The TJ Quiz is an educational programme designed to connect youth from different parts of northern Uganda to build a critical mass around peace building with a special interest in transitional justice in an effort to harness the energy, imagination and initiative of northern Uganda’s youth in promoting a culture of peace. This initiative arose from the realisation that the intensity and impact of conflict on young people is often looked at from a secondary point of view yet young people in actual sense play very primary roles in either sustaining and/or ending a conflict. We at JRP therefore feel that this is a time for the young people in northern Uganda to start voicing and addressing the underlying impacts of the conflict on the younger generation including cross ethnic dimensions of the conflict as they become community leaders in peace building, reconciliation and post conflict reconstruction.

Under the theme ‘Across Ethnic Boundaries’, the 2013 quiz competitions will target the participation of 40 schools from across West Nile, Acholi, Lango and Teso sub regions. The schools have been selected based on their experiences during the conflict in northern Uganda. During the quiz process, the students across the region will get the opportunity to share the different experiences of young people during the conflict, get updated with ongoing TJ related developments at national level and suggest strategies to incorporate young people in ongoing accountability, reconciliation and healing processes.

The JRP team visited the office of the District Education Officers who helped in the selection of participating schools, made courtesy calls to the office of the Local Council Five chairpersons, district councillors for youth and the secretaries for education in all the districts visited. The head teachers for the respective schools were enthusiastic about the quiz competitions and requested JRP to do more sensitisation on TJ related issues to the school administration and the district officials. As noted by the DEO of Adjumani District and re-echoed by the head teacher of Balla S.S, “We have been hearing about transitional justice from a distance but have never got the chance to really understand what it is.” They urged that resources allowing, JRP should conduct dialogues in all the participating schools in order to bring everyone on board.   

All the head teachers appreciated that working with young people requires a multi faceted approach with peace building being a central component and that, teachers alone cannot do it. Some schools like Mungula S.S lamented on how their school before the conflict was one of the giant schools to reckon with in the region but were greatly affected by the conflict as it was displaced and lost many of its students to death and abductions, some of whom are still missing up to date.

“It’s important to keep the youth busy with educative programmes like the TJ quiz competitions to avoid them from getting involved in irrelevant activities such as the now popular sports betting,” noted the hilarious head teacher of Adjumani S.S Mr Nobert Ben Oola. Though he had reservations on running programmes through competitions, he stressed sustainability of keeping the youth engaged and encouraged the JRP to continue with the programme even after the competitions have ended through dissemination of information.  

JRP will conduct an orientation workshop for all the participating school patrons who will in turn organise schools dialogues and preparations for their school teams this month of May 2013. Within the second term of the secondary schools calendar, the competitions will kick off with sub regional competitions and the winners at sub regional level will compete for the regional title. The winners of the 2012 quiz competitions; Pope John Paul VI will have the opportunity to defend their title in more exciting competitions this year under the theme ‘Across Ethnic Boundaries’. I wish the participating schools all the best.  

After decades of suffering and hoping for vindication, the people of Guatemala were relieved on 10^th of May 2013 when the Supreme Court convicted the former dictator Louis Raois Montt (1982-1983) for orchestrating crimes of genocide against ethnic Maya Ixil. The ruling was the state’s official acknowledgement that genocide occurred in the 36 year civil war that ended with peace accords in 1996. It was also the first time such a sentence for genocide was ever handed down against a former Latin American leader in his own country. The road to Justice for the Guatemalans was not a smooth one; it was dogged by legal technicalities that led to suspension of the trial for 12 days amid appeals which at times appeared to be headed for annulment. However, as belligerent as it was, the trial bore its desired fruits for the victims/survivors of mass violations.

This trial is a testament of how long international justice may take. Indeed we have witnessed the challenges faced by victims seeking redress for international crimes. Often it takes decades before they can obtain a sense of justice, the trial is then riddled with many legal technicalities which often delay the trial or result to either annulments or stay of proceedings.

This is very similar to our situation in northern Uganda. No one has been put on trial for atrocities committed to civilians in the war between the LRA and the government. The cases before the ICC are pending waiting for the capture of Joseph Kony, Dominic Ongwen and Okot Odhiambo. Since the establishment of the International Crimes Division of the High Court of Uganda no trial has commenced since the Kwoyelo case is suspended due to constitutionally raised issues. In a nutshell, the victims of this war feel like mainstream justice is useless.

