Tag Archives: Community Documentation

Situational analysis on current perceptions of amnesty in Acholi-land

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Today, JRP’s Community Documentation department released their latest publication, a brief situational analysis titled, “To Pardon or to Punish? Current Perceptions and Opinions on Uganda’s Amnesty in Acholi-land.”

Although Uganda’s Amnesty Act entered into force in 2000, it has recently been subjected to a renewed discussion, questioning its relevance in the current context of the conflict. Even in the war‐affected northern region of Uganda, it appears that mixed reactions prevail among the local population. Against this background, this brief situational analysis projects people’s opinions and perceptions on amnesty and provides recommendations for the Amnesty Commission as well as stakeholders concerned.

To read more, click here.

To Pardon or to Punish? Current Perceptions and Opinions on Uganda’s Amnesty in Acholi-land

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To Pardon or to Punish? Current Perceptions and Opinions on Uganda’s Amnesty in Acholi-land
Situational Brief: December 15, 2011

To read the full brief, click, here.

Uganda’s Amnesty Act of 2000 offers pardon to “any Ugandan who has at any time since the 26th day of January, 1986, engaged in or is engaging in war or armed rebellion against the government of the Republic of Uganda.”1 In northern Uganda, amnesty has been instrumental in fostering and encouraging the return of thousands of ex-combatants and abductees. The Amnesty Commission’s database indicates that, as of the 22nd August 2008, 22,520 former rebels have reported and been granted amnesty since the entering into force of the Amnesty Act (AA) in 2000. Approximately 48% of the reporters have been former members of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA).

Recently, on the 22nd September 2011, Uganda’s Constitutional Court ruled that ex-LRA commander Colonel Thomas Kwoyelo – charged with 12 substantive counts and 53 alternative counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity – was entitled to amnesty in line with Uganda’s 2000 Amnesty Act. The court ordered his trial to be halted forthwith. However, this court ruling attracted mixed reactions from national and international actors. While some applauded the court ruling and amnesty alike, others condemned both. At a national workshop on amnesty in Kampala on the 18th November 2011, this divide was evident with some parties calling for the amendment of the amnesty law. Even in the war-affected regions, where the amnesty law has been instrumental in fostering the return of thousands of ex-combatants, mixed reactions prevail among the local population. Although research on amnesty in northern Uganda has been carried out previously, there is no topical prospect concerning the current situation. Pending review and possible extension and/or amendment, Uganda’s current Amnesty Act is slated to expire in May 2012.

Against this background, the Justice and Reconciliation Project (JRP) carried out a rapid situational analysis between the 28th November and 06th December 2011 in the sub-counties of Bobbi and Unyama (Gulu district) and Koch Goma (Nwoya district), and Gulu and Kitgum towns to gauge the perceptions and opinions on amnesty and whether it is still relevant today in post-conflict northern Uganda. In this research, we spoke to 44 respondents – with a gender ratio of 26 male to 18 female – including local leaders, religious leaders, victims, formerly-abducted persons, and other community members, along with representatives of civil society organizations in Gulu town.

The analysis revealed that an overwhelming majority of our sample group still strongly support amnesty and consider it as vitally important for sustainability of the prevailing peace, reconciliation and rehabilitation. From this survey, a resounding 98% of respondents thought that the amnesty law was still relevant and that it should not be abolished. This situational analysis presents these perceptions concerning the relevance and role of amnesty and provides recommendations to policy-makers, organizations operating in these areas, as well as institutions working with victims and formerly-abducted persons.

To read the full brief, click, here.

“Kwoyelo Amnesty Raises Questions about Ugandan Justice,” International Justice Resource Center, 30 Nov. 2011

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“Kwoyelo Amnesty Raises Questions about Ugandan Justice,” International Justice Resource Center, 30 Nov. 2011
http://ihrlaw.org/2011/11/30/kwoyelo-amnesty-raises-questions-about-ugandan-justice/

In Uganda, amnesty for an alleged Lord’s Resistance Army commander, Thomas Kwoyelo, by the country’s High Court has raised questions regarding the future of transitional justice there.  Kwoyelo had been the first person charged by the International Crimes Division of the High Court for murder and other acts allegedly committed during nearly two decades of attacks by LRA forces on civilians in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (detailed background here).  Although the grant of amnesty was upheld on appeal, the attorney general has appealed again to the Supreme Court.  Many LRA rebels were granted amnesty under the Amnesty Act of 2000, but Kwoyelo had been denied without explanation when he applied. [Sunday Monitor; BBC; RNW]  Other LRA leaders indicted by the International Criminal Court have yet to be captured (Kwoyelo is not sought by the ICC). [ICC]

