ESG Litigation Guide

The Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) landscape in Uganda is still in its infancy, however, the increasing global pressure on corporates and governments continues to drive a corporate and regulatory response to ESG issues. This has seen commitments from the Central Bank to work with financial institutions to promote ESG standards toward sustainable finance, which is expected to have a knock-on effect elsewhere. Uganda faces mounting economic and political pressure over ongoing human rights violations, in particular in relation to its controversial anti-LGBTQ laws. While there have been some notable ESG cases in the past few years, particularly in relation to environmental litigation, the wheels of justice turn slowly. The ESG litigation landscape in Uganda faces continued challenges due to limited resources, enforcement gaps and a need for greater public awareness and education and, as such, NGOs tend to be the main drivers of ESG litigation in Uganda. Recourse has even been sought outside of Ugandan courts in relation to ESG issues affecting the country, such as through enforcement actions in the East African Court of Justice and in foreign jurisdictions, such as France. While the global focus on ESG issues continues to rise, it is expected that civil litigation for ESG issues will also continue to increase in Uganda.