However, the conviction of Rios Montt for crimes he committed decades ago, gives rise to hope that no matter how many years have passed, it is still possible to get justice. As human rights activists in Guatemala summed it as a historic moment for victims/survivors of a three decade brutal civil war, now they can feel a sense of Justice, the relief of having had a chance to be heard. This conviction is testimony that no matter the time it takes, justice is still a possibility and victims vigour is required at all times.

A man reads from the written documentation ‘Ododo pa Lukodi’ (stories of Lukodi) as part of the Community Led Documentation community outreach in Lukodi, Gulu district. 27 April 2013.

Last Saturday, JRP’s Documentation department attended a community outreach on community led documentation (CLD)  organised in the community of Lukodi in Gulu district.

Under Community Led Documentation, communities are given the tools to document their own history and experiences. The objective is to promote accurate, community owned documented material for future generations. Lukodi is the first community that the department is working with under the programme and was documented under ‘The Lukodi Massacre, Field Note XIII’ in August 2011.

The community outreach featured a presentation by the 21 members of the JRP assisted CLD team of a 26 page document written in Acholi as well drawings depicting experiences going back as far as the Idi Amin era. Following the presentation, the community members gave feedback and input on the steps forward for initiative.

Up to 150 community members attended the outreach.

Read more about the Lukodi massacre here.

See pictures of the event below.

By Nicole Söller

Slowly making their way across the crowded room, a dozen of cars try to carefully avoid bumping into one of the others.

Not real cars of course; each car is made up of two people, one person being the driver, the other being the car. With their eyes closed, the cars have to completely trust the drivers who direct them to go straight, left or right. As they switch roles after some time, the facilitators get to put themselves in the position of ‘the others’. As one participant highlighted: “When I was the driver, I was asking myself why the other person (the car) was going so slow. But when we switched positions, I noticed that it was actually a little bit scary.”

‘Beep beep!’ Facilitators ‘driving’ each other through the training hall

After a successful pilot with the Justice and Reconciliation Project (JRP) with two groups in 2012, our community theater partnership is scaling to work with 10 new groups in 2013. Community theater enables groups to explore conflicts, build empathy, and learn about processes of reconciliation.

Just as in the car trust building activity above, the process of story telling, an important part of the community theater project, requires patience, listening skills, and empathy from other group members towards the person who is sharing his or her experiences with the group.

In this process, people share stories of experiences they made during the conflict and of other issues they are currently facing in their communities. They might be stories which are uncomfortable to narrate, which are unheard, or which are simplified and need a better understanding. They can also be stories of remorse, apology and forgiveness, or stories of hope and strength.

Facilitators practice their acting skills in a performance about trauma

For this reason, 22 faciliators from 10 different GRG groups were brought together for a three-day workshop for community theater; each facilitator having been nominated by their group. They were trained in methods of planning and monitoring communty theater sessions, and how to create a performance that gives voice to the stories of the group members and which inspires the audience with visions for the future.

Facilitators learned about story-telling, and how to create a safe environment where group members feel comfortable to also share experiences with one another that are difficult to tell. The facilitators further learned different techniques to facilitate story telling. They drew time lines which chronologically illustrate one person’s experiences within a defined period. This will ultimately enable the different GRG groups to find out about similarities and differences between group members’ stories. Which stories are difficult to listen to? Can participants imagine themselves in the perspective of ‘the other’ (victim, ex-combatant, opposing clan, etc.) and feel empathy?

Facilitators learning how to make a timeline, using one of their own stories of conflict

First attempts of role plays and acting were accompanied by great excitement and participation. I must say, there are some true talents among our facilitators!

Other energizers and trust building activities rounded up this diverse workshop. All facilitators now feel able to build trust, motivate and guide group members through the different theater sessions.

Energizer and teambuilding activities!

After these intense and fun days, I cannot wait for the groups to start with their community theater sessions. It will be especially interesting to see which experiences and conflicts are shared and how this project will contribute to them growing together as a group.

