Category Archives: Blog

Presenting at UN-Gulu Univ peacebuilding conference

Today and tomorrow the United Nations in Uganda and Gulu University are holding a conference titled, “Perceptions of Peacebuilding in Northern Uganda,” to “contribute to opening up the discussion on peacebuilding and conflict drivers in northern Uganda to a wide range of actors involved in the recovery of the region, enhance evidence-based programming and to support capacity building of a fast-growing academic institution.”

JRP’s Kate Lonergan and Ketty Anyeko will present a paper on women and youth and traditional justice during a session on “Peacebuilding: Shifting from the State to the Individual.” We’ve posted the abstract below for more information. The paper is based on preliminary findings of a larger study to be released later in the year.

“Gender and Generation in Acholi Traditional Justice Mechanisms”- ABSTRACT

By Kate Lonergan and Ketty Anyeko

Throughout the LRA conflict, women and youth faced grave atrocities such as gender-based violence, forced marriage and disruption of education and economic opportunities. These women and youth risk being omitted from justice and peace debates in Uganda if their unique experiences and reintegration challenges are overlooked. Acholi traditional justice mechanisms, especially mato oput and nyono tongweno, are often promoted as a locally appropriate approach to address these issues in northern Uganda. Despite this, little has been documented about the attitudes of women and youth towards traditional approaches and their impacts on their overall wellbeing. This paper explores whether current uses of traditional mechanisms sufficiently address the unique justice, reintegration and reconciliation needs of women and youth. Using preliminary findings of an ongoing study, the paper discusses opinions gathered from focus group discussions and individual interviews with war-affected women and youth throughout Acholi sub-region. This paper presents feedback from women and youth on the relevancy of traditional justice mechanisms for justice and healing from grave atrocities. It also discusses their current role in the decision-making and negotiation process of traditional justice mechanisms, and whether that role sufficiently represents their needs and opinions in the healing process. This presentation interns to spur discussion around these questions, with a specific focus on how to better engage women and youth in traditional reconciliation mechanisms. Feedback from fellow practitioners will hopefully inform both the future direction of the research project and the role of women and youth in the larger transitional justice policy debates in Uganda.

 

#Ugandans 2012: An article by JRP’s co-founder Erin Baines

Our co-founder and advisor, Dr. Erin Baines, has written a response to the media phenomenon by Invisible Children, “Kony 2012.” (As many of you are aware, “Kony 2012,” is a short film by IC that has garnered more than 75 million views in less than a week.) Erin’s article, titled “#Ugandans 2012,” highlights the work of many local organizations in northern Uganda who have been working tirelessly for peace and justice for conflict-related atrocities.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on  Twitter to read similar articles that highlight local peacebuilders and their reactions to this latest campaign to put an end to LRA violence.

And as always, you can view all of our past publications on this site to learn more about the dimensions of the conflict and victims’ views on justice and reconciliation for northern Uganda and conflict-affected regions.

Obalanga Cover

Announcing JRP’s latest field note: “The Day They Came”

Obalanga Cover
A survivor of the helicopter bombings in Angica B displays a bomb shell from the helicopter gunship, and survivors display injuries they received at the hands of the LRA.

We are pleased to announce the launch of our latest publication, a field note titled, The Day They Came: Recounting the LRA’s Invasion of Teso Sub-region through Obalanga Sub-county in 2003.

To read the full report, please click here

Our team will be launching this publication in Amuria town on Tuesday, March 13th at CV Villa beginning at 9:30am, and at the Obalanga sub-county headquarters at 1:30pm on Wednesday, March 14th.

A radio talk show will be held on Etop Radio from 7pm to 8pm on March 13th. The public is invited to attend either of the launches or tune into the radio programme.

The need for a gendered approach to justice and reconciliation in northern Uganda

When the guns go silent, everything might seem peaceful, but for the victims of gross violations, the wounds still fester.

Many violations in northern Uganda conflict were perpetrated on the basis of gender. For instance, women and girls, boys and men were subjected to sexual violence and sexual slavery in various forms. Both men and women were raped with impunity. Young girls were abducted and forced into ‘marriage,’ unwanted pregnancies, sexual slavery and labor against their own will. Women and girls in the former IDP camps suffered rape and defilement by rebels and government soldiers. Oftentimes, this violence was perpetrated to torture the victims physically, psychologically and socially, and the impacts are horrifying.

