On Friday, May 20, 2011, the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ), the Justice and Reconciliation Project (JRP), and the Uganda Victims Foundation (UVF), organized a one-day dialogue between representatives of the Justice, Law and Order Sector (JLOS) and civil society from northern Uganda. The event was held in Lira Town and was attended by 42 representatives, including His Worship Tadeo Asiimwe—Registrar of the War Crimes Division—and Ms. Rachel Odoi-Musoke—of the JLOS Secretariat.
The dialogue provided an opportunity for the two JLOS representatives to share updates and developments on TJ in Uganda, and more specifically the work of the JLOS Transitional Justice Working Group and the War Crimes Division (WCD), soon to be renamed the International Crimes Division (ICD). It also provided space for the various civil society representatives to ask questions and share comments on the processes involved and how these could impact their communities.
This event coincided with national community consultations by JLOS to gain perspectives on truth-seeking, traditional justice and reparations, and followed a consultative meeting organized by ICTJ and JRP on April 21st in Gulu with civil society on an outreach strategy for the WCD.
The memorial monument stone in Lukodi remembers those who died in the massacre
On the 19th of May 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 village is located seventeen kilometers north of Gulu town, in Gulu district. It is one of the many villages in northern Uganda that suffered from persistent LRA attacks, leading to the death of several people. Northern Uganda has been under conflict for over twenty years, as a result of a civil war waged mainly between the rebels of the LRA and the Government of Uganda (GoU). The impacts of the conflict have been devastating, characterized by the displacement of over 1.8 million people into IDP camps, loss of lives, and abduction of over 38,000 children by the LRA to serve as child soldiers and sex slaves.1 Lukodi, like many other villages in northern Uganda, was severely affected by the conflict, leading to the displacement of the inhabitants of the village who were forced to seek refuge in the congested camp of Coope2 for three years. The people of Lukodi were able to begin returning to their homes as a result of the relative peace which ensued in northern Uganda after the conclusion of the Juba peace talks in November 2008.
This report reconstructs a narrative of the Lukodi massacre and the major events that unfolded on that fateful day of 19th May 2004. The documentation centered on learning the experiences of this community prior to and during the massacre, the impact the massacre had on the population and the transitional justice challenges they continue to face today. It tells the story of a people that suffered from a horrible attack on their village in 2004, and were subsequently displaced for almost three years. It further looks at the current reintegration challenges faced by the people of Lukodi, now that the people are returning from displacement and trying to rebuild their lives, but in the process have to struggle with daunting resettlement challenges, in addition to complex questions on how to approach issues of reconciliation between victims and alleged perpetrators within the community. Many war affected communities in northern Uganda are faced with a similar scenario as they struggle to pick up the pieces of their lives in the wake of the conflict, characterized by difficulty to cope with their trauma, and challenges in the pursuit of their justice and reconciliation needs, specifically the need for accountability and reparations.
This report also briefly reflects on the visit and investigation carried out by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in Lukodi. As revealed by respondents, the Office of the Chief Prosecutor and the Ugandan Police visited Lukodi several times in the wake of the massacre, with the aim of gathering evidence for the case against the LRA. The report shows that, however well intended this intervention may have been, it has failed to serve the justice needs of the people in Lukodi. Rather than providing them with a solution, the ICC intervention has left the victims with more questions than answers regarding how to approach the question of accountability for perpetrators. Giving the victims a voice, this report therefore makes suggestions to the policy makers, practitioners and other stakeholders on how to address accountability issues using more appropriate means.
The report finally concludes with recommendations to the Government of Uganda and other stakeholders, in line with views and opinions gathered from the people of Lukodi. The people of Lukodi call for reparations, sharing of the findings of the official investigations carried out after the massacre, support for community reconciliation initiatives and a truth-telling process in which the community, the LRA and the Government of Uganda will take part. These views are shared by many war affected people all over northern Uganda, and therefore require the attention of the stakeholders in question.
On April 21, JRP and ICTJ held a one-day consultative meeting organized by the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) and the Justice and Reconciliation Project (JRP) on outreach for the first war crimes cases before Uganda’s War Crimes Division (WCD).
The objectives of the meeting were to:
Assess civil society’s expectations and realistic understanding for potential outcomes of the work of the WCD;
Increase civil society’s engagement in all stages of legal proceedings before the WCD;
Provide input for the draft outreach strategy and briefing information on TJ by JLOS.
