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It has been six years since the Juba peace talks when the government of Uganda undertook to establish measures that would ensure justice for victims of atrocities committed during the 20 year insurgency in northern Uganda. To date very little has been done to redress the harm that victims suffered.
9 April 2014, however, marks a special and historic day for the war-affected in northern Uganda. The Parliament of Uganda on this day unanimously adopted a resolution calling for a series of measures that will support victims and communities affected by the conflict. This landmark Parliamentary resolution marks the beginning of healing and the restoration of dignity for many victims and survivors who have waited years for steps to be taken to address their needs.
The resolution comes as a result of a motion that was tabled in Parliament by Aswa County, Gulu District Member of Parliament, Hon, Ronald Reagan Okumu on 3 April 2014, urging Parliament to intervene and address issues affecting persons, particularly women and girls, who were affected by the war. This motion was partly influenced by a petition presented to Uganda Women Parliamentarians Association (UWOPA) and the Acholi Parliamentary Group by the Women’s Advocacy Network. The petition was backed and overwhelmingly supported by the Gulu District Local Government
The resolution calls on the Government of Uganda to do the following among others:
The Deputy Speaker of Parliament has appointed a three member committee consisting of Hon Rosemary Nyakingogoro, Hon Reagan Okumu and Hon Godfrey Kiwanda to follow up on government’s implementation of the resolution and update parliament accordingly.
This resolution is a success for the hundreds of war-affected women and children that have languished since the cessation of hostility in 2006. The adoption of this resolution is an important step in the transitional justice process in northern Uganda because it provides acknowledgment of the needs of the voices of victims of conflict. It also provides an opportunity for the government to provide solutions that address the challenges that vulnerable groups in the region face, many of whose special needs have not been adequately dealt with in the past.
The Justice and Reconciliation Project, therefore, urges the government to expeditiously implement the resolutions made by Parliament.
Today is a very important day for the war affected women in northern Uganda. After presenting a petition to members of parliament seeking their intervention to address challenges they continue to face in post conflict northern Uganda, a motion was moved in parliament on 3rd of April 2014 by Hon Ronald Regan Okumu for a resolution on the plight of persons affected by the Lord’s Resistance Army. The motion received overwhelming support but was not adopted due to a few technicalities to which the speaker appointed a select committee to address and return the motion to the floor of parliament today for adoption.
On Wednesday I had the privilege of watching the sessions from the gallery. I was very happy at how the discussions were unfolding, at one point I felt the urge to stand and address all the legislators present to just let them know what they were discussing is real and are my everyday reality. I had longed for such a day and I thank God I was there to witness it.
We began this journey a year ago. There were numerous challenges along the way but we soldiered on. I am grateful for the support JRP continues to give to us. I was happy to hear the JRP’s Programm Coordinator say that we can always be assured that JRP will be there to offer assistance. This is a good thing since there will be a lot to do after the motion is adopted. I would also like to thank the Gulu District Local Government for working with us and helping us to actualize this dream.
As a way forward we plan to work with our supporters to push for the issues we have raised until they are addressed. I also dream of organizing the members of WAN to meet the president of Uganda as the women did in Liberia. He needs to know what we are going through and the urgency of our needs.
On 9 April 2014, the members of Uganda’s Parliament will vote to adopt a resolution incorporating contents of a petition presented to the Uganda Women Parliamentarian’s Association (UWOPA) by the Women’s Advocacy Network on 12 March 2014. Read the petition here.
On the 7th of March 2014, Germain Katanga was found guilty by the International Criminal Court as an accessory within the meaning of article 25(3)(d) of the Rome Statute for one crime against humanity (murder) and four war crimes (murder, pillaging, destruction of property, attacking a civilian population) in the district of Ituri in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2003
Katanga was, however, not found guilty as an accessory to sexual slavery as a war crime under article 8(2)(b)(xxii), sexual slavery as a crime against humanity under article 7(1)(g), rape as a war crime under article 8(2)(b)(xxii), and rape as a crime against humanity under article 7(1)(g) of the Statute. The role of the prosecutor was to prove beyond reasonable doubt that a crime was committed, but in this case, she was unable to do so for sexual crimes in this trial. This shows the continued frustration of achieving convictions for sexual crimes especially in a region like Ituri where sexual offences are prevalent.