Experiencing these violations has left open wounds in the hearts of the victims, who are pleading for healing and closure. After experiencing such abuses, many victims have not received adequate psychological, social or physical rehabilitation in order to live a comfortable life in the communities. Others are forced to come face-to-face with abusers who have never acknowledged wrong-doing, which constantly reminds survivors of the harms they suffered. More so, gender roles have changed because of the conflict and mass displacement, a challenge the returned communities are grappling with and which often fuels domestic violence in the homes.

What then should be done to address the plight of these victims?

Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human rights notes that, “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.” Yet, most of these violations inflicted on civilian populace were aimed at torturing, dehumanizing and punishing with no reason. What does it mean for a man to be raped by a fellow man? It is not ‘done for fun,’ but to degrade him. Consequently, this has led to depression and suicidal tendencies in many survivors. How well can we design our justice policies and programmes to suit the gender specific needs of victims, such as those of Tek gungu (male rape)? Many times when we talk of rape, people assume we are only talking about women. Such limiting runs the risk of excluding certain victims from post-conflict debates.

With these few notes, I would like to call upon different transitional justice stakeholders and all working in post-conflict societies such as northern Uganda to ensure that policies and programmes take into account the gendered nature of violations that occur in conflict in order to deliver gender justice to the victims of such abuses. It’s important that a response is proportionate and relevant to the degree of harm suffered by the victim, particularly those harms perpetrated by the fact that they were women or men, young girls or young boys. I would appreciate any feedback or suggestion on how gender could be incorporated into policy debates or post-conflict programmes such as reparations, traditional justice or accountability for violations.

As we celebrate International Women’s Day, let’s remember our brothers and sisters who are living with open wounds and seeking for justice, healing and closure after experiencing sexual and gender-based violence.

-Ketty Anyeko
JRP Gender Justice Team Leader
kanyeko[at]justiceandreconciliation.com

Oduru: A poem for International Women’s Day 2012

This year, as we join the world in celebration of International Women’s Day, the Justice and Reconciliation Project (JRP) wishes to emphasize the unique peace, justice and reconciliation challenges faces women survivors of armed conflict. In line with this year’s theme, “Connecting girls, inspiring futures,” a member of the Women’s Advocacy Network (WAN)—a JRP-supported forum for conflict-affected women to undertake gender justice advocacy—has prepared a poem that highlights some of the issues facing formerly-abducted women and the need for stakeholders and communities to listen to women’s calls for justice.

To view the poem, titled “Oduru” or alarm, click here.

Members of the WAN will be performing the poem at today’s district celebrations in Gulu. Pictures are coming soon!

Mato Oput in Acholi

Pending Questions Regarding Traditional Justice

Today marks the beginning of regular posts from JRP team leaders. This was written by Documentation Team Leader, Lino Owor Ogora. For comments or questions related to the post, please email ogoralino(at)gmail.com or follow the instructions at the bottom of the post.

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Mato Oput in Acholi
A mato oput ceremony in Acholi-land

Today I am concluding a regional consultation organized by the Northern Uganda Transitional Justice Working Group (NUTJWG) on traditional justice in northern Uganda. The consultations were held in the four sub-regions of Teso, Lango, West Nile, and Acholi.

Since the Juba Peace Talks were held between 2006 and 2008, northern Uganda has grappled with the question of how to use alternative justice mechanisms, and in particular traditional justice, for reconciliation and accountability. However, almost four years after the close of these talks, questions remain pending around traditional justice that are not answered. They include questions such as the following:

 

  1. How should traditional justice and formal justice mechanisms complement each other?
  2. How should accountability be pursued within traditional justice mechanisms? Or are traditional justice mechanisms punitive enough?
  3. What is the role of women?
  4. How can capacity of traditional institutions be built to handle traditional justice mechanisms?
  5. How can traditional justice mechanisms be funded?

If anyone has answers to some of these questions or wishes to engage in a discussion on the role of traditional justice, leave a comment on the JRP Facebook page or tweet to us on Twitter at @JRP_Uganda using the hashtag #traditionaljustice.

 

Barlonyo vigil

Victims from northern Uganda attend Barlonyo prayers in solidarity

Barlonyo vigil

From 20-22 February 2012, JRP organized an exchange between victims’ groups from across the greater north. More than 35 representatives from West Nile, Acholi, Lango and Teso attended the 8th annual memorial prayers and candlelight vigil for the 2004 Barlonyo massacre. Afterwards, they met for a 1-day learning and exchange visit to share experiences (both personal and group) and set a way forward that will enhance and unite victim-led advocacy for transitional justice in Uganda.

Photos from the 3 days are available here, with a video advocacy documentary coming soon.