Features of Constitution1
|Is there a constitution?||Yes|
|Does the constitution provide for freedom of religion?||Yes|
|Source||World Intellectual Property Organization|
|Translation||Original was written in English|
|Current as of||May 11, 2011|
Constitution Excerpts (clauses that reference religion)2
…FOR GOD AND MY COUNTRY
National Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy
…III. National unity and stability
(i) All organs of State and people of Uganda shall work towards the promotion of national unity, peace and stability.
(ii) Every effort shall be made to integrate all the peoples of Uganda while at the same time recognizing the existence of their ethnic, religious, ideological, political and cultural diversity.
(iii) Everything shall be done to promote a culture of cooperation, understanding, appreciation, tolerance and respect for each other's customs, traditions and beliefs.
(iv) There shall be established and nurtured institutions and procedures for the resolution of conflicts fairly and peace fully.
(v) The State shall provide a peaceful, secure and stable political environment which is necessary for economic development.
…XVIII. Educational objectives
(i) The State shall promote free and compulsory basic education.
(ii) The State shall take appropriate measures to afford every citizen equal opportunity to attain the highest educational standard possible.
(iii) Individuals, religious bodies and other non-governmental organizations shall be free to found and operate educational institutions if they comply with the general educational policy of the country and maintain national standards.
Chapter One: The Constitution
7. Non-adoption of State religion
Uganda shall not adopt a State religion.
21. Equality and freedom from discrimination
(1) All persons are equal before and under the law in all spheres of political, economic, social and cultural life and in every other respect and shall enjoy equal protection of the law.
(2) Without prejudice to clause (1) of this article, a person shall not be discriminated against on the ground of sex, race, color, ethnic origin, tribe, birth, creed or religion, social or economic standing, political opinion or disability.
(3) For the purposes of this article, "discriminate" means to give different treatment to different persons attributable only or mainly to their respective descriptions by sex, race, color, ethnic origin, tribe, birth, creed or religion, social or economic standing, political opinion or disability.
(4) Nothing in this article shall prevent Parliament from enacting laws that are necessary for—
(a) implementing policies and programs aimed at redressing social, economic or educational or other imbalance in society; or
(b) making such provision as is required or authorized to be made under this Constitution; or
(c) providing for any matter acceptable and demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society.
(5) Nothing shall be taken to be inconsistent with this article which is allowed to be done under any provision of this Constitution.
25. Protection from slavery, servitude and forced labor
(1) No person shall be held in slavery or servitude.
(2) No person shall be required to perform forced labor.
(3) For the purposes of this article, "forced labor" does not include—
(a) any labor required in consequence of the sentence or order of a court;
(b) any labor required of any person while that person is lawfully detained which, though not required in consequence of the sentence or order of a court, is reasonably necessary in the interests of hygiene or for the maintenance of the place at which the person is detained;
(c) any labor required of a member of a disciplined force as part of that member's duties as such or, in the case of a person who has conscientious objections to service as a member of a naval, military or air force. any labor which that person is required by law to perform in place of that service;
(d) any labor required during any period when Uganda is at war or in case of any emergency or calamity which threatens the life and well-being of the community, to the extent that the requiring of the labor is reasonably justifiable in the circumstances of any situation arising or existing during the period or as a result of the emergency or calamity, for the purpose of dealing with that situation; or
(e) any labor reasonably required as part of reasonable and normal communal or other civic obligations.
29. Protection of freedom of conscience, expression, movement, religion, assembly and association
(1) Every person shall have the right to—
(a) freedom of speech and expression, which shall include freedom of the press and other media;
(b) freedom of thought, conscience and belief which shall include academic freedom in institutions of learning;
(c) freedom to practice any religion and manifest such practice which shall include the right to belong to and participate in the practices of any religious body or organization in a manner consistent with this Constitution;
(d) freedom to assemble and to demonstrate together with others peacefully and unarmed and to petition; and
(e) freedom of association which shall include the freedom to form and join associations or unions, including trade unions and political and other civic organizations.
(2) Every Ugandan shall have the right—
(a) to move freely throughout Uganda and to reside and settle in any part of Uganda;
(b) to enter, leave and return to, Uganda; and
(c) to a passport or other travel document.
34. Rights of children
(1) Subject to laws enacted in their best interests, children shall have the right to know and be cared for by their parents or those entitled by law to bring them up.
(2) A child is entitled to basic education which shall be the responsibility of the State and the parents of the child.
(3) No child shall be deprived by any person of medical treatment, education or any other social or economic benefit by reason of religious or other beliefs.
37. Right to culture and similar rights
Every person has a right as applicable to belong to, enjoy, practice, profess, maintain and promote any culture, cultural institution, language, tradition, creed or religion in community with others.
