This special issue of Voices looks back at the past 10 years of transition, justice and reconciliation in northern Uganda and at the Justice and Reconciliation Project.
Articles include features from members of the Lukodi Massacre Memorial Association, the Mukura Memorial Development Initiative and JRP.
Download this issue here: Voices, Issue 10, November 2015 (pdf)
Welcome to this issue of JRP’s newsletter. This month we highlight work JRP’s Gender Justice and Community Mobilisation departments have been doing, including the results of research on the reintegration challenges of children born of war in northern Uganda and reconciliation initiatives in Acholi and Lango sub-regions.
Since 2012, JRP’s Voices magazine has shared victim-centred views on justice and reconciliation in northern Uganda. The magazine accommodates varied views on transitional justice, peacemaking and post-conflict with issues presenting views on reparations, truth-telling, accountability and more. This month, we are launching the new face of Voices at its own website: http://voices.justiceandreconciliation.com.
You can read all older articles as well as newer articles under the Community Voices, Opinion and News sections. For submission guides and instructions on how you can contribute, contact Oryem Nyeko at onyeko@justiceandreconciliation.com.
Also, follow Voices’ twitter feed here.
‘Children born of war’ are children that were conceived as a result of conflict-related sexual and gender-based violence. These include children born in captivity and children born of war-related rape or defilement. On 16 June, the International Day of the African Child, JRP launched a situational brief presenting the findings of research into the reintegration challenges of these children and their mothers in northern Uganda. The brief, titled ‘Alone Like a Tree: Reintegration Challenges Facing Children Born of War and Their Mothers in Northern Uganda’, is the result of consultations held with children born of war in Lango, Acholi and West Nile sub-regions of Uganda.
Alone Like a Tree also presents recommendations for stakeholders and government to take steps to address the issues identified.
Read the brief here.
This year, the Justice and Reconciliation Project is implementing an initiative titled ‘Across Regional Boundaries: Promoting Regional Reconciliation in Acholi and Lango Sub-Regions’ with support from USAID-SAFE. The project aims to promote community conflict memory and foster reconciliation at community and regional level through community-based peace structures, dialogues and training.
Read blogs and find out more about this initiative here.
Every newsletter, we’ll be profiling a member of JRP’s team. This month, Patrick Odong, our Programme Driver and Logistics Assistant is our subject.
Patrick does a lot at the Justice and Reconciliation Project: he drives its vehicles, serves as a member of its procurement committee helping with procurement of office assets and equipment, and administers JRP’s asset registry. In addition to all of this, he also helps in coordinating transport at JRP. It was this diversity that has kept him working with JRP since he joined in May 2006 as a driver.
Patrick comes from a family with a rich history of human rights advocacy – including his father who was a human rights activist – which is something that was a contributing factor to his with adapting to the organization. Witnessing JRP’s work first-hand, he says, allowed him to learn about vulnerable people on the outskirts of Gulu as well as “the flow of justice.”
“JRP was [an] organisation that worked with grassroots people so that their problems were heard.”
A highlight of his time at JRP was the exposure JRP had when a petition by the Women’s Advocacy Network (WAN) was presented to the Ugandan Parliament. “That was a real fight,” says Patrick.
Other highlights were JRP’s publication of the field notes on massacres in places like Burcoro, Atiak and Lukodi: “To be the first to come out with such things means something.”
Patrick has a certificate of defensive driving from Uganda Police in conjunction with Acholi Private Sector and has driving experience with NGOs for 15 years. He also has experience a teacher by profession and studied education at Gulu Core Teachers College and taught in Laroo Adra P7 school which specializes teaching deaf children. He also ran a family business and worked in the Ugandan military during the insurgency as a driver.
As an addition to Patrick’s diverse experience, Patrick has enjoyed the fact that working at JRP has allowed him to develop other skills. “Having come in as a driver I was given access to other opportunities – like communications skills.”
Patrick wants to see the women JRP works with have justice in the future. He wants to live in a peaceful environment. What is Patrick’s goal for the future? “My goal is having peace.”