Train tracks in Mukura near where the infamous train wagon sat
On July 11, 1989, the 106th battalion of the National Resistance Army (NRA)1 allegedly rounded up 300 men from Mukura and other surrounding areas and incarcerated some of them in train wagon number
C521083. These men were suspected of being rebel collaborators against the NRA regime, but there is little evidence to suggest that most of them were anything other than innocent civilians. Trapped in the crowded train wagon, trying not to trample on one another, the men struggled to breathe, and by the time they were released after more than four hours, 69 of them had suffocated to death, while 47 of them survived.
Twenty two years after the occurrence of this massacre, the Justice and Reconciliation Project (JRP) reconstructs an account of what took place, using narratives from survivors, in order to bring the concerns of victims to the attention of the Government and other stakeholders. Through our interactions with survivors of the massacre, we learnt that besides constructing a memorial mass grave in which the dead were buried, the Government also supported the construction of the Mukura Memorial Senior Secondary School and a public library in memory of those who lost their lives.
This report aims at providing a narrative of key events leading up to the massacre, based on the testimonies of survivors, and explores the major initiatives which were used by the incumbent Government to promote accountability, healing and reconciliation for the families of the Mukura victims and the survivors from the train wagon. A central finding of this report is that most of these initiatives to provide reparation—though likely well intentioned—were implemented in an untimely manner, with little involvement and consultation of the victims and in times of increased political incentive for Government. As such, the people do not attach much significance and ownership to structures such as the mass grave and Mukura Memorial Senior Secondary School. The report concludes with lessons learnt and recommendations aimed at improving the implementation of future post-conflict transitional justice (TJ) initiatives which the government may undertake in other parts of the country, such as northern Uganda which has recently emerged from conflict.
This report, “Enhancing Grassroots Involvement in Transitional Justice Debates: A Report on Consultations held with victims and civil society organizations in West Nile, Acholi, Lango and Teso Sub-regions in Northern Uganda,” is the product of consultations by JRP and the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation (IJR).
Between November 2010 and February 2011, the Justice and Reconciliation Project (JRP) in collaboration with the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation (IJR) organized a series of consultations with victims of the conflict in northern Uganda. These consultations were entitled “Enhancing grassroots involvement in transitional justice debates” and covered the themes of truth telling, traditional justice, reparations and gender justice.
The consultations were aimed at complementing the countrywide consultations by the Justice, Law and Order Sector (JLOS) on truth seeking and traditional justice. The key findings presented in the report are a synthesis of the victims’ voices on what their views are on truth seeking, traditional justice, reparations and gender justice.
This report is aimed at informing JLOS and other relevant stakeholders working on issues pertaining to victims in northern Uganda about the needs of these victims, as expressed by the individuals themselves.
The skull of a victim rests at the Barlonyo massacre site, 2006
A Joint Report by JRP and the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ)
With funding from the Austrian Development Cooperation
Written by: Julian Hopwood
This report examines the role memorials have played in Uganda’s transitional justice 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 of northern Uganda, involving the eponymous ethnic groups.
A boy stands playfully in a returned homestead in northern Uganda
The year 2010 presented a significant step in the future of JRP following the transition from a project created in 2004 to an independent NGO with headquarters in Gulu. JRP has a national mandate to carry out transitional justice activities in Uganda. During the past year, the staff at JRP — together with our student interns, community volunteers, local victim groups and partners — made significant contributions towards the success of planned programs for the year. In particular, working in over twenty local communities in north, northeastern and West Nile regions presented us with unique insights into war-affected communities’ quests for justice, reconciliation and sustainable peace in Uganda.
Our engagements in mobilizing civil society across Acholi, Lango, Teso and West Nile sub-regions for meaningful participation in discourses on justice and reconciliation provided an opportunity for us to re-echo our commitment of ensuring that victims should be at the centre of every stage of developing any transitional justice process in Uganda.
Some key areas of our engagements in the past year include empowering victims to articulate their own positions on transitional justice, for instance the ‘Women’s Gender Justice Statement,’ which was circulated to policy-makers and to a wider audience nationally and internationally. We also mainstreamed gender-related concerns affecting young, formerly abducted mothers in most of our work with civil society, whilst ensuring that our documentation programme amplifies the voices of the young and vulnerable women in northern Uganda. In doing this, we integrated within JRP a unique documentation project, Ododo Wa: Our Stories, where several women were engaged in participatory research and training in leadership and advocacy skills. A testimony by one young woman we worked with sums it all up. She remarked, “…for long we victims of torture, rape and forced marriage have remained silent. Today we have the chance to speak on our own behalf marking an end to a long period of silence. My story has got a healing power and a testimony that many other girls went through the same suffering.”
In addition, our unique action-oriented research interventions led us into publishing important local-level based research reports such as As Long as You Live, You Will Survive on the Omot massacre providing additional insights into ‘what needs to be done’ to ensure that the justice needs of the voiceless are brought to the attention of civil society and policy-makers.