Many would argue that there have been great strides on prosecuting sexual crimes since the historic International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda case of Prosecutor vs Jean-Paul Akayesu which created a foundation for the codification of sexual crimes in international law. Rules of procedure have been revised to be inclusive and friendly to the prosecution of SGBV, best practices have been adopted by international tribunals, prosecutors and investigators have received trainings and a lot of advocacy has been conducted on the need to prosecute SGBV cases. The office of the Prosecutor at the ICC has appointed a gender adviser and there exists a gender unit and they recently released a draft policy paper on sexual and gender based crimes.
As such, today there should not be inadequate investigations into or presentation of evidence in court of SGBV related crimes or presentation of evidence in court of SGBV related crimes. Currently there have been no convictions by the ICC on SGBV related crimes and as of 2011 only 41 out 71 indictments that had sexual crimes resulted in convictions at the ICTR, International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia or the Special Court for Sierra Leone ( according to the progress on women report 2010/11 by UNWOMEN). Basically, much has not changed since.
In northern Uganda these gaps are glaring. Only one out of the five arrest warrants issued by ICC had the charge of sexual slavery and among the 53 counts brought against Thomas Kwoyelo by the International Crimes Division of the Ugandan High Court, none was for SGBV.
The prosecution reluctance and/or inability to build up concrete cases on SGBV is also worrying. We realize SGBV is not an easy crime to investigate but we also acknowledge the harm caused to victims and their desire to get justice. The prosecutors and investigators have a responsibility to be vigilant and aggressive in building up such cases. Creativity should also be called upon if we are to succeed.
Ultimately, this judgment is a set back on the victims of SGBV in Ituri. As we have seen more resources put in by the office of the prosecutor to assist in the investigation of such crimes, we hope that in the proceeding judgments, more accountability for SGBV will be realized.
This week, members of the Women’s Advocacy Network (WAN) delivered a long anticipated petition to the Uganda Women Parliamentarian’s Association (UWOPA). The petition calls for, among other things, a comprehensive reparations programme to be instituted, the prioritisation of reparations for war-affected women and increased accessibility for reproductive and mental health services for children and women affected by conflict.
You can read the petition here.
The time is finally here! On the 12th of March 2014, the Women’s Advocacy Network (WAN) will present a petition to the Uganda Women Parliamentarian’s Association (UWOPA) at Parliament in Kampala to call for national policies which will address the needs of war-affected women in the region.
This is the first time the challenges facing war-affected women will be presented at national level.
We’ll be updating our blog with details about the petition.
The Justice and Reconciliation Project (JRP) would like to applaud President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni’s acknowledgement of crimes committed by the National Resistance Army (NRA) in northern Uganda.
Official acknowledgement of atrocities committed during war is one of the most important factors in the aftermath of armed conflict. It is not only necessary for the healing of painful memories of victims who suffered war crimes at the hands of perpetrators, but it is also an important pre-requisite for implementing reparative programs for war affected communities and survivors. An official acknowledgement is made even more significant if it comes from a high ranking government official such as the head of state.
On 26th January 2014, during the NRM anniversary celebrations in Mayuge district, President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni publicly acknowledged that NRA soldiers had committed crimes in northern Uganda during the late 1980s and early 1990s in their attempt to pacify the region of rebel activity following the NRA’s capture of power in 1986. The story was carried in the news headlines of all Uganda’s local newspapers on Monday 27th January 2014.
This acknowledgement has been long overdue given that northern Uganda has been peaceful for close to six years now, following the permanent relocation of the LRA to Central African Republic (CAR) in 2008. In this period, civil society organizations, religious leaders, political leaders, and the general public in northern Uganda have consistently called upon the government to acknowledge its role in the commission of war crimes in northern Uganda to no avail.
While the government implemented some programs for war victims and survivors, this official acknowledgement and apology was always not forthcoming. In fact some high ranking government officials had fallen into the habit of blatantly and unashamedly stating that the NRA did not commit war crimes in northern Uganda.
War crimes in northern Uganda have generally been wholly attributed to the LRA. When the International Criminal Court (ICC) launched investigations into the Ugandan situation in 2004, for instance, it ended up issuing indictments for only LRA commanders for war crimes and crimes against humanity, and let the government perpetrators off the hook. This was despite that it was a known fact that NRA soldiers committed numerous atrocities in northern Uganda during the late 1980s and early 1990s.
