Uganda has made a compelling appeal for accelerated extradition frameworks and enhanced evidence-sharing mechanisms to prevent international criminals from exploiting legal loopholes between national justice systems.
Speaking at the 15th United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice on Sunday, Uganda’s Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Norbert Mao, emphasized that contemporary threats—including organized crime, terrorism, cybercrime, human trafficking, and money laundering—require an urgently coordinated global response.
“No country can confront these challenges alone,” Mao stated, highlighting that Uganda places paramount importance on mutual legal assistance and streamlined information-sharing to ensure its borders “do not become sanctuaries for transnational crime.”
Addressing delegates in Abu Dhabi, Mao outlined Uganda’s multi-pronged approach to domestic security and legal reform. The nation is currently developing a comprehensive National Strategy Against Transnational Organised Crime. This framework aims to map the country’s primary criminal markets and threat groups while actively addressing the socio-economic vulnerabilities that foster illegal activities.
Mao stressed that enforcement alone is insufficient for lasting community safety. “Our response, therefore, must go beyond punitive measures to address the social and economic conditions that foster vulnerability to crime,” he noted, calling for integrated gender perspectives in crime prevention and a zero-tolerance approach to impunity for gender-based violence.
Highlighting progress within the domestic justice sector, Mao reported that Uganda has recorded a consecutive decline in crime rates over the past three years, alongside a 75% conviction rate achieved by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
With criminal enterprises increasingly migrating online, Mao urged governments to leverage digital tools while rigorously safeguarding fundamental human rights. Emphasizing international cooperation in cyberspace, he pointed to Uganda’s commitment to global frameworks, noting that the country signed the UN Convention against Cybercrime in Hanoi in October 2025.
