This policy brief assesses the continuing relevance of traditional justice in Northern Uganda. Over two years after the dissolution of the Juba peace negotiations in November 2008, several questions continue to remain unanswered regarding how traditional justice mechanisms can be utilized to promote accountability and reconciliation. More specifically, questions persist as to whether traditional justice can be utilized to address war crimes and crimes against humanity. There is still uncertainty in the field as to how traditional approaches can complement the wider national and international processes of transitional justice.
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 conflict in Northern Uganda, entitled ‘Enhancing Grassroots Involvement in Transitional Justice Debates.’ The consultations, held in the Acholi/Lango, Teso and West Nile sub‐regions, focused on truth‐telling, traditional justice, reparations and gender justice within the context of Uganda’ s transitional justice processes. Based on views from grassroots communities, this policy brief notes that traditional mechanisms are still considered by many in Northern Uganda as mechanisms that can promote reconciliation and healing within war‐affected communities. It concludes with a series of recommendations to the Government of Uganda, cultural institutions and the International Criminal Court.
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.
On March 4, JRP and our partners at the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) launched a new joint report titled, We Can’t Be Sure Who Killed Us: Memory and Memorialization in Post-Conflict Northern Uganda.
The event, held at Gulu’s Churchill Courts Hotel, was attended by more than 60 members of civil society and representatives from massacre survivor associations in West Nile, Teso, Acholi and Lango.
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.
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.
Enhancing grassroots involvement in transitional justice debates
GULU— From December 1-2, 2010, the Justice and Reconciliation Project (JRP), in partnership with the South Africa-based Institute for Justice and Reconciliation (IJR), will hold a two-day grassroots consultation in Gulu to explore local perspectives on transitional justice.
As the second in a series of three consultations, the Acholi/Lango consultation will be held at the GUSCO (Gulu Support the Children Organisation) office in Gulu Town, and will engage local-level, grassroots persons directly affected by conflict to ensure that their opinions are not left out of the wider discussions. Thirty participants, comprising primarily of victims and victims’ groups and religious and cultural leaders from across the two sub-regions, will convene to share views on truth-seeking, traditional justice, community reparations and gender justice.
A subsequent consultation will be held in the Teso sub-region from December 8-9. A consultation in West Nile was held from November 24-25. The findings from the three consultations will be presented at a regional meeting early next year and will work to influence policy recommendations for the implementation of key transitional justice mechanisms in the region.
These consultations are part of a larger JRP/IJR joint 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.
Media are invited to attend the opening and closing sessions of each of the regional consultations. For more information, email info@justiceandreconciliation.com or call Lindsay McClain, JRP Communications Officer, at +256 (0)471433008 or +256 (0)783300103. Or, visit us on the web at www.justiceandreconciliation.com or www.ijr.org.za.
About JRP
The Justice and Reconciliation Project (JRP) promotes locally sensitive and sustainable peace in Africa’s Great Lakes region by focusing on the active involvement of grassroots communities in local-level transitional justice. They are based in Gulu, northern Uganda.
About IJR
The Institute for Justice and Reconciliation (IJR) promotes for reconciliation and socio-economic justice in Africa through strategic partnerships and carefully constructed interventions. They are based in Cape Town, South Africa.
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.
