Diana Maria Asiimire2026-08-192026-08-192026-05-25https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12311/3546UndergraduateUganda's refugee policy is open based on the Refugees Act 2006 and the Refugee Regulations 2010 and has become internationally recognized as one of the most progressive refugee protection policies in Africa. Uganda has become a leading example of a development-oriented approach to humanitarian action by giving refugees the right to freedom of movement, employment, access to land and access to services. However, the human security of host communities is significantly and under researched and is highly precarious due to the competition for resources, weak governance and diminishing international support. This study looks at the implications of the open-door refugee policy on humanitarian leadership structures and human security of host communities in Uganda's oldest and largest refugee settlement Nakivale Refugee Settlement in Isingiro District, Western Uganda with an estimated population of 100,000 refugees from more than 10 countries. The study uses a qualitative secondary data analysis methodology with a systematic literature review and thematic synthesis approach to examine 5 research questions on humanitarian leadership, host community security, governance and resource allocation, role of the Government of Uganda and refugee-led organizations' contributions and draws lessons from peer-reviewed scholarship, UNHCR operational data, government policy reports and institutional assessments published between2015 and 2025.The study draws on the framework of Human Security Theory as presented by the United Nations Development Programme (1994) and developed by the Commission on Human Security (2003) to examine the experiences of the host communities in seven areas economic, food, health, personal, community and political security. The results indicate that although there is the concept of an open-door policy, it has created a formally progressive governance architecture, there are significant gaps in its implementation at the ground level from policy intentions to policy implementation. Institutional trust was undermined and social cohesion was weakened after the 2018 corruption scandal in refugee assistance. Host communities bear the brunt of the environmental and socio-economic effects of the conflict such as land dispossession without compensation, degradation of natural resources and unequal access to humanitarian services and are largely excluded from decision making. International burden sharing deficits remain to erode the model's sustainability. In parallel, refugee-led organizations and community-based activities are becoming vital, albeit with limiting structures, in addressing gaps in service provision and promoting social cohesion. The research finds that durable refugee protection and safety are not mutually exclusive objectives of the host community. Structural changes to land governance, better accountability systems, fair distribution of resources, and meaningful participation of host communities and refugee-driven institutions in land governance are necessary to achieve sustainable humanitarian outcomes in Nakivale. The results have implications for the Office of the Prime Minister of Uganda, UNHCR, the Norwegian Refugee Council and other international partners who wish to build the bedrock of Uganda's humanitarian leadership model. The key words are open-door refugee policy, humanitarian leadership, human security, host communities, Nakivale Refugee Settlement, Uganda, thematic synthesis, governance, burden-sharing.enDissertation