilizer, tools and improved seeds coupled with long standing disparities between women and men in access to formal education, information and agricultural extension also has negative impacts on youth and women farmer’s ability to adopt to innovative restoration practices (Njobe and Kaaria 2015). There is need to understand what motivates youth and women to invest their efforts in restoration of land and forests. Important to also understand what obstacles they face in implementing land and forest restoration activities and how restoration activities affect the living conditions of women. This would give guidance to stakeholders on how to best work with women and youth as key partners in restoration processes. Manage native bush encroachment. Bush encroachment in the East African region has largely been driven by overgrazing, rampant wild fires, change in rainfall pattern and increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide. These need to be managed with high level of technical restoration practices. Climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, pollution and waste are evidence that the earth is “coded red” . The way out of the dilemma is to transform our economies and our societies to make themselves inclusive, fair and more connected to nature which means we need to shift from harming planet to healing it. This year’s themes “Only one earth” calls for collective, transformative action on global scale celebrate, protect and restore our planet which means everyone should take action to restore the only earth that we have.  

Eliminating Harmful Practices against Children: A call for a Renewed Commitment to Promoting the Inclusion of Children with Special Needs. Today marks 31 years since the African Union declared the 16 of June the Day of the African Child. The day was first observed in 1991 to remember the lives of over 1000 innocent children as they rose to protest the discriminatory practices and poor quality of education orchestrated by the apartheid regime in South Africa. The day is marked annually to raise awareness of the plight of vulnerable children in Africa and across the globe.   Refugee Law Project joins the rest of the world to commemorate the Day of the African Child under the theme: “Eliminating Harmful Practices Affecting Children: Progress on Policy & Practice since 2013”. This theme is timely given the unique challenges children face in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Maputo Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa looks at harmful practices, including all behavior, attitudes and practices which negatively affect the fundamental rights of women and girls, such as their right to life, health, dignity, education and physical integrity.   The African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC) selected this theme to call on Governments, UN Agencies, International Organizations, NGOs, CSOs and other relevant stakeholders to renew their ongoing engagements toward the protection and assistance of children affected by harmful practices, through the organisation of specific activities and programs to prevent, protect and assist children who are at risk and victims of harmful practices in Africa. Government and non-government organisations have significantly protected children against harmful practices. This includes: a) the National Child Policy (NCP) demonstrates the commitment of the government of Uganda to ensure the well-being of children; b) the National Child Protection Working Group, which brings together all partners working towards the protection and wellbeing of children, c) “Sauti” is a new initiative based in Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development (MGLSD), a communication platform for reporting all abuses against children are among the many approaches that Uganda is implementing to ensure protection and welfare of children. However, it is important to pay attention to the following;   RISK: Many vulnerable children, especially those affected by forced displacement, including refugees, are at a greater risk of facing harmful practices.  Refugee children with special needs, particularly those with disabilities, face double jeopardy as they not only have to deal with the past traumatic experiences of forced migration but also work through the stigma and discrimination resulting from embedded social attitudes on disability and special needs. These children often face a lot of harmful practices including abuse but also subtler ones like labelling that affect their esteem and general wellbeing.   HARMFUL PRACTICES: Refugee children with special needs are affected by a myriad of harmful practices ranging from cultural practices such as early marriages, relating disability and special needs to sorcery, hiding children with special needs away due to stigma and shame, physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, lack of inclusiveness among other harmful practices. These have far-reaching consequences on the well-being of all children, especially, refugee children with special needs. Generally, the negative perception families, communities, and schools have about the potential of these children to become successful citizens that culminate in fewer expectations of what they can do, further discouraging them from aspiring to succeed, which may lead to dropping out of school.  Such harmful practices breed physical and psychological effects; physically, the neglect may turn the condition from mild to severe, as the child may not receive timely medical and psychosocial support interventions. Physical and social barriers may limit the child’s participation, and such children may drop out of school. Emotionally, refugee children with special needs may withdraw from family, peers, school settings, and community. They grapple with feelings of low self-esteem coupled with a negative view of themselves and the world. These effects may make it difficult for such children to form an identity.   LIMITED ACCESS TO EDUCATION: It is important to recognise that limited access to education fuels harmful practices and continually exposes children to other forms of harm, including child marriages. Yet refugee children, especially those with disabilities, remain with limited access to education. More than half of all refugee children in Uganda (57%) are out of school. Yet many have often missed school for several years; their attendance is more inconsistent due to their living difficulties. Further still, for those who can attend school, the quality of education is severely compromised by a shortage of classrooms, teachers’ materials and large class sizes of up to 1:150 children minimum. Language barriers remain a barrier for many children who come from non-English speaking countries. Although there are no good statistics, children with disabilities tend to face additional educational barriers due to their requirement for extra support.   