So President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni’s public acknowledgment of such crimes is welcome and must be applauded. Not many leaders have the courage to stand up and admit past wrongs. Throughout the course of history, public acknowledgement of crimes by state leaders has always been difficult. A case in point can be taken from Australia where it took the Australian Government close to 100 years to apologize to indigenous Aborigines for crimes committed against them in what has been termed the “Stolen Generation” or “Stolen Children”. In this case, the Australian Government from as far back as 1909 had made it a practice to forcefully take children from indigenous Aboriginal families presumably in a move to educate them. Many of these children ended up being permanently separated from the families.On 13 February 2008 the Government, through then Prime Minister Kevin Rudd MP, moved a motion of Apology to Australia’s Indigenous Peoples in Australia’s Parliament. The government also made reparations in form of scholarships and funds for various community activities to the Aboriginal community.
In his acknowledgement, the President admitted to crimes such as the suffocation of 69 civilians in a railway wagon in Mukura village in 1989, and the suffocation and rape of civilians in Burcoro village in April 1991. All these crimes have been documented by the Justice and Reconciliation Project (JRP) and are publicly accessible on our website.
President Museveni also admitted that new crimes such as the massacre of civilians in Kanyum village, and the raiding of cattle in Nwoya district were coming to light. The president blamed the ‘wanainchi’ (local people) for not reporting such crimes.
While President Museveni must be applauded for this public announcement, he stands to be criticized in two areas.
First, the above crimes are not the only crimes that were committed in northern Uganda. Many other examples of acts committed by the NRA have been brought to the attention of the government through various channels such as research reports.
In Palabek Sub-County for example, the 32nd Battalion of the NRA is reported to have led killings of several civilians under the command of a one Captain Abiriga. The 32nd battalion carried out numerous horrific incidences including: the killing of six men in Ayuu Alali village school on 1 February 1991, and the execution of seven suspected rebel collaborators in Ayuu Anaka village on 12 April 1992.
On 19 August 1986, in Namokora Sub-County, the 35th Battalion of NRA is also said to have led killings of 71 men and women. These men and women were accused of being rebel collaborators or having plans to oust the new NRA government that had just come to power through a guerrilla coup.
Numerous other incidents have been documented in places such as Odek, Pabbo, Mucwini and other places in northern Uganda.
Secondly, it is grossly misleading, disingenuous and deceptive for President Museveni to say that the reason he did not know about such crimes was because they were never reported. These incidents have been mentioned time and again by civil society activists, religious leaders, political leaders and other opinion leaders in northern Uganda but the government has turned a deaf ear to all these pleas. Many have been documented by CSOs such as JRP.
Nevertheless the acknowledgement by President Yoweri Museveni still remains significant, and must be considered a starting point on the long road to reconciling northern Uganda. A number of things need to be undertaken in moving forward.
First, there is need for full disclosure and acknowledgement about atrocities that happened in northern Uganda under the NRM regime. There is need for full public investigation of crimes committed by NRA soldiers, and disclosure of responsible officials to pave way for their punishment. It is appalling and disgraceful that despite the numerous atrocities known to have been committed by NRA soldiers in northern Uganda, only 23 NRA officers have, according to the president, ever been brought to book for acts he described as “indiscipline” and “misbehavior”
More needs to be done to promote accountability for what are not mere acts of indiscipline, but internationally recognised war crimes . Otherwise the full scale of NRA killings will never be known, and will continue to be revealed through half-truths and revelations such as those made by President Yoweri Museveni.
Secondly, acknowledgment of atrocities in northern Uganda must not only be limited to physical killings of civilians by NRA soldiers. It is also important to acknowledge other forms of human sufferings and dehumanizing acts committed by NRA soldiers.
NRA soldiers are known to have committed horrendous and abominable acts such as defecating in water pots and food containers of people in northern Uganda, and defecating in the mouths of their cattle simply to dehumanize and humiliate the people.
Another horrendous act was the practice of ‘tek-gungu’ or male rape that was perpetrated by ethnic Banyankole soldiers against Acholi men as an act of humiliation. Women and girls were also raped in places such as Burcoro and deliberately infected with the HIV/AIDs virus. It is no wonder that northern Uganda today has one of the highest prevalence of HIV/AIDs.
Arbitrary arrests were also common and took place on a massive scale with people being rounded up in large numbers for screening and spending hours in inhumane conditions at the screening centers.
The encampment and confinement of people in internally displaced persons camps is also a crime that needs to be acknowledged. The years that the Acholi people spent in the IDP camps as the NRM government failed to defeat the LRA were painful years that have taken a severe toll upon the Acholi people. As a result of this confinement we have a generation of youth that has grown up with little regard for Acholi cultural values such as hard work and morality. It is the reason behind increased acts such as prostitution and theft.