Kwoyelo’s trial on charges of grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions began in July 2011 (see HRW report here).  As reported by Human Rights Watch:

Kwoyelo’s defense counsel signalled to the court that they would raise three preliminary objections to the trial. One would be in regard to the state’s failure to apply Uganda’s Amnesty Law to Kwoyelo, although thousands of other LRA combatants have been granted amnesty under the act. The second would be to the fact that they had yet to receive full disclosure of the prosecution file, including exculpatory evidence. The third would be to the application of the Geneva Conventions Act to Kwoyelo’s alleged conduct.

[HRW] The International Crimes Division then sought an interpretation of these issues by the appellate court, which ruled on September 22 that Kwoyelo was entitled to amnesty under the law and as a matter of equal protection.  When the prosecution sought a stay of the order to release him, on November 10, the appeals court confirmed its September ruling  and held Kwoyelo should be freed.  Recently, when Kwoyelo remained in custody despite the court’s order, the International Crime Division of the High Court urged the public prosecutor to apply the amnesty and set him free. [AllAfrica; Justice and Reconciliation; Yahoo;  Insight on Conflict]

As reported by the Justice and Reconciliation Project, residents in Kwoyelo’s hometown in northern Uganda who identify Kwoyelo “as the face of the LRA” blamed him for the atrocities committed there and “feel strongly that he should not return and fear his presence in the area.”  Further, the Project reports, “victims expressed frustration over inconsistent dealings with the ICD and a lack of communication about current developments in Kwoyelo’s case”. [JRP]

Kwoyelo with Wardens

Situational analysis on moving forward in the Kwoyelo case

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Kwoyelo with Wardens
Kwoyelo arrives at the Gulu court building on Nov. 11, 2011

Today JRP released a situational analysis titled, “Moving Forward: Thomas Kwoyelo and the Quest for Justice.” While his release is expected soon, questions remain hanging on what should happen to him.  Our analysis revealed that the situation on the ground, and more specifically in his home area of Pabo, is highly volatile and unpredictable, and opinions regarding his reintegration into the community are widely varied. Furthermore, many of Pabo’s residents – including his family members – feel unprepared, uninformed and confused about how to proceed. This situational analysis presents these perceptions concerning the Constitutional Court ruling and makes recommendations for Kwoyelo’s rehabilitation and reintegration in the event that he is released.

To read the full brief, click here.

Kwoyelo Trial 11Nov11

Moving Forward: Thomas Kwoyelo and the Quest for Justice, Situational Analysis

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Kwoyelo Trial 11Nov11
Thomas Kwoyelo during an ICD session in Gulu on November 11, 2011.

Moving Forward: Thomas Kwoyelo and the Quest for Justice
A Rapid Situational Analysis on Perceptions and Opinions for the Way Forward

Read the full analysis here.

Having been charged with 12 substantive counts and 53 alternative counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, Colonel Thomas Kwoyelo became the first Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) commander to be charged before Uganda’s International Crimes Division (ICD), which held its first hearings on 11 July 2011. However, on 22 September 2011, Uganda’s Constitutional Court ruled that Colonel Thomas Kwoyelo was entitled to amnesty in line with Uganda’s Amnesty Act of 2000, and ordered his immediate release. This ruling was re-enforced by a Court of Appeal ruling on 10 November 2011 following an appeal to stay his release by the Attorney General. On 11 November 2011, the ICD ceased his trial but referred his release to the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and the Amnesty Commission.

While his release is expected soon, questions remain hanging on what should happen to him following his release, and how he should be reintegrated into the community. With this in mind, the Justice and Reconciliation Project (JRP) carried out a rapid situational analysis from 4-8 November 2011 in Pabo sub-county (Amuru district) and Gulu town to gauge the perceptions and opinions regarding the way forward for Thomas Kwoyelo, and what should happen to him in the event that he is released. We spoke with 33 respondents, including local leaders, religious leaders, victims, formerly-abducted persons, and residents of Pabo town, along with members of Kwoyelo’s family and civil society organizations in Gulu town.

The analysis revealed that the situation on the ground, and more specifically in his home area of Pabo, is highly volatile and unpredictable, and opinions regarding his reintegration into the community are widely varied. Furthermore, many of Pabo’s residents – including his family members – feel unprepared, uninformed and confused about how to proceed. This situational analysis presents these perceptions concerning the Constitutional Court ruling and makes recommendations for Kwoyelo’s rehabilitation and reintegration in the event that he is released.

