This is to inform you that the JRP email accounts (i.e. info@justiceandreconciliation.com) are temporarily unavailable for maintenance. We expect them to be up and running again in the next 48 hours — by 11am EAT on Thursday, August 25, 2011. In the meantime, you can reach us by phone at +256 (0) 471 433 008 from 8am-5:30pm.
We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
Sincerely,
JRP Team
On Monday, the International Crimes Division (ICD) of the High Court of Uganda kicked off with its first case, the trial of ex-LRA commander Col. Thomas Kwoyelo. JRP’s Documentation team was in the courtroom to follow the proceedings and has produced a 2-page summary of what transpired.
Stay tuned for more updates from JRP on what is taking place in the ICD courtroom. To download the opening summary click here.
Yesterday, JRP launched its latest report, The Lukodi Massacre: 19th May 2004, through a community outreach event in Lukodi Training Center. The event was attended by dozens of community members, JRP staff, women from Child Voice International, and the Rwot of Patiko. Details of a policy-level launch in Gulu Town are forthcoming.
On May 19, 2004, the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) raided the village of Lukodi and carried out a massacre that led to the death of over sixty people. Lukodi, a village that is located 17 kilometers north of Gulu Town, is one of the many villages in northern Uganda that suffered from persistent LRA attacks. After the massacre, the community was displaced to Coope IDP camp for three years and only began returning home after the dissolution of the Juba peace talks in 2008.
This report reconstructs a narrative of the Lukodi massacre and the major events that unfolded on that day. The documentation centers on learning the experiences of the community prior to and during the massacre, the impact the massacre has had on the population, and the transitional justice (TJ) challenges they continue to face today.
To download the full report, click here.
This week victims from conflict in northern Uganda will be remembering the past and honoring the dead through annual memorial services.
On Thursday, May 19, the community in Lukodi will host memorial prayers at the sub-county headquarters. On Friday, May 20, Arua will host the 1st Annual Memorial Service for victims of conflict in West Nile, organized by the West Nile Kony Rebel War Victims Association.
For more information on both events, contact Sylvia Opinia at +256 471 433008.
Update 21 May 2011: The memorial prayers in West Nile were cancelled by the office of the District Police Commander (DPC) in Arua for security reasons the night before the event, as it allegedly coincided with on-going countrywide demonstrations over rising costs of food and fuel (‘Walk-to-Work’). Another date for this event has yet to be decided and communicated by the district.
This week JRP launched its latest report titled, The Mukura Massacre of 1989, on May 10 & 11 in Kumi town and Mukura trading centre, respectively. The launches were well attended by survivors, victims’ families, religious leaders, local leaders, the RDC and DISO of Kumi district, and the LCVs of both Kumi and Ngora.
On July 11, 1989, the 106th battalion of the National Resistance Army allegedly rounded up 300 men from Mukura, a small village in eastern Uganda, and incarcerated them in train wagon number C521083. By the time they were released, 69 of them had suffocated to death.
Twenty-two years later, our report reconstructs an account of what took place to bring the concerns of victims to the attention of the Government and other stakeholders.
To access the full report, click here.
On March 4th, JRP and the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ), with support from the Austrian Development Cooperation, will launch their new joint report, We Can’t Be Sure Who Killed Us: Memory and Memorialization in Post-Conflict Northern Uganda.
The report examines the role memorials have played in Uganda’s transitional justice (TJ) process. Addressed to community members, conflict survivors, policymakers, and donors, it reviews existing memorials and offers recommendations to those seeking to initiate new memorial activities. It is based on research conducted in the Acholi and Lango sub-regions, yet reveals post-war insights into memory and memorialization relevant to the greater North and any society in transition.
The launch will be held from 3-7pm at Churchill Courts in Gulu. For more information, call +256471433008 or email info@justiceandreconciliation.com.
To view the report, click here.
On January, 24th, the Norwegian Ambassador, H.E. Thorbjørn Gaustadsæther, visited JRP in a visit to northern Uganda. There he interacted with staff and learned more about transitional justice issues facing communities in the region.
This visit provided an opportunity for our team to share more about our work and experiences with him. For one hour, we sat under the shade of a compound tree, discussing our work-streams and answering questions about our activities asked by the Ambassador.
JRP is funded by the Norwegian Embassy in Kampala and wishes to thank the Ambassador for Norway’s generous support to our activities.
Today the Justice and Reconciliation Project (JRP), in partnership with the South Africa-based Institute for Justice and Reconciliation (IJR), commenced a series of grassroots consultations in northern Uganda to explore local perspectives on transitional justice.
These consultations are part of a larger JRP/IJR project, titled “Enhancing Grassroots Participation in
Transitional Justice Debates,” which aims to intensify local advocacy and consultation of victims in northern Uganda around issues of transitional justice ahead of the 2011 presidential and parliamentary elections. Over the next three months, JRP/IJR will hold extensive consultations with a broad range of stakeholders, including grassroots communities, JLOS (Justice, Law and Order Sector), CSOs and local government leaders to gain a clearer sense of how justice needs can be met.
To download the full press release, click here.
On Tuesday, November 16, JRP held a press conference at our Gulu office to officially launch our new advocacy campaign to put transitional justice on the election agenda.
This campaign, “Casting the Ballot to Address Victimhood: A Call to Put Transitional Justice on the Election Agenda,” will stress six action points and implore a strategic plan to disseminate information and mobilise communities through diverse mechanisms, including direct community engagement, newspapers, handouts, radio, and music. By mobilizing war-affected communities to demand their grievances be addressed and acknowledged, we are providing communities and the country at large a space for reflection, debate, and analysis of the issues.
Thanks to all who joined us from 10-11am as we shared details of the campaign and read a statement on TJ issues facing communities in transition.
To download the press release, click here. To access campaign materials, click here.
To celebrate JRP becoming an independent NGO and to officially launch the new organisation, we hosted a ceremony and reception on July 23 at our offices in Gulu’s Senior Quarters. The event — which was attended by the Ambassador of Norway, H.E. Bjørg S. Leite, Hon. Norbert Mao, members of the community, civil society and government representatives, cultural leaders, and many more– was lively and eventful. Bwola dancers from Ker Kwaro Acholi kicked off the event by performing Acholi traditional dances. Brief remarks were made by:
Remarks from select speakers can be accessed here.
Further enriching the evening, a poem to remember our sisters who died in captivity and a statement on women’s justice was read by women from our partner project with the Liu Institute for Global Issues, Ododo wa. After reading the statement, the women’s group Rwot Lakica performed a drama on women’s justice.
The evening concluded with dinner and a reception and performances by northern artistes Jeff Korondo and Jahria Okwera from the initiative Music for Peace.
The event allowed us to celebrate our past accomplishments, whilst marking the start of this new era for the Project. We would like to thank everyone who attended for sharing the special day with us.