All these atrocities can only be brought to light if the government institutes an inquiry into the conflict in northern Uganda with the deliberate aim of establishing and understanding the full range of atrocities that occurred.
Thirdly, acknowledgement of crimes in northern Uganda must be accompanied by official apologies, conducted in a dignified manner, at official ceremonies deliberately organized and attended by victims’ representatives. President Museveni’s acknowledgement on 26th January 2014 took place in Mayuge District as the NRM celebrated 28 years in power. The location and occasion were both not conducive and relevant to people in northern Uganda. We in northern Uganda continue to hope for the day when President Museveni will organize a function in northern Uganda specifically for the purpose of issuing an apology to the victims and survivors of the conflict, and handing this apology in written form to key leaders of the people. This will be a milestone in the history of northern Uganda.
Finally, acknowledgements and apologies need to be accompanied by reparative action. In Acholi culture reconciliation is not deemed to be complete unless the perpetrator has paid symbolic compensation to the victim. President Museveni expressed willingness to engage in acts of Mato Oput (reconciliation) with victims and survivors, and compensate them for the losses suffered. The President’s olive branch of reconciliation is welcome and must be applauded. It remains to be seen whether it will be fulfilled.
It is that time of the year again when we observe the 16 days of activism against gender violence. This period gives us an opportunity to reflect as well as create awareness on gender based violence and the effect it continues to have in our communities. It is also an opportunity for us to ask ourselves the hard questions such as why after more than three decades since the adoption of the CEDAW, two decades after the declaration on elimination of violence against women and progression in both national and international arena on the rights of women, the problem of violence against women continues to persist.
This year I would like to share how circumstance of women who were formerly abducted by the Lord’s Resistance Army during the over two decades conflict in northern Uganda makes them vulnerable to abuse and violence. These women experienced horrific violations under the hands of the rebels including forced marriages and forced impregnation. Upon escape or rescue, they came back with children they bore in captivity as well as health complications as a result of either giving birth while young under harsh conditions or gun wounds and other related injuries as a result of exposure to battles. They were met by an embittered community that was not willing to accept them and their children due to their past association with rebels, their clans were not ready to accept them or give them land because they had children whose clans were unknown. As a result many of these women have left their homes and settled in town centres where they find comfort in their anonymity. With no education or skills, they cannot get formal employment and have to most of the time survive on casual labour which is not always available and does not pay much.
There was no comprehensive system put in place to assist such women integrate back to the community apart from an amnesty package that never took into consideration that they came back with children. They lack social and economic safety nets to help them rebuild their lives making them live in abject poverty yet they have to take care of children whose fathers died, are still in the bush or are unwilling to take care of their children. As a result they will look for any opportunity that would seem to provide them with economic security without worrying about the detrimental effects. This has commonly been in form of entering into “clandestine relationships” in the hope of securing basic necessities for their children. In such relationships these women and their children become vulnerable to abuse and violence. A recent study by Watye Kigen, an organisation working with children born in captivity showed that such children often become targets of abuse and discrimination in such relationships. The women stay only because they lack alternatives and become easy targets of sexual exploitation all in the name of feeding their children.
The question then becomes could these women find themselves in such situations if there was a comprehensive reintegration package put in place to help them meet their immediate needs as well as help them rebuild their lives? The importance of social and economic safety nets for women affected by war cannot be gainsaid. It is an absolute necessity if we are going to mitigate vulnerability to gender based violence in post conflict situations. It is time we made sure that responses of post conflict situations take into consideration social economic empowerment for women. When women are empowered economically, they have choices and these choices remove the vulnerability they have to abusive circumstances.
It can finally be said that Lukodi’s community has its history documented in its member’s own words and based on their memories. But this just the beginning. On the 20th of November 2013, the Lukodi Memorial Site officially launched Community-Led Documentation in Lukodi, a village on the outskirts of Gulu town, which was the site of an infamous LRA attack in 2004.
Under Community-Led Documentation, the community of Lukodi was given the tools to document its own history and experiences. The objective is to promote accurate community-owned documented material for current and future generations. JRP plans to extend this initiative to other war-affected communities in the future to enable them to tell their own stories.
The event was attended by representatives of Gulu local government, the Royal Norwegian Embassy, ChildFund, survivors of the Lukodi massacre of 2004, community members of Burcoro, students of Lukodi primary school and the area councillor for Bungatira sub-county in which Lukodi is located, among others.
