In response to growing regional challenges in migration and protection, a new EU-funded project, contracted by ICMPD and under the Migration and Mobility Dialogue Support Programme (MMD) is bringing together organisations from South Africa and Uganda to strengthen asylum processes and access to rights. 

This project, titled Enhance Protection and Asylum: A South-South Dialogue to Advocate for Improved Protection, Asylum Process, Rights Realisation, and Access to Services and Durable Solutions (EPA) brings together key partners from South Africa and Uganda. These include the Scalabrini Centre of Cape Town (SCCT), the Consortium for Refugees and Migrants in South Africa (CoRMSA), the Scalabrini Institute for Human Mobility in Africa (SIHMA), Jesuit Refugee Service Uganda (JRS), and the Catholic Centre for Legal Aid Services (CCLAS) in Uganda. 

Through the EPA project, all partners will engage in a collaborative South-South dialogue that aims to strengthen access to asylum and rights realisation for people who are asylum seekers and refugees, including children on the move, in both countries. The project focuses on comparing and analysing legal frameworks, strengthening national and cross-border networks, and formulating practical, joint policy recommendations to improve protection and service delivery systems. 

At the centre of the initiative is the South-South Dialogue Conference, which will convene civil society organisations, refugee-led groups, legal experts, and government stakeholders from South Africa and Uganda. The first conference is taking place on 6 – 7 August in Kampala, Uganda.  

The conference will provide a platform to: 

• Introduce the MMD project to relevant stakeholders and strengthen existing networks and consortia to improve asylum access and rights realisation for asylum seekers and refugees; 

• Enhance knowledge and information sharing; 

• Conduct dialogues and formulate joint policy recommendations based on the findings of the comparative research on Ugandan and South African legal frameworks for asylum processes; 

• Develop a strengthened service and advocacy pathway for asylum protection in Uganda and South Africa, including for children on the move. 

Expected outcomes of the project include enhanced regional collaboration, a deeper understanding of refugee rights and protection challenges in both contexts and strengthened strategies to ensure access to asylum processes and services.