What role can the ICC play in Uganda going forward? To address that question one must not only look at the actions of the ICC but also at the approaches or standards it seeks to advance. A key principle of the Rome Statute is complementarity—the ICC will only intervene if a state is unwilling or unable to pursue accountability in a way that meets the ICC’s standards. Some argue that other ICC standards, such as witness protection, reparations, or victim participation should also be promoted. Whether or not there are arrests, some states and civil society organizations will push for these standards to be met.

This policy report addresses the ICC’s approach to transitional justice and its past work in Uganda, based on conversations with victims of conflict and members of civil society. To identify major questions and concerns about the ICC from victims’ perspectives we convened focus group discussions (FGDs) in three communities that were particularly affected by the civil war: Barlonyo in Lango sub-region and Lukodi  and Palabek Kal in Acholi sub-region. P

In addition to these discussions, we interviewed members of 14 different civil society organizations that work extensively on transitional justice issues. These meetings were held in Soroti, Gulu, and Kampala. We also include a short column by the regional program officer of the Trust Fund for Victims (TFV) explaining its policies in Uganda.

Read the entire brief here: ICC Policy Brief (pdf).

http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/Insight/Govt-sowing-seeds-of-unrest-in-north/-/688338/1669830/-/caa5hfz/-/index.html

Sunday, January 20  2013

By Lino Owor Ogora

It is more than four years now since relative peace returned to northern Uganda, and close to two years since the last internally displaced persons’ camp was demolished. The people have now permanently returned to their homesteads, and are engaged in agriculture and other means of improving their livelihoods.

The Location, Identification and Respectful Burial of the Anonymous Victims of Mass Atrocities

Erin Jessee

In the aftermath of the 1994 Rwandan genocide in which an estimated 800,000 civilians – most of whom were members of the nation’s minority Tutsi population – were killed, a number of initiatives have been pursued in an effort to locate and rebury with respect the anonymous victims of the violence. In the months following the genocide, survivors frequently attempted to learn the locations where their missing family members had been killed, and then conducted nonscientific exhumations aimed at locating and reburying with respect any human remains that might be found.

Then, in 1995 and 1996, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) commissioned a series of scientific forensic investigations aimed at determining the criminal nature of massacres in Kigali and Kibuye. Finally, since 1996 the government of Rwanda is engaged in a program of exhuming the anonymous victims of the 1994 genocide and preserving their remains in local state-funded genocide memorials. Each of these initiatives has been driven by the realisation that the respectful reburial of the victims of the 1994 genocide is necessary to promote social reconstruction, and relieve the linger spiritual violence experienced by many Rwandans as a result of having been unable to bury and mourn their missing loved ones according to tradition.

Despite these good intentions, each of these initiatives has met with controversy. The forensic investigations commissioned by the ICTR involved minimal collaboration with the communities that hosted them, and as a result incorporated methods and mandates that proved distressing to survivors. In particular, survivors were distraught by the investigation’s legal mandate that treated the bodies of the victims as forensic evidence and failed to recognise and address the survivors’ needs for definitive identifications and respectful reburial of the victims. To make matters worse, the team’s findings were later contested on the grounds that the methods used by the investigators were not scientifically rigorous enough to support the conclusions. The resulting evidence was dismissed, resulting in a potential miscarriage of justice.

Meanwhile, survivors’ independent efforts to locate and rebury their missing has been restricted by the government of Rwanda – the concern being those gravesites on family land might not be maintained in a manner that reflects their status as victims of the 1994 genocide. The Rwandan government is adamant that the 1994 genocide be properly commemorated, and has implemented a law that requires that all victims be reburied at a local state-funded genocide memorial where they can be honored indefinitely. However, these memorials are graphic – frequently containing displays of human remains that prove distressing to survivors – and typically fail to acknowledge the specific individuals who were murdered.

As a result, the memorials are not widely supported by the communities that host them. Conversely, there is substantial evidence that these memorials are contributing to the maintenance of ethnic and political tensions among Rwandans, many of whom argue that memorials have been created – not to honor the victims of the 1994 genocide – but to help legitimise the RPF’s claim to power in Rwanda. Likewise, the memorials contribute to the ongoing emotional distress of the survivors, many of whom believe that they are haunted by the angry spirits of those loved ones who died and were buried anonymously, or whose remains have been placed on display at the memorials. For these reasons, the idea of humanitarian exhumations aimed at identifying and reburying the victims of the 1994 genocide is widely supported among survivors.

