The Right to adequate food in uganda: a case study of internally displaced persons in Unyama Camp, Gulu District

Abstract

Uganda is a signatory to many international treaties relating to the right to food, which is also reflected in the 1995 Constitution of the Republic of Uganda. This can also be evident in the many government programmes such as the Poverty Alleviation Action Programme (PEAP), Plan for Modernisation of Agriculture (PMA) among others .Despite all the above, violations of the right to adequate food still exist currently in Uganda. The progressive realization of the right to adequate food is being hampered because of the lack of clear strategies in place to enforce these policies and the situation of internal displacement in northern Uganda, which denies the population physical access to farm land and food in quality and quantity.

This study was carried out between July 2005 and September 2006 in Unyama Internally Displaced Persons Camp Gulu District in Northern Uganda, to assess the implementation of the right to adequate food in Uganda, through the existing local and international policies, hence coming up with feasible recommendations to enhance the realisation of the right to food for all Ugandans. The study used a case study design and employed a predominately qualitative approach in order to again an in-depth descriptive account of the issue under study. The insecurity coupled with restrictions that negatively impact on the availability, accessibility and adequacy of food for the IDPs, were taken cognisance of in the analysis of this study.

It is therefore suggested that in order to progressively realise the right to adequate food there must be enforceable laws to fulfil the loopholes in the current policies and in conjunction with other stakeholders increase the IDPs food rations as well as encourage programs of providing seeds to ensure food sustainability.