As Refugee Law Project, we believe limited access to education puts many children at risk of the many harmful practices and efforts to ensure all children, especially the most marginalized, attain quality, accessible and inclusive education present a significant opportunity for fighting harmful practices against children.   Refugee Law Project’s Interventions: Refugee Law Project, in partnership with other stakeholders, has invested in building the capacity of different stakeholders including parents, caretakers, teachers, school management committees, local leaders, service providers among others to equip them with knowledge and skills needed to respond to the needs of children with special need. Efforts are being made to improve access to inclusive education for refugee children with special needs in order to give them a chance to life and protect them from harm.   As we commemorate the day of the African Child, lets reflect on the strides made in promoting quality inclusive education for children with special needs, the barriers that still exist, and forging a way forward into a future where all children are supported fully access education to realise their potential. This is one of the best ways of protecting children from harm, because quality inclusive education provides safety to children. Call to Action Government should expedite the enactment of the Inclusive Education policy to ensure that all children are supported to attain quality inclusive education. We need to continuously raise awareness about the importance of children’s full participation in education All stakeholders need to reflect on and respond to the less recognized harmful practices that continue to disempower children. Service providers should strive to provide trauma-informed support services for refugee children with special needs. Happy International Day of the African Child, 2022   This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

It's 8 March 2022, and it's International Women's Day. First commemorated by Uganda in 1984, IWD garners support for women's rights and re-affirms the country’s commitments to ensuring that all women and girls within its borders lead dignified lives. Uganda’s commendable milestones in advancing women's rights politically, socially, and economically, include Uganda's Parish Development Model, which ringfenced 30 per cent of resources towards women's enterprises. But as we commemorate IWD 2022, it is important to recognise several dynamics that must be addressed to achieve the much desired sustainable tomorrow. Key overarching issues The 2022 International Women's Day theme, "Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow" comes at a time when the world is relentlessly struggling existential threats; Firstly, planet earth is battling environmental and climate change-related existential threats. Due to global temperature rise and resultant floods, droughts, earthquakes, wildfires and species loss, humanity is already experiencing disasters on a greater scale than previously thought possible. With women and girls at the epicentre of daily struggles for subsistence and fuelwood, they are also heavily impacted by all these dynamics. Secondly, the world is recovering from COVID-19 induced lockdowns, during which the family as a core institution was tested to breaking point as households wrestled with associated physical, psychological, and economic stress. Early pregnancies create obstacles to returning to school and reduced involvement of young women in debates about a sustainable tomorrow. Thirdly, increasing tensions and clashes between refugees and their hosts over scarce natural resources. Refugees and hosts alike depend on natural resources for fuelwood, shelter, agriculture, and income. The increase refugee numbers in Uganda increases competition over land, water, wetlands, vegetation and forest products, and aggravates cases of physical and Sexual Gender-Based Violence. Fourthly, this year's commemoration coincides with a world struggling to pull back from the brink of a third world war, but already confronted with a mass exodus of civilian women and girls on the one hand, and mass arming of untrained men and boys on the other. What IWD theme means for refugee women and girls in Uganda in 2022 This years' theme aligns with the 66th Commission on the Status of Women, which is keen on "Achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls in the context of climate change, environmental and disaster risk reduction policies and programmes". Besides adopting the international theme, Uganda emphasises engaging men and boys in promoting gender equality and women's empowerment in climate change, environmental, and disaster risk management. Realising Gender Equality today for a sustainable tomorrow requires that people, government stakeholders, civil society, private sector, development and humanitarian actors, as well as the international community, wrestle with critical questions and priority areas such as; Land: IWD 2022 should push us to retable decades-old conversations and struggles on access to land and other productive resources for women and girls, and to add in the hard reality that the 30x30m of land offered to refugees in rural settlements cannot sustain food crop production, let alone support climate change mitigation and disaster risk management. While adding land for refugee women might be part of the solution, such measures must also address issues of power and control between men and women when it comes to this primary factor of production and the harvests produced on it. Livelihoods: Settling refugees in environmentally marginal locations with few available services, and at the same time reducing distributions of food and non-food items – particularly in a time of pandemic lockdown - has inevitably pushed refugee women with limited options to scouting nature for survival. Unless incomes are diversified or alternative sources of livelihood and fuelwood availed, rural-based vulnerable refugee women have limited options besides clearing above the ground bio-mass. It is important that they be introduced to livelihood practices that harness resources sustainably. Male involvement: The 2022 theme emphases 'engaging' men and boys in proactive climate change mitigation, adaptation, and responses adds to the conventional male engagement pillars of; ending