Tag Archives: Women’s Advocacy Network

Working for gender-just reparations

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Members of the Women's Advocacy Network and the Justice and Reconciliation Project prepare to meet policy-makers to ensure that interim measures will be set up to address the issues war-affected women and their children face.
Members of the Women’s Advocacy Network and the Justice and Reconciliation Project prepare to meet policy-makers to ensure that interim measures will be set up to address the issues war-affected women and their children face.

Since 2012, the Women’s Advocacy Network has worked to advocate for the inclusion of war-affected women’s reparations and accountability, to promote and respect of the rights of children born of war and to empower and build the capacity of its members to be more effective leaders. Last March, WAN successfully presented a petition to Parliament through the Uganda Women Parliamentarian’s Association seeking its intervention in addressing issues and challenges faced by war-affected women in the Acholi sub-region. That petition and others presented by other similar organisations working to provide redress for victims of the LRA insurgency were consolidated and resulted in a Parliamentary resolution on 9 April 2014.

In order to ensure that the resolutions adopted by Parliament are put into action, WAN and the Justice and Reconciliation Project are carrying out a campaign to ensure the inclusion of gender-just and age inclusive reparations in national policies and programmes in Uganda. As part of the campaign, WAN and JRP intend to meet policy-makers to ensure that interim measures will be set up to address the issues war-affected women and their children face as the Ugandan government works to implement Parliament’s resolution.

This May, WAN accompanied by staff from JRP’s Gender Justice team traveled to Kampala to meet with Delta Partnership, consultants brought on by the Office of the Prime Minister to assist with the third phase of Uganda’s Peace, Recovery and Development Plan. The objective of the meeting was to inform the consultants about the challenges faced by the war affected women and children of northern Uganda so that such needs and challenges are catered for in the design of the new PRDP and other government programmes. During the meeting, we discussed the priority of needs of war affected women that comprise WAN and that only being indicative but also reflective of the needs of other war-affected women based on assessment JRP carried out in April.

We also paid a courtesy call at Uganda Women’s Parliamentary Association and the Uganda Law Reform Commission to discuss how existing and upcoming programs can benefit war affected women and children of northern Uganda. We also requested for a meeting with the office of the Prime Minister to get involved in the campaign. During these visits, we also got leads on other gainful strategies for the petition follow up.

Stay tuned for updates on the progress of the WAN and JRP’s campaign to ensure gender just reparations in Uganda here.

Victoria Nyanjura, a powerful woman

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Victoria Nyanjura featured in the May 2015 edition of Marie Claire Spain.

Victoria has been at JRP since August 2013, when she began volunteering with JRP’s Gender Justice department. Her mobilisation skills, hard work and dedication eventually led to her becoming a full time staff with JRP. As a formerly-abducted person herself she says that she is specially placed to do the work JRP does.

“There is a way that I’m strong and can understand the women,” she says, “They really feel comfortable interacting with me.”

Currently, Victoria is key in implementing JRP’s livelihood project funded by Uganda Fund through planning, ensuring activities are effected and providing support for the women’s groups. As a member of the Women’s Advocacy Network, Victoria is also involved in creating awareness for the network and engaging potential partners. She has attended numerous national and international conferences where she has presented on the needs and challenges of war-affected women and their children. In the past, she has also been responsible for coordinating Gender Justice activities, facilitating community mediation and outreach and report-writing.

“What do I enjoy about working at JRP? Working with the women. The interface. All along I had wanted to work with women and children, and now I’ve achieved what I wanted.”

Victoria graduated with a Bachelors degree in Development Studies at Kyambogo University in Kampala, where she learned about conflict-resolution and ethics, community initiatives and gender studies, all of which, she says, has contributed enormously to her work at JRP.

“I want to be a great woman,,” she admits, “I would love for the experiences I went through to open doors for somebody who cannot speak for themselves. I want to use my experience to improve the lives of many people by talking to them and giving them courage. They’ll say, ‘Victoria was this and now she is able to be this. What about me?’ They can learn from that.”

Rwot Lakica Women’s Group releases video for ‘Lubanga Ber (God is Good)’

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Members of Rwot Lakica pose with Jeff Korondo, 7 February 2014 in Gulu
Members of Rwot Lakica pose with Jeff Korondo on 7 February 2015 in Gulu

Rwot Lakica Women’s Group, a member of the Women’s Advocacy Network (WAN) at JRP, is pleased to release the music video for its new song “Lubanga Ber (God Is Good)” featuring group members and Acholi musician Jeff Korondo. The song and video, which chronicle the challenges facing formerly-abducted women during captivity and upon return home, were produced by Music for Peace (MfP), an initiative of northern Ugandan musicians to promote the power of music for peacebuilding and positive social change. It is envisaged that the song and video can be used by Rwot Lakica and the WAN as advocacy tools for redress and accountability for the wrongs they experienced during northern Uganda’s longstanding conflicts.