Photo: Giving women’s group in Barlonyo tips on how to use herbicides consignment in 2015.
Acholi Pii Massacre, 4 July 1996
Mukura Massacre, 11 July 1989
Mucwini Massacre, 22 July 2002
Namokora Massacre, 16 August 1986
See the rest of JRP’s Peace and Conflict Calendar here.
Thank you for reading this update! Continue to connect with us on our LinkedIn page. Also, remember to visit our website for our latest blogs and updates on transitional justice developments in northern Uganda and Africa’s Great Lakes region. You can also participate in the discussions on our Facebook page and on our twitter profile!
On Wednesday, June 24, 1981, the Uganda National Liberation Army (UNLA) attacked civilians who had taken refuge at Ombaci College, four kilometres from Arua town in Uganda’s West Nile sub-region. The “Ombaci Massacre” eventually claimed the lives of close to 100 people and left countless wounded.
In 2013, the Justice and Reconciliation Project be- gan conducting research for a report which would document the events of that day, its aftermath and the recommendations of the survivors and their descendants. It Was Only the Gun Speaking, With a Pool of Blood Flowing (see an excerpt on page 18), JRP’s 20th Field Note, details how today the remnants of this massacre still exist for many of the survivors of the massacre: the children that were orphaned on that day live with lost opportunities for education, financial and emotional support, while survivors who lost property continue to seek compensation.
Many survivors also suffer from health complications and injures. As such, it is evident that reparations form a significant part of the call for redress for survivors of the Ombaci massacre, however a recurring theme that surfaced among them was the call for reconciliation and dialogue among the different peoples of northern Uganda.
Many witnesses of the massacre have expressed the belief that the massacre was an act of revenge by the majority Acholi UNLA for the treatment the Acholi people had received at the hands of Idi Amin’s soldiers when he was in power. This was also reflected during a dialogue held at the Ombaci Catholic Mission, as part of the annual com- memoration of the massacre in June this year, many speeches by survivors, community members and political leaders called for reconciliation and dialogue between the people of Acholi and West Nile. This issue of Voices magazine examines the importance, role and implementation of regional reconciliation in the vein of that which was called for in Ombaci in northern Uganda’s transitional justice.
Read the entire issue here: Voices Issue 8.
After years of engaging with survivors of conflict in northern Uganda, the Justice and Reconciliation Project’s work has revealed sexual and gender based violence as one of the most complex defining characteristics of the war that took place in the region. As such, addressing the issue has proven to be one of the biggest challenges facing peace-builders. In JRP’s recent Field Note – The Beasts at Burcoro – community members describe the molestation, rape and torture both men and women suffered at the hands of the National Resistance Army’s 22nd Battalion in 1991. Over twenty years after the occurrence, many survivors still harbour the lingering effects of the attack because mechanisms designed to address their specific needs have not been provided for them. This issue of Voices magazine deals with this very relevant aspect of transitional justice today, and examines the ways in which it can be addressed. Read more here (pdf)
Read the entire issue here: Voices Issue 07 (pdf)
THE JUSTICE AND RECONCILIATION PROJECT came into being at a time when the conflict in northern Uganda became the focus of a discussion at the centre of which were two seemingly different points of view regarding the future of the conflict in the country. On the one hand, supporters for criminal justice processes felt the International Criminal Court’s indictments of key commanders in the Lord’s Resistance Army would provide accountability and justice for victims of the conflict. On the other, some advocates for peace negotiations argued that these indictments would prevent the end of the lengthy war. It seemed, on the face of it, to be a battle between peace and justice. Which was more important? Were they the same thing? Most importantly, what do the people that were directly affected by the conflict think? This is where JRP came in. Since 2005, JRP has succeeded in engaging victims of conflict in discussions about their needs and aspirations and played a key role in transitional justice processes and discussions. The organisation contributed to the Juba peace talks, has consistently recorded human rights abuses through the documentation of massacres and other atrocities, assisted vulnerable groups and individuals to advocate for their needs and supported com- munity-led peace-building efforts. Read more
Download Voices Issue 06 (pdf)
This edition of the Justice and Reconciliation Project’s quarterly magazine Voices deals with an important aspect of transitional justice – victim participation. The extent to which victims of conflict contribute to TJ processes has significant implications for policy development and the lives of grassroots communities that were affected by war. Fortunately, the Government has recognised the importance of victim participation. In May 2013, the Justice Law and Order Sector of the Government of Uganda (JLOS) asked JRP and Avocats Sans Frontiers (ASF) to conduct a victim stakeholder consultation on the recently developed TJ Policy to garner views of victims on a policy that would affect their lives. The result was a wide array of opinions that were shared and which will hopefully shape the policy to be as victim-centred as possible.