While the historical, political, and cultural circumstances surrounding the 1994 Rwandan genocide are vastly different from the mass atrocities endured by the people of Northern Uganda, there are nonetheless a number of lessons that might be learned from examining post-genocide Rwanda. First, in the aftermath of mass atrocities, the identification of the anonymous dead is often as important as their respectful reburial according to the wishes of individuals. Without positive identification, many survivors continue to fear that their missing loved ones have yet to be located, and may experience lingering physical and mental illnesses. Under the circumstances, it becomes impossible for survivors to recover from the harm they have experienced surrounding the disappearance of their loved ones.

Second, any efforts aimed positively identifying the victims of mass atrocities must be organised and implemented in collaboration with survivors to ensure that the mandates and methods used are culturally and politically appropriate. Ideally, such efforts should be treated as a capacity-building exercise in which willing members of the community are trained to assist and perhaps even eventually take control of the identification efforts, whether based on DNA evidence or associated personal effects to ensure the survivors’ needs are not overwhelmed by legal or political agendas.

Third, nationalised mourning and commemoration must be approached with the understanding that people have differing interpretations of mass atrocities, and therefore may not unanimously support the mandatory incorporation of the bodies of the missing into state-funded memorials, particularly if those memorials are not sensitive to local spiritual, political, and historical concerns. In the event of positive identifications, surviving family members should have the right to determine how their deceased loved ones are buried and where. While nationalised commemoration is often perceived to be an essential and beneficial part of the transitional justice toolkit, the positive outcomes can only take shape if the surrounding communities are fully supportive of the form and function of the memorials. If some degree of consensus is not achieved, nationalised commemorative efforts risk having a negative impact on the communities in which they are initiated, contributing to the maintenance of powerful reservoirs of ethnic, political or social tensions.

 Finally in order for humanitarian exhumations aimed at locating, positively identifying, and reburying the anonymous victims of mass atrocities to take place, there must be genuine political support at the international and domestic levels. In post-genocide Rwanda, the government is the primary obstacle to humanitarian exhumations aimed at identifying and reburying with anonymous victims of the 1994 genocide. The government officials responsible for overseeing the creation and maintenance of the state-funded genocide memorials are committed to sensitising the Rwandan people, including survivors, to the need for nationalised commemoration of the 1994 genocide, and believe that in the long-term, they will be successful in this endeavor. Several international organisations and university-based forensic institutes are interested in assisting humanitarian exhumations, and many Rwandan survivors are supportive of such initiatives. However, without the support of the Rwandan government, the victims of the 1994 genocide will remain anonymous, and will continue to be incorporated into state-funded genocide memorials that do not have the support of the wider public. ▪

 Erin Jessee is a Banting Postdoctoral Fellow affiliated with the Liu Institute for Global Issues at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. She is an oral historian and cultural anthropologist who works primarily on post-genocide Rwanda. Her research interests include mass atrocities, nationalised commemoration, spiritual violence, transitional justice, mass grave exhumations, and the ethical and methodological challenges surrounding fieldwork amid highly politicised research settings. 

Kate Lonergan

In 1994, “Robert”, then 8 years old, was living in his uncle’s home.  Late one night, the LRA attacked the home and abducted Robert. As the rebels were taking him, Robert was forced to watch one of the commanders, who was scarcely older than himself, brutally beat and kill his uncle. For the first week of his captivity, Robert and the commander moved as part of the same battalion. Soon, though, they were separated.

Robert eventually escaped from the LRA in 1999 and found his way to a World Vision reception center in Gulu. A few weeks later, the same commander arrived at the reception center and was placed into Robert’s living group. One night, a quarrel between the two boys turned into death threats.

“Do you know who I am?” the commander yelled, “There are many spirits that disturb me. If they come to me now, I could just kill you!”

Robert, fearing the commander’s threats, went to a World Vision counselor for help. World Vision staff brought the two boys together and asked them each to tell their side of the story. The commander narrated the events of the night he abducted Robert and killed his uncle. The commander then explained that he threatened Robert in order to protect himself from retribution for that incident, and asked Robert to forgive him. Initially, Robert was very upset, but he later returned and said to the commander, “There is no talk, I have forgiven you. Let us live freely.”