“Lubanga Ber,” recorded in the Acholi lakubukubu style, begins by thanking God for taking away the troubles and disturbances the women faced while in captivity of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). This includes persevering the long treks, the heavy rains, and the tall mountains. It alludes to the stigmatization they faced from the community after turning home, saying “The low opinions they used to have about me, He has taken them away. The beauty of God can be seen on me.” The song also notes the present-day struggles of many formerly-abducted women, including lack of money to pay school fees for children (including those born in captivity), and access to land, shelter, and feeding. Another notable feature of the song is its call to those still with the LRA in central Africa to return home, and the appeal to know the Government of Uganda’s response to the women’s plight. Korondo’s verse urges the Acholi to embark on education, prayer, and protection of land.

The group intends to publicize the song through radio and dissemination to partners. The women are particularly interested in ensuring that it gets played in LRA-affected areas in central Africa, so that those still with the rebels can hear their voices and defect. They intend to produce additional songs in MfP’s recording studio in Gulu, so that their messages for peace and reconciliation can continue to be heard.

Watch the video here:

Report on redress for SGBV launched in Lira

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Last Thursday, the Justice and Reconciliation Project launched “Establishing the Extent of SGBV Revictimisation among Female Survivors of Conflict SGBV in Northern Uganda”, a report on a baseline study assessing redress on providing redress for SGBV on conflict related wrongs.

The study was conducted in May and June 2014 to inform JRP’s project, “Redress for Sexual- and Gender-Based Violence on Conflict-Related Wrongs,” which aims to support transitional justice (TJ) efforts of female survivors of SGBV in Adjumani, Pader and Lira districts.

The baseline operated under a simple, yet alarming observation, based on JRP’s years of working with conflict victims: war-affected women are continuously targeted for sexual- and gender-based crimes. It sought to establish the diverse nature and extent to which SGBV revictimisation targets and affects war-affected women in the aforementioned districts. In doing so, it sought to determine the:

  •  Extent to which SGBV of today targets war-affected women;
  • Causes and consequences of SGBV revictimisation in war-affected communities; and
  • Perceptions and knowledge of the women and community regarding SGBV and SGBV revictimisation.
  • Perceptions and knowledge of the women and community regarding SGBV and SGBV revictimisation.

The launch and roundtable discussion on the findings of this survey was held in Lira on 24 November with members of a consortium of civil society organisations funded by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and women representatives of Adjumani, Pader and Lira districts in attendance.

Read this report here.

We were those girls

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WAN Bring Back Our Sisters

 

We were those girls.

We are the Women’s Advocacy Network, a group of war affected women from northern Uganda that underwent a similar experience to our young sisters in Nigeria. We condemn in the strongest terms possible the heinous crime of abduction committed by the Boko Haram in Chibok north eastern Nigeria. We call for the immediate release of the school girls and ask the Nigerian Government and the international community not to spare any effort in trying to rescue the girls.

We recall that during our time when we were abducted by the Lord’s Resistance Army, we ended up staying in misery with our captors for periods ranging from 5 to 12 years. We do not want what happened to us to happen to them or any other girl. We hope, pray and advocate that such should not be the case with our young sisters from Nigeria. We especially know what they are going through.

We also want to reiterate that women and girls should stop been targeted and used as weapons of war.

Applauding Parliament for Adopting a Resolution on Reparations for War-Affected Women and Children

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It has been six years since the Juba peace talks when the government of Uganda undertook to establish measures that would ensure justice for victims of atrocities committed during the 20 year insurgency in northern Uganda. To date very little has been done to redress the harm that victims suffered.

Members of WAN present to UWOPA at Parliament, 14 March 2014
Members of the Women’s Advocacy Network present a petition to the Uganda Women Parliamentarian’s Association at Parliament in Kampala, 14 March 2014.

9 April 2014, however, marks a special and historic day for the war-affected in northern Uganda. The Parliament of Uganda on this day unanimously adopted a resolution calling for a series of measures that will support victims and communities affected by the conflict. This landmark Parliamentary resolution marks the beginning of healing and the restoration of dignity for many victims and survivors who have waited years for steps to be taken to address their needs.

The resolution comes as a result of a motion that was tabled in Parliament by Aswa County, Gulu District Member of Parliament, Hon, Ronald Reagan Okumu on 3 April 2014, urging Parliament to intervene and address issues affecting persons, particularly women and girls, who were affected by the war. This motion was partly influenced by a petition presented to Uganda Women Parliamentarians Association (UWOPA) and the Acholi Parliamentary Group by the Women’s Advocacy Network. The petition was backed and overwhelmingly supported by the Gulu District Local Government

The resolution calls on the Government of Uganda to do the following among others:

  • Establish a gender sensitive reparations fund and offer reparations to women and men that were affected by LRA rebellion. Government should provide priority in livelihood, healthcare, skills training and education for women/children victims of LRA conflict in order for these people to live in dignity;
  • Increase the budgetary provision for free health services (health insurance) especially on sexual and reproductive health (such as fistula, HIV/AIDS, gynaecological problems), orthopaedic support, psychosocial support as well as ensuring that such services are easily accessible to women and children who were affected by the insurgency;
  • Put in place a mechanism with regional governments in LRA affected areas to identify, integrate and regularize stateless children born in captivity, Government should therefore recognize the special unique needs of the children born in captivity whose fathers and patrilineal heritage is unknown and have a review of the laws that require information and documentation on paternity to be amended as well;
  • Identify, integrate and resettle child victims of formerly abducted women whose clans, social, tribal and cultural belongings are unknown.

