City Bar Statement on Targeting of CSOs and Rising Restrictions on Civic Space Amidst Uganda’s General Elections

In a new statement, the New York City Bar Association expressed deep concern at the escalation in the targeting of civil society organizations (CSOs) and restriction of civic space around recent presidential elections in Uganda

These actions include arbitrary suspension of Civil Society Organizations, an unlawful nationwide internet shutdown, and other actions that undermine civic participation and violate Uganda’s obligations under international and regional human rights law.

The City Bar calls on Uganda’s government to take immediate action to overturn the suspension order and review the regulatory powers to enact such suspensions, protect fundamental rights for all Ugandans, and permit credible investigations into election-related reports of human rights violations.

Summary

On January 9, 2026, just days before the January 15 general elections, the Ugandan National Bureau for Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO Bureau) suspended at least seven Ugandan CSOs, including Chapter Four Uganda, the Alliance for Election Finance Monitoring (ACFIM), the Center for Constitutional Governance, the Human Rights Network for Journalists–Uganda (HRNJ-U), the National NGO Forum, the African Centre for Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture Victims (ACTV), and the National Coalition of Human Rights Defenders.

These independent organizations monitor human rights, government accountability, and electoral integrity in Uganda. The NGO Bureau, a Ugandan Ministry of Internal Affairs body, reportedly based the suspensions on undisclosed “intelligence information” that alleges that the CSOs were engaged in activities that threaten national security

These arbitrary suspensions mirror previous efforts by the NGO Bureau to impede the operations of CSOs during an electoral period, including before general elections in 2021, and violate Uganda’s obligations under its Constitution and as a state party to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

The statement also expresses concern about the internet shutdown imposed by the Uganda Communications Commission in the days leading up to the 2026 general elections. Some internet access was restored five days after the election, but social media platforms were blocked for almost two weeks.

It notes that restriction of public communications is a repeated tactic used by Ugandan authorities to constrict civic space, electoral participation, and chill dissent, especially during important national decisions such as elections. This tactic reflects a broader regional trend of shrinking civic space across several regions in Africa, particularly around elections.

“The internet blackout and CSO suspensions, coupled with reports of arbitrary detentions, abductions, assaults, and intimidation of human rights defenders, journalists, and political opposition actors, evidence a systemic and unlawful attack on Ugandan civic space. The Ugandan authorities’ actions gravely undermine civic participation and are incompatible with the country’s binding obligations under international and regional human rights law,” the statement says.

The City Bar calls on the Ugandan government to take several immediate steps to address these violations, including:

• Immediately overturn the NGO Bureau’s recent suspension order;
• ​​Protect ​the fundamental human rights of freedom of expression, access to information, and assembly for all Ugandans;
• ​​Order ​a comprehensive legal review of the NGO Bureau’s regulatory powers to align them with regional and international standards on freedom of association and expression; and
• Permit credible, independent, and impartial investigations into election-related reports of abductions, enforced disappearances, and extrajudicial killings.

The City Bar’s African Affairs Committee also signed on to the statement.

Read the full statement here:

Rising Restrictions on Civic Space in Uganda: Statement on the Targeting of Civil Society Organizations Before the 2026 Elections