In this issue, we have articles dealing with the challenges and successes victims of conflict have experienced in organising themselves. Read more.
Voices Issue 05 (pdf)
Voices Issue 4 (pdf)
Oryem Nyeko
WELCOME to the fourth issue of the Justice and Reconciliation Project’s magazine Voices. This magazine aims to share individual victim, victims group, civil society and stakeholder views on justice and reconciliation in northern Uganda and Africa’s great lakes region as a whole. The theme of this issue is accountability and prosecution. This was chosen because of the recent rise in debate on accountability for perpetrators of conflict in northern Uganda. Questions that are being asked right now include what form should accountability take and who should be accountable.
In our work we have found that local views on the issue vary. Statistics from JRP’s Reconciliation Barometer survey of 2012 show that up to 57% of victims of the conflict want to see perpetrators of the conflict tried. Similarly, when we interviewed two members of the grassroots organisation the Women’s Advocacy Network (WAN) to find their views on prosecution, their views differed substantially (‘Two Sides of a Coin: Women Survivor’s Views on Accountability’).
Recently international attention towards the prosecution of perpetrators of the conflcit has been renewed because of the developments under the United States’ Rewards for Justice programme (see ‘Why Now? What the timing of Rewards for Justice means for northern Uganda’, as well as ‘Only the Loudest Voices: International Perceptions on Accountability’). Locally, the standstill of former LRA commander Thomas Kwoyelo’s trial continues to re-affirm the challenges that have been identified with pursuing justice in northern Uganda poses.
The tendency of stakeholders and policy makers to focus solely on rebels and rebel leaders when dealing with the issue of accountability has also been criticised. In 2005, when the ICC issued arrest warrants for Joseph Kony and four other LRA leaders for crimes against humanity and war crimes, the Court’s apparent decision to exclusively focus on rebel accountability and to ignore the actions of the other side of the conflict was met with dissatisfaction by some. In this vein, ‘The Road Less Traveled: State actors’ accountability in northern Uganda’ examines the human rights violations by the ruling National Resistance Army (NRA) going back as far as 1991 while ‘When the Weighing Scales of Justice Do Not Balance’ reflects on the perpetrator turned prosecutor dynamic of post-conflict accountability in Uganda.
Do you want to have your voice heard in a issue of Voices? We welcome any contribution on current transitional justice issues, including 1000 word opinion and feature pieces. Please email voices@justiceandreconciliation.com or call (256) 0471433008 for more information.
Boniface Ojok
In this edition of Voices magazine we take a look at accountability for gross human rights violations. The contributions in this issue explore the local context of justice and suggest that Ugandans are at a dilemma when it comes to justice for crimes committed during the conflict in northern Uganda. A one size fits all approach doesn’t necessarily apply to victims of conflict.
At JRP, we believe that a bottom to top approach to accountability is the best solution for communities decimated by conflict. We have learnt from the experiences of other countries that transitional justice interventions, ranging from truth … read more.
Lino Owor Ogora
As northern Uganda continues on its road to recovery, complex questions remain unanswered regarding how perpetrators who committed crimes during the conflict can be held accountable. One of these complicated questions is how to hold accountable individuals who bear dual victim-perpetrator identities. Another key question is whether or not amnesty should be granted to former perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Debates on reparations, and what forms it will take, also continue to dominate the post-conflict discourse in northern Uganda. Then there is the question of how to hold state perpetrators accountable and finally, what options can be … read more.