In order to ensure that victim’s voices and interests are at the forefront of contestants’ minds in the upcoming 2011 Ugandan elections, we have designed a comprehensive campaign to put transitional justice on the election agenda.
Side one of our English campaign card. You can download the printable PDF of the English and Luo cards below.
Internationally, transitional justice, or TJ, is increasingly recognized as an important tool in resolving post-conflict instability and inter-communal tensions. However, in many circles, especially among politicians and policy-makers, TJ still remains underestimated and largely misunderstood. Yet, in a country like Uganda, marred by a history of violence and unrest, citizens and leaders informed of the merits of TJ mechanisms are vital to healing the wounds of war and ensuring the sustainability of peace—locally, regionally, and nationally.
At the Justice and Reconciliation Project (JRP), we work with grassroots communities to explore and engage on issues of justice and reconciliation and seek opportunities for war-affected communities to share their thoughts, ideas, and concerns with stakeholders and TJ actors. As Uganda prepares for the upcoming election season and reflects on the leadership of the last five years, we see an immense opportunity for war-affected communities to influence the direction that the justice and reconciliation debate takes in this country, whilst informing aspiring politicians of the political and social value of prioritizing transitional justice.
In order to ensure that victim’s voices and interests are at the forefront of contestants’ minds in the upcoming 2011 Ugandan elections, transitional justice must be prioritized on the election agenda. To do so, war-affected communities must demand that their concerns be addressed and acknowledged by candidates and parties contesting for seats in local and national government.
Moreover, this election needs candidates and parties that commit to sustainable peace in Uganda and that requires not only forward-looking planning and development, but also stakeholders who address past abuses and feelings of injustice. It is our belief, guided by the ideas of the communities in which we work, that votes this election should therefore be in favor of those who will commit themselves once elected to:
Accountability for past abuses: That they support a fair, transparent and balanced national transitional justice system that includes judicial investigations and prosecutions and traditional justice mechanisms, so those responsible for human rights violations are held accountable.
National reconciliation through truth-telling: That they support provisions for truth-telling both at the national and community-levels, so that forgiveness, healing and reconciliation can take place in Uganda.
Reparations for war victims: That they support a national reparations policy to fairly administer reparations to war victims in Uganda. There is need for coordination of all compensation efforts to ensure that reparations schemes across the country are consistent and that victims are consulted throughout the process.
Memorialization: That they commit to undertake symbolic measures to promote remembrance, healing and closure nationally and among their constituencies.
Gender justice: That they support efforts that challenge impunity for sexual and gender-based violence and ensure women and children’s equal access to redress of human rights violations.
Structural reforms: That they support efforts that transform state institutions from instruments of repression and corruption to instruments of public service delivery and integrity, with a transparent and independent military, police and judiciary.
Throughout the region, and unfortunately much of the world, there is still a profound lack of understanding of how transitional justice can be effectively implemented. But 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.
This strategy to encourage voters to hold candidates accountable matches our general approach to community involvement: the most successful activities will engage and empower communities to act for themselves. By reminding voters to ask their candidates where TJ is in their manifestos and then offering six general action points to guide their advocacy, we frame these communities’ arguments into a unifying demand that provides strength in numbers.
Community members during the Mucwini community dialogue
It is mid-morning on a beautiful, sunny Sunday, June 6, 2010. Residents of Mucwini, mostly men, are chatting away, seated in small groups at the trading centre. Meanwhile others, mainly women and children, are returning from church, most likely heading to their homes to prepare meals for the family. It is the season for mangoes, and children seem to be more interested in the seasonal fruits than going straight home to eat the meal prepared by their mothers.
Under the famous mango tree shade in the compound of one of the elders in the area, located just about 20 metres from the sub-county headquarters, two large public address system speakers, mounted by the JRP and Mega FM team, are playing loud local music by Acholi artists and attracting curious passer-by. This mango tree shade is a favourite spot in the area for hosting community events. Today’s gathering is part of a series of community dialogues organised by JRP in collaboration with Mega FM, a popular radio station in Northern Uganda. Later the opinions recorded here will be fittingly aired on Mega FM’s ‘Te-yat’ programme, meaning “under the tree,” a reference to Acholi traditions of discussing important issues collectively under the shade of a tree.
The discussions put a lot of emphasis on the need for all stakeholders to build on the Acholi traditional justice principles that involve compensation, truth-telling and symbolic ceremonies for the dead. Community members also urged each other to find ways to forgive one another and go back to start living as one people so that they can set good precedence for their children.