Reflecting on this experience years later, Robert says, “The only way so that you forgive your friend, you the perpetrator should start showing forgiveness at first. This means that you the perpetrator should come guiltily and humbly before the person who felt the pain of that act.”

Robert, like many other youth and women across Northern Uganda, felt strongly that knowing the truth about the commander’s actions against his uncle was a necessary prerequisite for forgiveness and reconciliation.

Amidst the relative peace that Northern Uganda now enjoys, many former LRA combatants like Robert and the commander must grapple with the delicate process of reintegrating into their community. This already challenging process is further complicated by the fact that many ex-combatants committed atrocities against friends, family members, and neighbors throughout the LRA’s reign of terror. As was the case for Robert, many victims must interact daily with individuals who caused them or their family members serious harm. These constant reminders of conflict experiences often create significant underlying tension in community relationships. 

As part of an ongoing project on the experiences of women and youth with traditional justice practices, JRP’s Documentation department discussed current strategies for forgiveness, recovery and reconciliation with female and youth ex-combatants and victims of LRA attacks throughout the Acholi sub-region of Uganda. Through these discussions, we came to see the important role that truth-telling processes play in creating space for forgiveness and reconciliation at a local level in Northern Uganda.

Although almost all of our respondents expressed a strong desire for forgiveness and reconciliation, many cited the importance of an explicit exchange where the individual perpetrator requests forgiveness from the victim. Although both parties may live alongside each other without noticeable animosity, most people agreed that a clear apology was necessary in order to foster genuine forgiveness. As one woman reflected, “Such a person [who harmed me] should first of all beg for forgiveness from me…[w]hen a person admits and begs for forgiveness, there is nothing to stop me from forgiving such a person.”

Truth-telling comes as an important precursor to the process of admitting wrongdoing and asking for forgiveness. An individual must first explain and acknowledge his or her actions in order to ask for forgiveness.

Truth-telling also provides a way for ex-combatants to explain to victims the circumstances under which a crime occurred. This is particularly important in Northern Uganda, where abducted combatants were forced to commit terrible atrocities against their will. The process of declaring publically that they did not kill of their own free will is an important opportunity for the returned combatant to establish a positive identity separate from his or her actions during the conflict. One formerly abducted youth reflected, “Our voice can be heard when we unite with people in the community. When they start telling me about the bad things I did from the bush, then I tell them it was not my interest. The reason I did that, I was just like a messenger who is sent to go and do this.”

Much of the stigmatisation of returned LRA fighters stems from fear of their violent experiences during the conflict. An opportunity to establish the truth–that they were forced into violence and killing–helps to mitigate the fear of fellow community members that violence will recur in peace time.

While understanding that a crime was committed unwillingly will not lessen the painful memories or continuing struggle from the loss or injury, it can help improve victims’ relationship with the person who committed the crime. Hearing in detail how an LRA soldier was forced to kill can shift the blame from the individual to the organisation or commander who orchestrated the larger attack. This may allow the victim to forgive the individual who he or she must live and interact with in the community on a regular basis.

Of course, despite the integral role of truth-telling and apology in facilitating forgiveness, any truth-telling process must also address the potential negative consequences of sharing previously unknown details about horrific acts of violence committed during the conflict. As a formerly abducted youth in one community expressed, “If you see that there is abuse, you will not say all those things. […] There are some things I have never mentioned to anyone, not even my mother. If life gets more easy then I will say it, when fear disappears from my heart.” Without comprehensive support to combat stigmatization and facilitate positive relationships beyond the moment of truth-telling, a truth process carries the danger of further entrenching stigmatisation.

 Despite the potential challenges of exposing painful truths about atrocities committed during the conflict, a systematic and public truth-telling process is an important part of the transitional justice process in Northern Uganda. A public process would provide an essential catalyst for apology and forgiveness that must occur in order to foster genuine healing and reconciliation. Although truth-telling already happens within communities and between neighbors, those who come forward to tell the truth face significant challenges. There is often minimal support in the process of confronting the victim, especially for former combatants lacking the strong family support system that would traditionally be used to initiate a process of truth-telling and apology. Creating a platform to facilitate this process in a safe and structured way will encourage more people to feel comfortable sharing the truth about their conflict experiences, which in turn will allow more opportunities for apology, forgiveness, and healing. ▪

Kate Lonergan is an intern with JRP’s Documentation Department.