Evelyn Akullo Otwili
In the course of the conflict in northern Uganda serious crimes of concern to Ugandans as a whole – particularly regular use of torture, murder, abductions and forceful displacement – were perpetuated against civilian populations in places like Palabek, Burcoro, Lukome, Awach, Alero, Acholi Bur, Purongo, and Namukora in the 1990’s not only by LRA but also by State Actors. As early as the 1990’s, Amnesty International reported inhumane acts by the then National Resistance Army (NRA). A particularly serious set of human rights violations are reported by a several sources to have taken place between 16 and 18 April … read more.
Isaac Okwir Odiya
In the West Nile sub-region of Uganda, as may be the case in other parts of Uganda and the rest of the world, former combatants of a rebel movement and members of the very community to whom crimes were perpetrated are living a parallel lives. West Nile experienced rebel activities of the Uganda National Rescue Front (UNRF) I and II which was characterised by the looting of civilians’ properties and killings, displacement and abduction among others. The rebel group is claimed to have started as a protest against bad government policies and unfair treatment to people of West Nile. Through … read more.
Nancy Apiyo
In our work at the Justice and Reconciliation Project, we have found that survivors of the conflict tend to have different views on prosecution – while some think there is need for prosecution others think that it is better to forgive and move on. Some of the views of the victims change over time depending on various factors such as lack of trust in the prosecutorial institutions both locally and internationally or lack of knowledge on transitional justice processes. The different views of the women on the same subject illustrates that transitional justice processes should be enforced together to complement … read more.
Evelyn Amony and Olive Ederu
In 2008, the Government of Uganda and the Lord’s Resistance Army signed the annex to the principal Agreement of the Juba Peace Agreement on accountability and reconciliation which elaborates how perpetrators should be held accountable for crimes committed during the conflict. In line with this, the Government of Uganda established the International Crimes Division of the High Court to try individuals accused of committing war crimes, crimes of genocide, terrorism and crimes against humanity. The Court fired into action in 2011 by opening the trial of Thomas Kwoyelo who was charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity. During a … read more.
Isaac Okwir Odiya
In the year 2012, the Justice and Reconciliation Project (JRP) and the Grass Roots Reconciliation Group (GRG) entered into a partnership to implement the Community Theatre Programme, a pilot project with two victims’ groups in Lamwo District Palabek Sub County. The theatre project was designed to promote healing among conflict affected community, seek redress for rights violated during conflict through advocacy and to promote reconciliation among members of the community affected by conflict. This pilot project provided a platform for victims of the LRA conflict to creatively share their conflict experiences as well as to identify major challenges impeding healing … read more.
Kasiva Mulli and Olive Ederu
The conflict in northern Uganda was a bitter pill to women who became victims of various forms of sexual and gender based violations. Those who were abducted were forced to marriage at a very young age, subjected to rape, sexual slavery, forced pregnancies and infection of sexually transmitted diseases. Those who managed to avoid abduction did not escape this form of violence. Camp life was often characterised by rape, infection of HIV/AIDS and a lack of proper reproductive health services to respond to these violations. The Government of Uganda in its response to the sexual and gender based violence (SGBV) … read more.
Katherine Payne, Lizzy Chenery and Marijn van de Geer (Resolution:Possible)
Resolution:Possible was founded in 2010 as a UK based campaign against the Lord’s Resistance Army. Very soon it became clear, through conversations and interactions with people in and from the region, that the situation in northern Uganda was far more complex than we had been led to believe. Through further research we realised that all the tensions and conflicts in the Great Lakes Region are very much connected. We were therefore no longer comfortable being a ‘single issue campaign’ presenting issues with clear cut solutions. Instead we realised there was an urgent need to get as much information from as … read more.
