Adrian Jjuuko
Uganda

Adrian Jjuuko is a Ugandan human rights lawyer, researcher, and activist, with twelve years of experience. He is the founder and executive director of Human Rights Awareness and Promotion Forum (HRAPF), an organization that operates the only specialized legal aid clinic for LGBTI persons in Uganda, and advocates for legal change in favor of marginalized groups. Adrian coordinated the Civil Society Coalition on Human Rights and Constitutional Law, which led civil society opposition to Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill, 2009, and for this, won the U.S. State Department’s Human Rights Defenders Award 2011. Adrian successfully opened the door for LGBTI persons and other marginalized groups to access Uganda’s Equal Opportunities Commission through a successful legal challenge. In recognition of his work, he received the Vera Chirwa Award 2016 from the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, and he was the first runner-up for the European Union’s Human Rights Defenders Award 2017. Adrian holds an LLM in Human Rights and Democratization in Africa from the University of Pretoria, and he is currently pursuing his LLD at the same university. Upon completion of the Mandela Washington Fellowship, he expects to generate more knowledge on LGBTI rights in Uganda and to continue using the law to enable effective protection of LGBTI persons.