During the event, community members performed songs and poems which reflected on the pillars of their transitional justice needs – these included poems entitled Ada Ber (‘the truth is good’, on the value of truth telling) and Lweny Rac (‘war is bad’, on the value of peace). After this, a written timeline of the history of Lukodi, written by members of the community, entitled ‘Ododo Pa Lukodi Ma Lwak Ocoyo’ (‘the stories of Lukodi’) was presented.
A map of Lukodi and its surrounding communities that formed the Lukodi IDP camp and were displaced during the conflict were also displayed, as were samples of the food rations that relief agencies gave to people in camps. These were shown to visitors in the type of small hut people were forced to live during the conflict. An ‘alup’, a makeshift home hidden deep in the bush and which was typical for community members who were seeking to hide from rebels, was also reconstructed.
The launch also featured the unveiling of a room at Lukodi Primary School which was specially dedicated by the school to the initiative. Inside, drawings by community members depicting key events including but not limited to the atrocities committed during the massacre in 2004, activities of Cilil rebels, looting of cattle by Karamojong warriors as well as pictures of what life was like in the internally displaced person’s camps that many members of the community lived till they returned to their homes in 2007 hung on the walls. A mural also showed post-conflict life in the community – such as how the traditional Acholi communal fireplace discussion place, wang-oo, has been revived, how children are now going to school and how cultural celebrations and festivals are able to flourish in this period of peace.
Read more about the Lukodi massacre here.
Read more about Community-Led Documentation here.
Below are pictures from the event
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As a new intern for the Community Mobilisation department of JRP, one of my first activities was to visit the Pece Missing Persons Group (MPG). I was ready to watch and give feedback to a theatre performance, having no clue as to what I would become witness to. It soon became clear to me that there was much more than preparation for performance taking place. The rehearsals acted as a space for mourning, a space for exploration, a space for bonding & relating to one another. Rehearsals provided a supportive space where the family members of the missing were able to claim their suffering and set aside time to honor this suffering. In an environment where their anguish is belittled, or even denied, this space meant much more than I had originally understood.
The Pece Missing Persons Group (MPG) was formed in March 2013, with around 50 affected family members within Gulu Municipality courageously coming together to break the silence around the MPs issue. In line with the ‘Right to Know’ campaign, JRP’s Community Mobilisation department and the MPG conducted three community outreach events in the month of August, which were attended by local government officials and the general public. The purpose of these outreaches was to use creative performance as an advocacy tool to raise awareness and to generate community dialogue. The three outreaches culminated on August 30th, the International Day Against Disappearances.
The passionate performances of the MPG brought a personal touch to all of these events. In watching the drama, one was taken on a journey of the tireless search for missing children abducted during the war. In listening to the songs, one was invited to feel the intense pain and uncertainty of parents waiting for their missing children. In experiencing the recitation of poems, one was further enveloped by the overwhelming anxiety and grief shared by affected family members and awakened by the pleas ‘for someone to listen, for someone to help’.
There were moments given to those MPG members overcome with emotions to openly grieve during performances. Some members would join in with high-pitched calls, while others buried their faces in their hands. One could not help but hear the wails, see the tears, and, consequently, feel this outward expression of grief. The shared pain among these affected family members was so palpable in these spontaneous outbursts that it spread from performers to audience members, creating an emotional interchange that is so rarely seen in a public space.
Many audience members spoke of being ‘transported’ back to the horrific experiences during the insurgency. The performance also seemed to grant permission for those watching to share their own personal stories and struggles as discussion ensued. The devastating effects of the MPs issue poured out; trauma, suicide, school dropouts, forced family separations, social abuses, loss of rights, etc.
Closely following a desire to know whether loved ones are dead or alive, marked by repeated requests for the creation of a reliable database on the status of the missing, many people demanded compensation from the government to account for the high economic costs of losing family members. The failure of the state to fulfill its duty in protecting its citizens was often cited to justify this demand for compensation. Continued peace talks, the active pursuit of foreign assistance, official recognition of the MPs issue, and a public apology were all presented as government obligations.
Reflecting on the month’s events, I can’t help but feel deeply moved by the MPG. They not only invested their time and energy, both physical and emotional, but also risked immense vulnerability in front of friends and strangers alike. The lengthy and passionate post-performance discussions were a testament to the group’s unyielding dedication to the project.
Against all odds, these affected family members maintain and act on their belief that justice can and will be served. This enduring hope stands as a lesson for us all.
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