Oryem Nyeko
In recent months, the LRA conflict has been the centre of a wave of international interest that seemed, on the face of it, to come out of nowhere. It started in 2012 when a worldwide internet campaign was used to bring the conflict, its alleged perpetrators and its after effects to the forefront of global consciousness. The most recent development is under the ‘Rewards for Justice’ programme, an initiative of the United States’ State Department, which has brought the hunt for Joseph Kony and the remaining commanders of the rebel group back to the fore. ‘Rewards’ is essentially a bounty-hunter’s dream … read more.
Grace Acan
During this quarter, the Gender Justice Unit was able to implement the following activities under its three programmatic areas. Under our Legal Programme, we have been conducting a survey on gender needs in transitional justice in northern Uganda. The purpose of the survey was to establish unique needs of both women and men in post conflict northern Uganda as well as to identify gender gaps in ongoing transitional justice processes. Last year we conducted interviews and focus group discussions in five Districts and this year we have been compiling the data as well as preparing to begin verification workshops in … read more.
Oryem Nyeko
Following a launch in Kampala, the Justice and Reconciliation Project and the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) held the Gulu launch of their most recent report “Unredressed Legacy: Possible Policy Options and Approaches to Fulfilling Reparations in Uganda” on Thursday, 21 February 2013. The event was attended by representatives of northern Uganda CSOs and war victims’ associations such as the Kitgum Women Peace Initiative, the Women’s Advocacy Network and the Moyo Town War Victims Association. It served both as the official launch for many that contributed to its content and as an opportunity for discussion and feedback on the … read more.
Vicky Esquivel-Korsiak
On November 15, 2012 JRP hosted its first annual Dissemination Forum to showcase five publications produced in the past calendar year. The Forum drew 65 participants from across northern Uganda and Kampala representing victims groups, religious leaders, advocates and other stakeholders. Through the Forum, JRP was able to highlight issues and recommendations arising from its research, including how these recommendations can be carried forward by activists and communities. The Forum also provided an opportunity to elicit feedback on the reports and how JRP can continue to improve its work. The reports disseminated included: The Day They Came: Recounting the LRA’s … read more.
Sylvia Opinia
In recognition of the 10th anniversary of signing of the Government of Uganda (GoU)-Uganda National Rescue Front II (UNRF II) peace agreement, Justice and Reconciliation Project (JRP)’s community mobilization department joined Yumbe District and MAYANK Development Association and other development actors to celebrate this event. As the people of West Nile and Yumbe District in particular remember this landmark of peaceful achievement, attention is drawn to the fact that the peace process did not end with the signing of the agreement, it remains incumbent on all stakeholders to zealously guard this peace and all efforts must be garnered to consolidate it … read more.
Oryem Nyeko
In the middle of 2012, JRP began filming a documentary in Amuria District in Teso sub-region. We moved onto Lango, West Nile and Acholi sub-regions, where we interviewed the family and friends of individuals that are still missing because of enforced disappearances. Today, many parents, siblings and children continue to search for any information about what happened to their loved ones, a search, which to them, seemed to be being carried out alone.
The reality is that the abductions and enforced disappearances did not just affect those that were close to the missing. Instead, the issue is intertwined closely with communities in the region as their transitional justice needs become further defined. The search for the truth is not confined to a search for missing persons, but extends to the struggle for acknowledgment from those that are responsible, or partook in the two decade long conflict.
In this issue of Voices magazine, truth-telling is the central theme. The “Missing Persons Poster” , is not an exhaustive list of the missing. It was meant to serve as a reminder of the scale of the challenge and the importance of a campaign aimed at advocating for victim-centred truth-telling process in a post-conflict region like Northern Uganda. While it is impossible to accurately depict how many people are missing, it is hoped that this poster, among many other community-led initiatives, will lead to ‘the Right to Know’ being a serious priority in the agenda of the Government and other stakeholders (“The Right to Truth and Justice”).
