Effective August 3, 2020, the Family Division of the High Court will handle all inter-country adoption matters in Uganda. On August 19, 2020, the Government of Uganda’s Ministry of Gender, Labour, and Social Development forwarded to the U.S. Embassy in Kampala a copy of a Ministry of Justice Circular, dated August 3, 2020 (Circular), regarding significant changes to inter-country adoption procedures recently instituted by the Principal Judge of the High Court. The Principal Judge instructed all High Court circuits to immediately cease handling inter-country adoption cases and to transfer such cases to the Family Division of the High Court.  Going forward, the head of the Family Division, in consultation with the Principal Judge, will assign two judges in the Family Division to handle all inter-country adoptions. 

If you have questions about this notice, please contact the Department of State’s Office of Children’s Issues via email at adoption@state.gov. Please continue to monitor our website for updates on adoptions in Uganda.