The honorable Esther Anyakun is the current State Minister for Relief, Disaster Preparedness and Refugees of the Republic of Uganda, Member of Parliament and executive committee member of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the global organization of national parliaments.
POLITICAL VOICES
Esther Anyakun
Member of Parliament, and Minister of State for Relief, Disaster Preparedness and Refugees, Uganda
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Action
In her capacity as State Minister for Relief, Disaster Preparedness and Refugees, Minister Anyakun has been instrumental in bridging international multi-partisan cooperation in refugee administration, asylum application processing and disaster relief efforts in the country, while faced with the demanding challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Most recently, in August 2021, Hon. Minister Anyakun oversaw an effort to welcome Afghan refugees to Uganda following the political unrest in the country. In October 2021, Hon. Minister Anyakun’s cabinet coordinated a wide-scale disaster relief effort to communities, following widespread flooding and landslides in the country that saw over one million people affected, crops and human and animal lives lost. In cooperation with partners, the government facilitated food distribution, non-food relief, as well as relocation efforts to safety zones.
Relevant discourse
From a High-Level Meeting on 14 December 2021, hosted by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, held every four years under the Global Compact on Refugees. Minister Esther Anyakun, leading the Uganda Delegation stated:
“Despite the challenges recently raised by the COVID-19 pandemic, we have come a long way in advancing a comprehensive and accountable refugee response. But the journey is not over. As the number and needs of refugees grow, Uganda helps the international community to maintain our progressive refugee model for refugees and refugee-accepting communities. And I’m calling for that responsibility. “
From a speech delivered on International Human Rights Day Dec. 10, 2021, at the Defend Defenders East and Horn of Human Rights Defenders Project Conference:
“Uganda included refugee social assistance programs in the National Development Plan III, and the relevant sector MDAs tack social service reach and access in refugee communities, overseen by the Office of the Prime Minister.”
