Uganda

In Uganda, communities continue to experience the effects of social fragmentation, insecurity, and intergenerational tensions. Through The Peace Project, communities and local partners work together to strengthen relationships, address divisive narratives, and support more inclusive conditions for long-lasting peace.

Context

Across Uganda, social cohesion has been weakened by mistrust, inequality, and limited interaction across ethnic and religious lines. Many communities, particularly youth and women, face barriers to meaningful participation in decision-making processes that affect their lives. The influx of refugees has also increased tensions between refugee and host communities and has, at times, led to outbreaks of violence.

 

At the same time, exclusive security practices and limited access to rights, including women’s rights, inheritance and land rights, and mental health services, continue to shape local experiences of insecurity. Despite these challenges, religious leaders, women, and young people play an important role in creating spaces for dialogue and strengthening relationships with authorities and service providers.

What We Do
in Uganda

Addressing divisive narratives and supporting wellbeing.
Experiences of exclusion, misinformation, and dehumanising perceptions influence how people relate to one another. The Peace Project supports communities in creating space for healing, reflection, and dialogue, recognising the close link between emotional wellbeing and peaceful coexistence.

This includes:

  • Offering individual, group, and community-based trauma-informed support
  • Supporting people to reconnect and strengthen their mental wellbeing
  • Working with religious leaders and young people to promote inclusive narratives
  • Encouraging storytelling that challenges harmful perceptions and highlights shared experiences.

These approaches contribute to rebuilding trust and addressing emotional and psychological drivers of conflict.

Strengthening social cohesion.
Exclusive security and decision-making practices can create disparities and weaken community resilience. The Peace Project works with communities and local partners to promote more inclusive and context-sensitive policies that reflect local realities.

In Uganda, this includes:

  • Facilitating dialogue across diverse communities
  • Supporting women leaders, young people, and religious actors to engage around shared social and economic concerns
  • Increasing women’s and youth participation in decision-making processes
  • Fostering constructive relationships between communities, authorities, and service providers

These interactions help rebuild social ties and contribute to a stronger sense of shared purpose.

Promoting inclusive and supportive environments. Decision-making and security practices in South Sudan often lack inclusivity, contributing to distance between communities and authorities. Policies and practices are frequently shaped through top-down approaches that do not sufficiently reflect local realities.

To help create fairer and more secure conditions, The Peace Project:

  • Connecting community experiences with national policymakers

  • Advocating for laws that support women’s rights, including inheritance and land rights

  • Promoting access to mental health services

  • Facilitating youth engagement with key security actors

  • Supporting peacebuilding and security policies that are inclusive and responsive to community needs

These efforts contribute to safer and more equitable conditions for communities across Uganda.

Local Partners

The Peace Project works with a diverse network of locally rooted organisations and peace actors in Uganda, including Acholi Religious Leaders Peace Initiative (ARLPI), Living in Wellness Capacitar Northern Uganda (Capacitar), Justice and Peace Department of Gulu (JPD Gulu), Archdiocese, Muslim Centre for Justice and Law (MCJL), Mifumi, Regional Associates for Community Initiatives (RACI), and The Hunger Project Uganda (THP-U).