Truth telling and Family Reconciliation

By Isaac Okwir Odiya and Can-kara*

In 2012, Can-kara (not his real name) approached the Justice and Reconciliation Project in the hope that the organisation would be able to help provide a solution to a two-decade long family rift. Having searched and not found solutions in many places, he was unsure whether his family conflict would finally be resolved. This is his story, as told to JRP Project Officer Isaac Okwir Odiya.

 * Not his real name.

A man participates in a mato oput reconciliatory ceremony. Photo: JRP.

At the beginning of Northern conflict in 1986, guns were easily accessible by the local population as combatant of the fallen government were returning home with guns and rebels groups were forming up against the new Government of NRA. The access to guns and formation of rebel groups led to serious conflict in the region which affected many families including one in Palaro Owalo.

In Palarao Owalo, Palaro sub-county Gulu district, the war facilitated breaking the spirit of brotherhood in one family as two brother took advantage the easy access to guns created by the war to fight one another which led to loss of lives and eventual separation among family members and also destroyed strength of traditional leaders to resolve local conflict within community. The affected family is still living in conflict with each other following the atrocities of the two brothers. However effort is being put to restore the family glory in this post conflict recovery but community members are not sure whether the way forward will foster effective reconciliation as they see no truth in the reconciliation process. Truth-telling is seen to be lacking in resolving the conflict in Palaro Owalo as facts about the conflict is not investigated and mediators fear that encouraging discussion on the cause of the conflict will provoke further conflict and because of this, members of the community feel the mediation process may be futile if not revised.

This story features the plight of a family in Palaro Owalo, Palaro Sub County Gulu district that got torn apart at the start of the war and still struggling to come into terms with each other. Can-kara was attracted by JRP publications and posters that speak on the need for reconciliation among conflict affected community and he had to tell us the story about the conflict in their family as he sought for reconciliatory support.

Just like Labongo and Gipir separated over bead and spear that led to Labongo to cross the Nile and settled in present Alur land and Gipir to remain in present Acholi land, step brothers in Palaro Owalo separated over a woman whom they all intend to marry and each could not give up. In a normal circumstance, the women always decide the fate of two or more rivalling men and that is what happened as one man was rejected for his brother and that was injustice to the losing brother.

This incident happened at a time of transition of power in 1986 that brought the NRA Government to power which was protested by many Acholi as they took arm against the said Government. Guns were easily accessible since rebel factions were forming up and there was loose control over guns. Possession of guns by the two brothers turned their home into a battle field in which five people lost their lives as the two brothers rivalled over the woman. Can-kara is a maternal brother to the man who opened fire in revenge of being rejected by a woman which escalated into a family gun battle. The crimes committed by the two step brothers rested on their family members as Can-kara, whose brother started shooting first, was forced to evacuate his paternal home land and took refuge in Bweyale, Kiriandongo district since 1988. Many other people at home went missing in fear of further revenge.

The conflict weakened conflict resolution structures within the community such that members of conflict resolution committees were displace apart, others were killed some of them joined the war as combatants. Palaro Owalo has left without clear leadership structure to help rest some of the local conflict within their community.

Despite this, an initiative for reconciliation has been called to settle the standing conflict and resettle the exiled family members. To have a true reconciliation and resettlement of the parties in conflict, it requires local cultural leaders to mediate the reconciliation process and truth-telling to account for what happened as well as the performance of the right ritual practices. Can-kara and some community members are not convinced with the current effort to reconcile the two parties. To them, the initiative lacks competent personnel within the community to play reconciliatory role. Apparently, the effort is being mediated by the security personnel to the chief and not the chief himself while other local leaders such as Local Councillors and the office of the paramount chief are not aware of the initiative. In the mediation meeting, it was resolved that reconciliation ceremony should be done and the community members contribute to buy the required items for reconciliation ceremony which approach is unusual to them for reconciliation undertaking.