The work of the ICRC in particular, in tracing missing abductees and reuniting them with family member, reflects a general sentiment of truth-seeking as an internationally recognised right. Guest writer Simon Robins examines the work of the organisation in “Missing Persons: Towards a Victim Centred Approach” . Proposed telling processes in this region are also examined from a gender perspective (“Achieving Gender Justice Through Truth-Telling”, page 26), and comparisons are made with countries in a post-conflict states (“Lessons from Post-Genocide Rwanda”, page 38)
The Gender Justice initiative, the Women’s Advocacy Network (WAN), consists of women that were personally affected by the conflict, some of whom actually know the whereabouts of some of the missing persons. The Chairlady of the advocacy initiative, Evelyn Amony, calls on individuals, organisations and governments to come together to restore the broken links in “Our Lost Jewels” .
What does the Right to Know mean to you? We welcome the views of readers, so email voices@justiceandreconciliation.com or visit our offices in Gulu to have your voice heard. ▪
WELCOME TO our latest edition of Voices Magazine where we bring you some local perspectives on the ‘Right to Know’. In August JRP launched the ‘Right to Know’ campaign to draw attention to the significance of truth seeking and missing persons in the transitional justice discourse in Uganda. Key to this campaign is the legacy of the various conflicts that have occurred in Northern Uganda leaving hundreds of persons gone missing and in need of the truth of their whereabouts.From its inception, JRP has been overwhelmed by the number of persons who claim they have lost their loved ones… Read more
ONE EVENING while finalising the preparations for the Dialogue on Disappearances to commemorate the International Day Against Enforced Disappearances on 30th August 2012, we pinned up posters made by JRP in collaboration with Children/Youth as Peace Builders (CAP) Uganda, as an indicative list of missing persons in Gulu District. The waiter who brought our drinks suddenly stood there for some time while skimming through the names and finally asked one of my colleagues how he could get the name of his missing relative to be included on the poster. What caught my attention was not the question but the fact… Read more
In the last few months, the ‘Right to Know’ campaign has formed a central part of JRP’s work. Voices Magazine sat down with JRP Programme Coordinator, Boniface Ojok, to get his insight on the campaign, its purpose and the hopes for the upcoming months. Read more.
The conflicts over the last three decades in Northern Uganda have left many impacts, some better understood than others. The large-scale LRA abductions that have come to characterise the war in the Acholiland and beyond have produced a multi-faceted response targeting returnees, their families and communities. Returnees have benefitted from counselling in district-based reception centres, support on their return home and assistance packages. In some sense however these returnees and their families are the lucky ones: many families of those abducted have heard nothing about their loved ones and remain torn between the hope that they will return and the… Read more
To commemorate the internationally recognised day against enforced disappearances, the Justice and Reconciliation Project in collaboration with Children/Youth as Peace Builders (CAP) Uganda organised a dialogue on the 30th of August 2012 between stakeholders, victims groups and civil society organisations in Northern Uganda to generate debate on addressing the issue of people who are still missing or unaccounted for as a result of conflict. Guided by the theme “the right to truth”, this was part of a series of week long of activities organised by JRP in West Nile, Teso, Lango and Acholi sub-regions aimed at engaging with communities on the issue… Read more
It is early morning and we have just arrived at a family compound in the outskirts of Gulu. We are greeted by the father of the family who is apologizing for being very busy that particular morning. It has been raining heavily all night and now he has to fix the latrine, which has been damaged by the rain. The father is weak and recovering from an illness, so the heavy work is hard for him to manage. He takes time out of his busy schedule to show us around his compound. While we are walking around we are talking … Read more
Despite experiencing close to four years of relative peace, Northern Uganda continues to grapple with several recovery challenges. Among these challenges are answered questions regarding the plight of people who continue to be missing. Many of these people were either abducted by the rebels of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) or simply went missing due to other causes such as displacement. It is not known if many of them are still alive.