 Read the full analysis here.

ICD judges

“Cessation of the Kwoyelo Case,” ICD Court Ruling, 11 Nov. 11

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ICD judges
A panel of 3 ICD judges during the Kwoyelo trial on Nov. 11, 2011.

“Cessation of the Kwoyelo Case,” ICD Court Ruling, 11 Nov. 11

Listen here.

On November 11, 2011, the International Crimes Division (ICD) of the High Court of Uganda convened in Gulu in the case of ex-LRA commander Col. Thomas Kwoyelo. In this audio, the lawyers are introduced and the panel of judges states its compliance of the Sept. 22nd Constitutional Court ruling to cease the trial in light of Kwoyelo’s eligibility for amnesty. The ICD did not, however, order for Kwoyelo’s release, and instead referred that matter to the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and the Amnesty Commission.

 

New article by Pilar Riaño-Alcalá & Erin Baines on survivor memory strategies

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Drs. Erin Baines (JRP co-founder) and Pilar Riaño-Alcalá from the University of British Colombia (UBC) have recently had an article on survivor documentation published in the International Journal of Transitional Justice (IJTJ). The article is based off of an exchange between survivors in northern Uganda and Colombia that took place in July and November 2010. Here is the article’s abstract:

Through an exchange between members of community-based organizations that document human rights violations in northwest Colombia and northern Uganda, this article examines multiple strategies of memory making in which an individual or a collective creates a safe social space to give testimony and re-story past events of violence or resistance. In settings of chronic insecurity, such acts constitute a reservoir of living documents to preserve memories, give testimony, contest impunity and convey the meaning, or the ‘truthfulness,’ of survivors. The living archive disrupts conventional assumptions about what is documentation or witnessing in the field of transitional justice and introduces new interdisciplinary tools to the field with which to learn from and listen differently to survivors.

To read the full article, click here, or visit http://ijtj.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2011/10/19/ijtj.ijr025.abstract?sid=5452fb38-03f4-4274-bbe1-7adbdd264905.

“The Archive in the Witness: Documentation in Settings of Chronic Insecurity,” IJTJ, 20 Oct. 2011

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“The Archive in the Witness: Documentation in Settings of Chronic Insecurity,” International Journal of Transitional Justice, 20 Oct. 2011
http://ijtj.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2011/10/19/ijtj.ijr025.abstract?sid=5452fb38-03f4-4274-bbe1-7adbdd264905

By Pilar Riaño-Alcalá and Erin Baines

Abstract

Through an exchange between members of community-based organizations that document human rights violations in northwest Colombia and northern Uganda, this article examines multiple strategies of memory making in which an individual or a collective creates a safe social space to give testimony and re-story past events of violence or resistance. In settings of chronic insecurity, such acts constitute a reservoir of living documents to preserve memories, give testimony, contest impunity and convey the meaning, or the ‘truthfulness,’ of survivors. The living archive disrupts conventional assumptions about what is documentation or witnessing in the field of transitional justice and introduces new interdisciplinary tools to the field with which to learn from and listen differently to survivors.

To read the full article, click here.

 

Col. Thomas Kwoyelo makes his first public appearance before the ICD in Gulu

ICD Commences Its First Trial: Updates on the Case of Col. Thomas Kwoyelo

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Col. Thomas Kwoyelo makes his first public appearance before the ICD in Gulu
Col. Thomas Kwoyelo makes his first public appearance before the ICD in Gulu

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.

Kwoyelo Trial Opening, 11 July 2011

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Finally, after several months of delays and postponements, the long awaited trial of Col. Thomas Kwoyelo kicked off in the International Crimes Division (ICD), which held its first landmark session in the High Court of Gulu. The much anticipated trial attracted visitors from all over the globe, in addition to many of the local nationals who flocked the High Court and crammed it to capacity. In attendance were civil society organizations, members of the district local government, the media, victims and the public at large. The trial started with an inspection of the guard of honour by Hon. Justice Akiiki Kiiza, the head of the ICD. Other Judges in attendance were Hon. Justice Elizabeth Ibanda Nahamya, Hon. Justice Alphonse Owiny Dollo, in addition to the Principal Judge Hon. Justice Yorokamu Bamwine. The prosecution team was led by state attorney Joan Kagezi and backed by Mr. George William Byansi and Mr. Anguzu Lino. The defence was led by Mr. Alaka Caleb, and his colleague Mr. Onyango John Francis.