Africa
Source tier A. Conventions checked 2026-07-29.
Drug and firearms law in Uganda: statutes on record and in force
Uganda, in Africa, is party to all four of the instruments tracked here, the last of them since 2005. It appears on neither FATF list. Its legislation on record runs to 2 confirmed instruments, the earliest from 1993. Every line below carries the source it came from and the date that source was read.
International framework
Uganda is bound by all four instruments this dataset tracks, the earliest from 1990 and the most recent from 2005.
| Instrument | Adopted | Ratified or acceded | Depositary reference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 Convention | 1988 | 20 Aug 1990 | Chapter VI-19 |
| UNTOC | 2000 | 9 Mar 2005 | Chapter XVIII-12 |
| UNCAC | 2003 | 9 Sep 2004 | Chapter XVIII-14 |
| Firearms Protocol | 2001 | 9 Mar 2005 | Chapter XVIII-12-c |
What each instrument obliges a party to do is set out once, per instrument, in the conventions reference. The dates above are what is specific to Uganda: they are the points from which each obligation began to bind, taken from the depositary's own status tables.
National legislation
The following instruments have been confirmed against a citable national source. Titles are given as enacted and are not translated.
Firearms (Amendment) Act 2006 — An amending instrument in the firearms control legislation, which is where the operative text of an older act is usually found. Confirmed against mia.go.ug, checked 2026-07-30.
1993 National Drug Policy and Authority Act — A principal drug control instrument, carrying the 1988 Convention's trafficking and confiscation obligations into domestic law. Confirmed against the UNODC legal library, checked 2026-07-30.
Enforcement authorities
One body is named in the record for Uganda, each confirmed on Uganda's own government domain. Which body holds a mandate matters in practice: a customs administration can stop a consignment at the frontier, a police service can investigate inland, and only a prosecuting authority can bring the charge.
| Body | Function | Confirmed on |
|---|---|---|
| Director of Public Prosecutions | prosecution | dpp.go.ug |
Ratification sequence
The dates below are worth reading as a sequence rather than as a set. Uganda came to these instruments over 15 years, beginning with the 1988 Convention in 1990 and ending with the Firearms Protocol in 2005. Measured against each instrument's own adoption, the shortest gap was the UNCAC at 1 year, the longest the UNTOC at 5.
Uganda became a party to the 1988 Convention in 1990, 2 years after it was adopted — faster than the median lag of 5 years across this dataset.
A complete treaty position assembled over decades is not the same as one assembled at once. For the 14 years between 1990 and 2004, Uganda was bound by the 1988 Convention but not yet by the UNCAC, the UNTOC or the Firearms Protocol. The practical effect is on what could be charged, and on what could be confiscated, in the years before the later instruments arrived.
On coverage, Uganda is one of 81 jurisdiction s here party to 4 of the four, against 81 party to all four. Within Africa the dataset holds 53 jurisdictions, of which 6 are currently under FATF increased monitoring.
Financial-crime monitoring
As of the FATF plenary statements of 2026-06-19, Uganda is recorded as Not listed . A jurisdiction can enter or leave either list at any plenary, so this line is dated rather than settled. The mechanics of listing and delisting are on the FATF grey list tracker.
Questions about drug and firearms law in Uganda
Which drug-control conventions has Uganda ratified?
All four: the 1988 Convention on 20 Aug 1990, the UNTOC on 9 Mar 2005, the UNCAC on 9 Sep 2004, the Firearms Protocol on 9 Mar 2005.
Is Uganda on the FATF grey list?
No. Uganda appears on neither the increased-monitoring list nor the call-for-action list in the FATF statements of 19 June 2026.
What national drug legislation is on record for Uganda?
Firearms (Amendment) Act 2006, confirmed against mia.go.ug; 1993 National Drug Policy and Authority Act, confirmed against the UNODC legal library.
Which register confirms the legislation on this page?
Each instrument names its own. For Uganda that is mia.go.ug, the UNODC legal library. The entries link straight to the document, so the wording can be checked rather than taken on trust.
What is source tier A, and why is this record in it?
Tier A means a national instrument has been confirmed against an official register — for Uganda, 2 of them. The treaty dates and the listing status are separately sourced, so all three layers of this record carry a citation.
Why does the ratification date matter?
The date is the point from which the obligations bind. Uganda's earliest of these commitments dates from 1990, its most recent from 2005; the gap between them is a rough measure of how long the framework took to assemble.
Sources
- Ratification dates: United Nations Treaty Collection, depositary status tables (chapters VI-19, XVIII-12, XVIII-14, XVIII-12-c). Checked 2026-07-29.
- Listing status: FATF, Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring and High-Risk Jurisdictions subject to a Call for Action, 2026-06-19.
- Firearms (Amendment) Act 2006: mia.go.ug, checked 2026-07-30.
- 1993 National Drug Policy and Authority Act: the UNODC legal library, checked 2026-07-30.