71. Multi-party political system
(1) A political party in the multi-party political system shall conform to the following principles—
(a) every political party shall have a national character;
(b) membership of a political party shall not be based on sex, ethnicity, religion, or other sectional division;
Fourth Schedule: Oaths
Oath of Allegiance
I, _____________, swear in the name of the Almighty God/solemnly affirm that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to the Republic of Uganda and that I will preserve, protect and defend the Constitution. [So help me God.]
Oath of President/Vice President
I, _____________, swear in the name of the Almighty God/solemnly affirm that I shall faithfully exercise the functions of the President/Vice President of Uganda and shall uphold, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution and observe the laws of Uganda and that I shall promote the welfare of the people of Uganda. [So help me God.]
I, _____________, swear in the name of the Almighty God/solemnly affirm that I will well and truly exercise the judicial functions entrusted to me and will do right to all manner of people in accordance with the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda as by law established and in accordance with the laws and usage of the Republic of Uganda without fear or favor, affection or ill will. >[So help me God.]
Speaker/Deputy Speaker’s Oath
I, _____________, swear in the name of the Almighty God/solemnly affirm that I will at all times well and truly serve the Republic of Uganda in the Office of Speaker/Deputy Speaker and that I will support and uphold the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda as by law established. [So help me God.]
Oath of Prime Minister
I, _____________, being appointed Prime Minister of Uganda swear in the name of the Almighty God/solemnly affirm that I will at all times well and truly serve the Republic of Uganda in the office of Prime Minister, and I will support and uphold the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda as by law established; and that I will to the best of my judgment at all times when required, freely give my counsel and advice to the President of Uganda and his/her successors in office as by law established for the good management of the public affairs of the Republic of Uganda; and that I will not directly or indirectly reveal any matter as shall come to my knowledge in the discharge of my duties and committed to my secrecy. [So help me God.]
Oath of Minister
I, _____________, being appointed a Minister of Uganda swear in the name of the Almighty God/solemnly affirm that I will at all times well and truly serve the Republic of Uganda in the office of a Minister; and that I will support and uphold the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda as by law established; and that I will to the best of my judgment at all times when required, freely give my counsel and advice to the President of Uganda and his/her successors in office as by law established for the good management of the public affairs of the Republic of Uganda; and that I will not directly or indirectly reveal any matter as shall come to my knowledge in the discharge of my duties and committed to my secrecy. [So help me God.]
Oath of Member of Parliament
I, _____________, swear in the name of the Almighty God/solemnly affirm that I will give faithful service to this Parliament and support and uphold the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda as by law established. [So help me God.]
Oath of Secretary to the Cabinet
I, _____________, being called upon to exercise the functions of Secretary to the Cabinet of Uganda swear in the name of the Almighty God/solemnly affirm that I will not directly or indirectly reveal such matters as shall be debated by the Cabinet and committed to my secrecy. [So help me God.]
Fifth Schedule: Regional Governments
3. Committees of the regional assembly
(1) A regional assembly may establish standing and other committees or organs for the efficient discharge of its functions.
(2) The representatives of cultural interests shall constitute the standing committee on cultural matters.
(3) The standing committee on cultural matters shall have, as against the rest of the members of the regional assembly, exclusive jurisdiction on the cultural matters of the region.
(4). In this paragraph "cultural matters" include the following—
(a) the choice and installation of a traditional leader or cultural leader;
(b) all traditional and cultural matters relating to the traditional cultural leader and to the institutions of the traditional leader or cultural leader as well as royal members of the traditional leadership;
(c) the choice, appointment and succession to clan and subclan leadership;
(d) clan, traditional and customary matters;
1. Data under the "Features of Constitution" heading are drawn from coding of the U.S. State Department's 2008 International Religious Freedom Reports conducted by researchers at the Association of Religion Data Archives. The article by Brian Grim and Roger Finke describes the coding of the International Religious Freedom reports. A dataset with these and the other international measures highlighted on the country pages can be downloaded from this website. Used with permission.
2. The constitutional excerpts shown above are reproduced from the websites given in the "Source" field; the links to these websites were active as of May 2011. Where the constitutional text shown on these websites was provided in a language other than English, this text was translated to English by ARDA staff with assistance from web-based translation utilities such as Google Translate and Yahoo! Babel Fish. Constitutional text was converted to American English where applicable. Constitutional clauses were judged to contain religious content based largely on the standards used in the construction of the Religion and State Constitutions Dataset collected by Jonathan Fox. Emphases were added to the text by ARDA staff to highlight religious content in articles that also contain content that does not pertain to matters of religion. The data on this page were correct to the best of the knowledge of the ARDA as of the date listed in the "Current as of" field shown above. Please contact us at firstname.lastname@example.org if you are aware of any incorrect information provided on this page.