Kampala— Uganda has renewed its call for a peaceful resolution of conflicts in the Middle East, reaffirming its position that the region’s competing political, security and identity questions should be addressed through peaceful means and within the framework of international law.
In a statement issued on 21 September 2026, the Government of Uganda said it continued to call for peaceful resolution of conflicts in the region and reiterated its opposition to wars that it considers unjust.
The statement comes as Uganda continues to articulate its positions on international peace and security through diplomatic and multilateral engagements. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has in recent days also emphasised the importance of regional cooperation, conflict prevention and addressing the cross-border effects of conflicts beyond national boundaries.
At the centre of the statement is Uganda’s call for an approach that recognises both the State of Israel and the rights of Palestinians to have their own state. The Government stated: “We appeal to all concerned to accept the State of Israel and the rights of the Palestinians to have their own State.”
Uganda characterised the unresolved nature of the Israeli-Palestinian question as one of the sources of continuing complications in the region, arguing that the failure of different actors to handle the issue in a just manner has contributed to the persistence of the conflict.
The formulation places Uganda’s position within a diplomatic framework that addresses the rights and political aspirations of both Israelis and Palestinians rather than treating the conflict solely through a security lens. For Uganda, the question is therefore not only about the cessation of hostilities but also about addressing the underlying political issues that have remained central to the conflict.
The statement also addressed the question of nuclear energy, drawing a distinction between its peaceful uses and the broader security concerns surrounding nuclear capabilities. “The issue of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes,” the Government stated, “should be handled according to international law.”
The reference introduces another dimension to Uganda’s position: that questions involving nuclear technology and energy should be governed by established international legal principles rather than treated exclusively as matters of geopolitical confrontation.
This is consistent with Uganda’s broader diplomatic engagement through multilateral institutions, where questions of international peace, security, disarmament and the application of international law remain important areas of discussion.
The statement further turned to the role of religious and identity divisions in conflicts, explicitly referring to different religious communities in the Middle East, including Jews, Christians, Sunni Muslims and Shia Muslims.
Uganda argued that the politics of identity could have destabilising consequences when ethnicity or religion becomes the primary basis for political mobilisation. The Government described such politics as: “an ideological and strategic blunder and a poison for any situation.” It further connected this concern to Africa’s own historical experience, stating: “Some countries in Africa, including Uganda in the past, have been ruined by this poison.”
The reference reflects an argument that Uganda’s own historical experience provides a basis for caution against political systems or conflicts in which ethnic or religious identity becomes the principal organising principle of political competition. The statement on the Middle East comes against the background of Uganda’s broader emphasis on multilateral cooperation and regional approaches to international challenges.
Earlier in September, Uganda called for stronger regional cooperation in addressing the interconnected political, security, humanitarian and climate challenges affecting the Horn of Africa. Speaking at the 74th Extraordinary Session of the IGAD Council of Ministers in Djibouti, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs in charge of Regional Affairs, Hon. Haruna K. Kasolo, argued that transnational challenges require collective regional responses. Uganda also urged IGAD member states to examine the spillover effects of the conflict in the Middle East on the Horn of Africa and the wider subregion.
This provides an important regional context to Kampala’s latest statement. Rather than viewing Middle Eastern conflicts as geographically confined, Uganda’s recent diplomatic messaging has highlighted the potential consequences of conflicts for neighbouring regions and international systems.
Uganda’s latest statement therefore brings together several strands of its foreign-policy messaging: peaceful settlement of conflicts, respect for international law, recognition of Palestinian statehood alongside Israel’s existence, regulation of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, and caution against identity-based political mobilisation.
The statement does not set out a detailed diplomatic roadmap for resolving the Middle East conflicts. Instead, it establishes principles that Uganda says should guide the international response. As Uganda continues its engagement in regional and multilateral diplomacy, the Middle East remains part of a wider foreign-policy environment in which Kampala is also advocating regional cooperation, conflict prevention and stronger multilateral mechanisms for addressing transnational challenges.
For Uganda, the central message is that durable peace requires more than managing individual confrontations. It requires addressing political grievances, respecting international law and avoiding forms of identity politics that can deepen divisions within and between societies.