Can-kara and others complain that the mediation meeting did not involve all family members to the conflict and facts about the conflict were not established to enhance effective resolution of the conflict and sustainable resettlement of the exiled family and peaceful coexistence among them. It is important to establish facts about the conflict to find the root cause of the conflict and address the root cause. Facts finding will help inform future generation about what transpired and teach them to avoid repeat of such event. Above all, facts help to determine way forward for genuine reconciliation of the parties in conflict.

Can-kara, being the brother of the person who killed first, has been asked to host the reconciliation ceremony despite not having a shelter at home as he has been in hide-out since 1988. By asking all members of the community to contribute money for a reconciliation ceremony, he looks at it as a way of making him fail so that the blame is further levelled on him for failing to acquire the items needed as the host.

Can-kara also fears that the gun used during the bloodshed could still be at reach and used on them since the resolution initiative did not investigate those facts.

“How can I be sure of our security and peaceful coexistence among us when gaps are already seen in the reconciliation processes?” asked Can-kara. To him, the brain and the heart behind the reconciliation initiative is not the right one and he calls for any support to the initiative.

It is therefore important to observe a moment of truth-telling in any conflict resolution for effective peace building and to give a pointer for the purpose of reconciliation. Resolving a conflict without pointing out the truth of what happened is the same as covering fresh wound with scars which if opened, the pain still remain real to the holder. The social structure to enforce reconciliation in our society has been tempered with by the war and cultural values and practices have equally weakened during the war and most community lacks a sense of clear direction. The current generation of elders lacks a point of reference and the resources to facilitate reconciliation in the community which therefore calls for a commission in charge of reinstituting cultural value and practices to help the process of recovering the gaps created during the war.

It is also important for any conflict resolution committees to investigate facts about any conflict and used facts to build for the future being of their community and this can best be done using the local conflict resolution at the grass roots. ▪

By Tamara Shaya

JRP’s Gender Justice Team engaged in a variety of activities over the past few months, which have yielded great results.

Under the Ododo Wa (Our Stories) program, the Gender Justice Team developed personal history books for several formerly abducted women. The personal history books, which include the life story about a woman’s life before, during, and after abduction, are important assets to the women. Many formerly abducted women feel the need to document the experiences they faced so that their children and families understand their experiences and for women to remember events that took place while in captivity.

Likewise, under the auspices of Ododo Wa, the Gender Justice Team visited six storytelling groups with the purpose of having women discuss truth-telling and missing persons. Women performed dramas illustrating their perception of truth-telling and missing persons and engaged in different exercises, like ribbon of life, where women tied colored ribbons on a piece of cloth to symbolise various elements of the war. They also played several games to foster group unity. The storytelling sessions helped women understand the importance of transitional justice mechanisms and expanded their understanding of justice and reconciliation. The findings from this storytelling session, as well as information from other interviews and focus group discussions will be published by JRP.

In the last quarter, representatives from the Women’s Advocacy Network (WAN) engaged in community outreach sessions. The topic of the community outreach session was domestic violence, with different representatives from the Women’s Advocacy Network performing dramas, sharing their personal experience, and engaging in an open dialogue with members of the community. The purpose was to create awareness about the negative impacts of domestic violence and reduce the rate of violence in homes. Community members responded well, sharing during discussions that they are thankful to have an opportunity to dialogue with the WAN members.

WAN members have also created awareness about their issues in a variety of ways including through radio talk shows and international presentations. Members of the Gender Justice Team and WAN host a weekly radio talk show on Mega FM about issues pertaining to war-affected women, such as amnesty and compensation. Likewise, a WAN member traveled to the Surviving Violence Workshop in Halifax, Canada, to give a presentation on how storytelling has helped women to cope in post conflict situations.

Other activities

• WAN quarterly meetings where they discussed issues affecting them and their members. Among the issues raised included identity of children born in captivity, access to land, passiveness of women involvement in issues affecting them due to cultural biases among others.
• A one day sensitisation workshop on transitional justice needs for women for WAN.
• A situational analysis on gender needs in transitional justice processes in Northern Uganda by the Gender Justice Team.
• Gender Justice Programme Officer Nancy Apiyo won the Woman for Peace Award organized by Global Women Empowerment and Volunteer Action Network. This was in recognition of the work she has done with formerly abducted women. ▪

 Tamara Shaya is a graduate student intern with JRP’s Gender Justice Department.