violence against women and girls, HIV/Aids prevention and response, Sexual Reproductive Health Rights, unpaid care work, children's upbringing. It is important that this is one in ways that address questions such as: does engaging men undermine the agency of women and girls, reinforce patriarchal powers of men over women, reduce already meagre resources for women's empowerment, and further frustrate hard-earned gains in women's empowerment? Legislative and Policy reforms: Uganda's Constitution grants equal access to essential resources for all people within its borders. However, besides registered and titled land, most land in refugee hosting areas is customarily owned, with men as primary custodians and most women and girls still access land through their husbands and sons. IWD 2022 reminds us to amplify advocacy, awareness, education, and engagements, especially with cultural leaders, to realise transformative changes women’s and girls’ enjoyment of their constitutionally granted rights. Climate Change is Science, NOT Politics! Where are women and girls in this debate? Uganda's pursuit of a middle-income economy recognises the importance of education and in particular, science and technology. In 2022 we must ask whether Uganda’s women and girls are equipped with the science needed for environmental discourse. According UNICEF and UNFPA’s 2022 report titled "Teenage Pregnancy in Uganda: The Cost of Inaction", 18% of annual births in Uganda result from teenage pregnancy. Inactivity on teenage pregnancy could see 64% of teenage mothers unable to complete primary education. This report adds to Uganda’s 2016 Demographic and Health Survey, which revealed that 1 in 4 adolescent girls between 15 and 19 are already mothers or pregnant with their first child. How should we guarantee a sustainable future if children become mothers and drop out of school, and if national policy reinforces these dynamics? In 2022, Uganda’s Ministry of Education and Sports issued guidelines demanding that school-girls undergo mandatory periodic pregnancy tests and, when found pregnant, be granted mandatory maternity leave at three months. The guidelines allow pregnant girls to sit for final examinations, but not to attend classes. Health. To what extent are refugee women able, ready, and willing to engage? Livelihood and self-sustenance are pillars of key policies, including the Refugees and Host Population Empowerment (ReHoPE) and the Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework (CRRF). Intended to empower and skill refugees including refugee women to supplement humanitarian handouts, these laudable programmes, however, exclude many vulnerable women and girls whose profound physical, psychological, psychosexual, psychosocial, and political harms suffered before, during, and after flight are not attended to. These war-related injuries require timely and professional care if women and girls are to be able to contribute fully. Refugee Law Project's Intervention As a Centre for Justice and Forced Migrants, Refugee Law Project (RLP) recognises the impact of changing climate on women and girls irrespective of their legal status, and their contribution in environmental protection. One of the project's objectives is to enhance durable refugee-host relations through engaging host communities in mitigating impacts of sudden overpopulation and resultant environmental degradation through income generation and reforestation activities. With funding support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, RLP has embraced mitigation and adaptation strategies, including tree growing in Adjumani, Lamwo, and Kiryandongo districts. 205 acres of land have been 'greened' with a variety of trees with nutritional and climate change values. We have promoted community dialogues, engaged younger generations through school debates, facilitated learning and exchange visits for university students and tree growers, conducted training of relevant stakeholders, and supported institutions to run nurseries raising over 400,000 seedlings. Call to Action For people heading to Yumbe district, where the national event will be held, let's be reminded that IWD 2022 calls us all to transition from rhetorical proclamations to actionable commitments. Realising Gender Equality today for a sustainable tomorrow cannot be achieved from a one-day event, but requires continuous rigorous actions by all. Our actions and inaction are equally loud! We implore community members, government stakeholders, civil society, private sector, donor community, diplomatic missions, and the international community to; Expedite the National School Health Policy to address the issues of teenage pregnancies and allow girls, who are also victims of institutional failure to protect the younger generations, to return and stay in schools Engage schools and communities in understanding the 2020 revised guidelines for prevention and management of pregnancy in school settings in the context of refugee and forced displacement alongside measures aimed at changing attitudes towards pregnant girls Encourage realization of the parliamentary resolutions to end teenage pregnancies Fast track implementation of the 2015 National Strategy on Ending Child Marriage and Teenage Pregnancies in Uganda to save vulnerable girls from child marriage and teenage pregnancies Invest in community women's groups and organisations engaging women and girls in environmental protection projects through direct funding, capacity building, partnerships, and exchange learning visits Invest in physical and mental health for vulnerable refugee and host women who have experienced unspeakable and inhumane acts of sexual violence before, during, and after conflicts. Support initiatives such as the Koboko Action Plan to promote commercial agriculture for refugees and host women. Ensure refugee and host women's participation in Environmental and Social Impact Assessments (ESIA) for environmental management and site planning. S upport refugee women's participation in district environment protection committees Translate relevant laws and policy documents into refugee-friendly languages, including the Climate Change Act and the 2019 water and environment sector response plan for refugees and host communities in Uganda. Review and re-align policies and legislative frameworks designed before COVID-19 to match current realities. For instance, Refugee Integrated Response Plan developers did not envisage pandemics such as COVID-19. From rhetorical proclamations to actionable commitments Happy International Women's Day, 2022! This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.