Understanding Legal Rights of Mining Host Communities in Uganda.

Across Uganda, communities living in mineral-rich areas such as Busia, Karamoja and Mubende are increasingly encountering mining operations. As per the Uganda’s vision 2040, mining is a source of employment, infrastructure and local economic development. But it raises difficult questions: Who makes decisions about mining activities? What information are communities entitled to receive? What happens when people's land or livelihoods are affected? And what can communities do when mining activities harm their environment or infringe their rights? These are not merely questions of policy. They are questions of law, rights and justice.

Mineral Ownership in Uganda: Who Owns Uganda’s Minerals? 

What happens when valuable minerals are discovered beneath your land or around your community? The most common misconception in mining areas is that owning or living on the land automatically means owning the minerals beneath it.  

National Objective and Directive Principle of State Policy XIII of the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda, 1995 (as amended) provides that Uganda's natural resources, including minerals, are held and protected by the State on behalf of the people of Uganda. The Government may therefore grant licences for the exploration and extraction of minerals.

However, State ownership of minerals does not mean that host communities lose their land rights. Throughout the lifecycle of mining projects, host communities retain important constitutional and statutory rights, including the right to information, fair compensation, a clean and healthy environment, meaningful participation in decisions that affect them, and access to justice where their rights are violated: 

Uganda's legal framework provides important protections for communities affected by mining operations. This blog explores the key rights of mining host communities as provided for under the law. 

1. The right to know: Access to information

Imagine living next to a mining operation but not knowing what licence the company holds, what environmental assessment was conducted, what conditions the company is required to comply with or what commitments were made to the community.

Article 41 of the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda 1995 (as amended) provides that every citizen has the right of access to information in the possession of the State or any other public body, except where disclosure would prejudice national security or the privacy of another person. At the international level, Principle 10 Rio Declaration on Environment and Development 1992, recognizes that environmental issues are best addressed when people have access to information, can participate in decision-making, and have access to justice.

Information is not simply a document sitting in a government office or a company’s office. It is a tool that enables communities to participate meaningfully in decisions affecting their land, livelihoods and environment. Communities may need access to documents such as mining licences, Environmental and Social Impact Assessment reports, environmental audit reports, compensation frameworks and Resettlement Action Plans. Access to such information enables communities to understand proposed and ongoing mining activities and to hold companies and public authorities accountable. Meaningful participation is difficult when people do not have the information they need.

2. The right to own property and fair compensation

Mining activities involve acquisition or use of land to establish infrastructure and support mineral production. Article 26 of the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda 1995 (as amended) provides that every person has a right to own property either individually or in association with others and no person shall be compulsorily deprived of property or any interest in or right over property of any description except where the acquisition is necessary for public use or prompt payment of fair and adequate compensation has been made.

Accordingly, persons whose property or livelihoods are affected by mining activities are entitled to fair and prompt compensation for the losses they suffer. Compensation should also take into account the actual impacts of displacement and loss of livelihoods. For a farming household, losing land means losing food production, income, cultural connections and a source of security for future generations.

Compensation remains a significant source of grievance in mining communities. Communities in areas such as Mawero in Busia and parts of Karamoja have reported concerns including inadequate or delayed compensation, lack of access to valuation information and displacement without clear resettlement arrangements.  Addressing these concerns is essential not only for protecting property rights but also for fostering trust, preventing conflict, and ensuring that mineral development is undertaken in a manner that is both equitable and socially responsible.

3. Right to a Clean and Healthy Environment. 

Communities living near mining operations should not choose between economic development and a Clean and Healthy Environment. Article 39 of Uganda's Constitution guarantees the right to a clean and healthy environment for all Ugandans and as such mining activities should not expose host communities to environmental harm such as water contamination, air pollution, excessive noise and vibrations, unsafe excavation pits or land degradation. 

The Mining and Minerals Act, Cap. 159 under Section 225 also contains safeguards relating to the protection of water resources, health and safety in mining operations and requires the mineral right holder to put in place environmental management systems in accordance with the National Environment Act. 

These safeguards underscore an important principle that mineral development must not come at the expense of public health, environmental integrity, or the well-being of affected communities and therefore, where a mineral rights holder violates the right to a clean and healthy environment, affected persons have the right to demand corrective action and accountability from both developers and regulatory authorities.

4. Right to Consultation and Participation. 

Host communities have a right to meaningfully participate in decisions affecting their environment, livelihoods and future. Participation should go beyond attending meetings or signing attendance sheets. For participation to be meaningful, Communities must receive clear and timely information, have adequate time to consider proposals, express their concerns and have a genuine opportunity to influence decisions.

Section 5 of the National Environment Act (Cap. 181) recognises public participation as a core principle of environmental management. Part XVI of the Mining and Minerals Act, Cap. 159 provides for community engagement in the mining sector.  Section 227(1) of the same Act further requires mining companies to assist communities affected by their mining operations to promote sustainable development for example, the development of Community Development Agreements (CDAs) with primary host communities which provide a framework for commitments on issues such as employment, infrastructure, environmental management and social services. For CDAs to promote fairness and accountability, communities must be involved not only in signing the agreement but also in monitoring its implementation. Meaningful participation should therefore continue throughout the mining project’s lifecycle, ensuring that community priorities remain part of decisions affecting their lives and resources.

5. Right to seek Remedy 

What happens when these rights are violated?

Where mining activities result in environmental harm, displacement, loss of property or other violations, affected persons may seek redress through Courts, administrative actions to relevant authorities such as the National Environment Management Authority, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development among others. 

International Instruments also provides avenues for seeking accountability beyond domestic mechanisms both at regional and international levels such as the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the United Nations Human Rights Committee among others.

For host communities, however, accessing these mechanisms can be challenging. Legal processes may be expensive, technical and difficult to navigate. This makes legal awareness, access to information and support from civil society organisations important.

Mining development must also be about justice

The success of the mining sector should not be measured only by how much gold, copper or other minerals are extracted or how much revenue is generated. We should also ask: Who benefits? Who bears the costs? Whose voices are heard? And what happens when people's rights are violated?

Mining host communities are key stakeholders in the development process with the right to access information, participation, fair compensation, a clean and healthy environment, and access to justice when their rights are violated. There is therefore, a need to move these rights from the pages of the law into the lived reality of communities through collective enforcement of mining and environmental laws, meaningful implementation of Community Development Agreements, increased legal awareness among others.

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The blog post has been produced as part of the 2026 Bertha Challenge Fellowship.