January—March 2011
In This Issue:
To view the newsletter, click here
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.
To access the full report, click here.
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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.
To view this 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.
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From February 9-10, JRP, in collaboration with South Africa-based Institute for Justice and Reconciliation (IJR), carried out the third in a series of consultations with victims to gain their perceptions on different transitional justice mechanisms. The consultations were part of a series titled, “Enhancing Grassroots Participation in Transitional Justice Debates,” aimed at intensifying local advocacy in northern Uganda around issues of truth-seeking, reparations, traditional justice, and gender justice ahead of the 2011 presidential and parliamentary elections. Earlier consultations were held late last year in West Nile and Acholi/Lango. Like in the first two consultations, participants were eager to share their views on the relevance of different mechanisms and to state the importance of processes to foster healing and reconciliation. As it is across the greater North, victims in Teso prioritized compensation from the Government of Uganda for crimes committed by state and non-state actors.
To read the event’s press release, click here.
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On February 6, the Ambassador of Norway visited our office with the State Secretary in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Ingrid Fiskaa. The State Secretary was interested in learning about gender and equality, so we incited the collaboration of Ododo Wa:Our Stories and a women’s group they work closely with. In addition to team leaders providing short presentations on their work, the women performed an original drama on the subject, what they viewed as ‘gender inequality.’
This visit was an important opportunity to showcase our work and to share experiences. JRP is funded with generous support from the Norwegian Embassy in Kampala.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 8, 2011
MEDIA ADVISORY
Enhancing grassroots involvement in transitional justice debates
SOROTI— From February 9-10,2011, 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 Soroti to explore local perspectives on transitional justice.
As the third in a series of three consultations, the Teso consultation will be held at the Landmark Hotel in Soroti 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 sub-region, will convene to share views on truth-seeking, traditional justice, community reparations and gender justice.
Previous consultations were held in West Nile from November 24-25, 2010, and Acholi/Lango from December 1-2, 2010. The findings from the three consultations will be presented at a regional meeting later this 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 in light of the 2011 presidential and parliamentary elections. Since last year, JRP/IJR has held 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.
To download this press release, click here.
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On January 24 JRP welcomed Norwegian Ambassador H.E. Thorbjørn Gaustadsæther to our offices. His 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.
This interaction was an important opportunity to showcase our work and to share experiences. JRP is funded with generous support from the Norwegian Embassy in Kampala.
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.
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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.
The first consultation was held November 24-25 at Slumberland Hotel in Arua Town, and engaged 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 sub-region, convened to share views on truth-seeking, traditional justice, community reparations and gender 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.