The world remains placed between the outbreak of the global COVID-19 pandemic and a seemingly accelerating pace of climate change, both of which identify the need for increased global cooperation and dialogue.

This report highlights the human rights and freedoms situation in Uganda 2020. It covers the following key thematic areas: assessment of human rights situation in the 2021 elections, the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on Uganda; the plight of older persons in Uganda; mental health in Uganda and the human rights implications; the need for decriminalization of petty offences in Uganda and their human rights implications; the death penalty and its human rights implications; and cattle rustling in Karamoja sub-region and its human rights implications.

Its 15 years since the previous debt reliefs were undertaken by the international community. Following the outbreak of the global COVID-19 pandemic, many African countries have either recently defaulted on their public debt, or subscribed to the Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) put in place by official lenders in 2020. Alternatively, other African countries are making progress toward a possible restructuring of their debt under the auspices of the G20 and of the Paris Club, but also of so-called “emerging” and private creditors.

The importance of statistical information for evidence-based public policy preparation, planning, decision-making, monitoring, evaluation and reporting on development progress cannot be emphasized enough. To that effect, provision of reliable data for the region constitutes part of the rationale for the formulation of the IGAD Regional Strategy for the Development of Statistics (IRSDS).