A survey conducted by an NGO called Children and Youth as Peace Builders (CAP) indicates that 1,036 people are missing in Gulu alone. A 2012 survey by JRP … Read more
Daniel is one of the boys who never got the chance to come back home like we did. Many of us were abducted but not all got the chance to come back. Some died and others are still alive. They live with other tribes in other countries. When Daniel finally found his way home, he told us about his fate and that of the other children. There are people who are still in Sudan and living among the Lutugu tribe. Some of the girls have become wives while the boys become soldiers. The boys have also been given women from … Read more
Continuing from last issues ‘Ododo Wa: Our Stories’ (‘Storytelling, Gender and Reparations’ Voices, Issue 2, September 2012), JRP’s Gender Justice department uses the mechanism of story telling to ascertain the views of war affected women on the Right to Know, truth-telling processes, missing persons and the need for reconciliation at community level. … Read more
With a proposed truth-telling process being considered at national level, Gender Justice Team Leader Kasiva Mulli examines the factors that need to be taken into consideration if such a process is put in place from a gender perspective… Read more
Uganda is well endowed with a number of ethnic groups with different ethnic value and beliefs which are key in guiding behaviours in societies. Each group values their belongings and lifestyle and always strives to defend it at any point. Every society values truth-telling as a fundamental instrument of promoting justice and peace for the good of the societies but justice which is believed to come through truth-telling varies from person to person, society to society depending on individual needs.
The disparities in justice needs of individuals and societies has turned to define what “truth-telling” is. It is therefore important … Read more
In exploring the relevance of traditional mechanisms to the unique justice needs of Northern Uganda, JRP’s Documentation department found that truth-telling forms a central part of some reconciliatory ceremonies. In this article, mato oput and moyo kum specifically are examined vis-à-vis their role in truth-telling and the JLOS proposed transitional justice policy in Northern Uganda… Read more
On Tuesday 18th July 2012, the Justice Law and Order Sector (JLOS) released its long awaited study on traditional justice and truth-telling. The one day launch event took place at Imperial Royale Hotel in Kampala. The report contained findings of a study on traditional justice mechanisms of tribes all over Northern Uganda, and truth-telling mechanisms. The report made policy recommendations on adoption of a national policy on truth-telling and traditional justice.
Following the launch of this report, JRP’s Community Documentation department decided to conduct a brief situational analysis on truth-telling within local communities, to analyse local perceptions and opinions on the subject… Read more
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 … Read more
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… Read more
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 … Read more
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 … Read more
Since it is currently at the centre of transitional justice debates in Uganda and other post-conflict societies, the topic ‘reparations’ was chosen as the theme of the second issue of JRP’s quarterly magazine Voices.
Contents
An elderly victims’ cry for reparations
Veronica Eyotaru narrates the story of her experience during the infamous Ombaci Massacre
A poem written by the Women’s Advocacy Network’s Di Cwiny Group in memory of all the children who died in captivity and never lived to come back home.
Nancy Apiyo explores the views on reparations gathered from women during storytelling sessions
An analysis of Uganda’s past ad hoc reparative initiatives
An American student relates the personal impact of hearing the story of a teenagers’ abduction and the friendship it created.
Email voices@justiceandreconciliation.com to have your voice heard in the next issue of the magazine.
Download the entire issue here – Voices Issue 02
Voices Magazine Issue 1, 2012 (Amnesty)
This is the first issue of the Justice and Reconciliation Project’s (JRP) latest publication, Voices magazine. JRP’s mission is to empower conflict-affected communities to participate in processes of justice, healing and reconciliation, and this magazine aspires to do just that. By providing a regular, open platform for victims and key stakeholders to dialogue on local and national transitional justice developments, we will be “sharing victim-centered views on justice and reconciliation in Uganda” each quarter.
The theme of this first issue is amnesty. With Uganda’s Amnesty Act up for expiration, renewal or renewal with amendments on 24 May, we have sought to present the views of the war-affected communities where we operate. In this issue, key stakeholders like Michael Otim of the International Center for Transitional Justice (pg 13), Ismene Nicole Zarifis, International Technical Advisor on TJ for JLOS (pg 6,) and members of the JRP team address the important question: What should be the future of Uganda’s Amnesty Act? Like all of our work, we hope this collection of views contributes to the policy-making process currently taking place in Kampala, and links the grassroots with the decision-makers.
Note: If printing on a B&W printer, we recommend you print this grayscaled version.