The Deputy Speaker of Parliament has appointed a three member committee consisting of Hon Rosemary Nyakingogoro, Hon Reagan Okumu and Hon Godfrey Kiwanda to follow up on government’s implementation of the resolution and update parliament accordingly.

This resolution is a success for the hundreds of war-affected women and children that have languished since the cessation of hostility in 2006. The adoption of this resolution is an important step in the transitional justice process in northern Uganda because it provides acknowledgment of the needs of the voices of victims of conflict. It also provides an opportunity for the government to provide solutions that address the challenges that vulnerable groups in the region face, many of whose special needs have not been adequately dealt with in the past.

The Justice and Reconciliation Project, therefore, urges the government to expeditiously implement the resolutions made by Parliament.

Parliament adopts resolution to address the needs of war-affected

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Women’s Advocacy Network petition unanimously adopted by Parliament

WAN parliament
Members of the Women’s Advocacy Network (WAN) pose with Members of Parliament in front of Parliament in Kampala after presenting a petition to the Uganda Women Parliamentarian’s Association on 14 March 2014. Picture courtesy of Sylvia Opinia.

KAMPALA – On 9 April 2014, the Ugandan Parliament adopted a resolution calling for the establishment of a “gender sensitive reparations fund” and the offering of reparations for war-affected women and men. The resolution also calls for the government to provide free and accessible health services for war-affected women and children as well as to ensure the integration and resettlement of children born in captivity and formerly-abducted women in their communities.

This comes as a result of a motion tabled by Aswa County, Gulu District Member of Parliament Hon. Ronald Reagan Okumu on 3 April. It also comes on the heels of intense lobbying by civil society organisations such as the Justice and Reconciliation Project, a non-governmental organisation in Gulu, and specifically a petition presented by a collective of war-affected women known as the Women’s Advocacy Network (WAN) to the Uganda Women Parliamentarian’s Association in March.

After the adoption of the resolution, the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Jacob Oulanya appointed a three member committee consisting of Hon. Rosemary Nyakingogoro, Hon. Reagan Okumu and Hon. Godfrey Kiwanda to follow up on the government’s implementation of the resolution and to update Parliament accordingly.

“This has begun the process of healing for me,” the chairperson of the Women’s Advocacy Network, Evelyn Amony said after hearing the news, “We plan to work to push for the issues we have raised until they are addressed. We also hope to meet the president of Uganda to let him know what we are going through and for him to understand the urgency of our needs.”

The resolution has been deemed a “success” and a “milestone” according to a statement issued by the Justice and Reconciliation Project.

“It has been six years since the government of Uganda undertook to establish measures that would ensure justice for victims of atrocities committed during the insurgency in northern Uganda. To date very little has been done to redress the harm that victims suffered but this landmark parliamentary resolution marks the beginning of healing and the restoration of dignity for many victims,” the organisation is quoted as saying.

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Download this press release here (pdf): Press release 2014-04-10

A milestone achieved

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Today is a very important day for the war affected women in northern Uganda. After presenting a petition to members of parliament seeking their intervention to address challenges they continue to face in post conflict northern Uganda, a motion was moved in parliament on 3rd of April 2014 by Hon Ronald Regan Okumu for a resolution on the plight of persons affected by the Lord’s Resistance Army. The motion received overwhelming support but was not adopted due to a few technicalities to which the speaker appointed a select committee to address and return the motion to the floor of parliament today for adoption.

On Wednesday I had the privilege of watching the sessions from the gallery. I was very happy at how the discussions were unfolding, at one point I felt the urge to stand and address all the legislators present to just let them know what they were discussing is real and are my everyday reality. I had longed for such a day and I thank God I was there to witness it.

We began this journey a year ago. There were numerous challenges along the way but we soldiered on. I am grateful for the support JRP continues to give to us. I was happy to hear the JRP’s Programm Coordinator say that we can always be assured that JRP will be there to offer assistance. This is a good thing since there will be a lot to do after the motion is adopted. I would also like to thank the Gulu District Local Government for working with us and helping us to actualize this dream.

As a way forward we plan to work with our supporters to push for the issues we have raised until they are addressed. I also dream of organizing the members of WAN to meet the president of Uganda as the women did in Liberia. He needs to know what we are going through and the urgency of our needs.

 On 9 April 2014, the members of Uganda’s Parliament will vote to adopt a resolution incorporating contents of a petition presented to the Uganda Women Parliamentarian’s Association (UWOPA) by the Women’s Advocacy Network on 12 March 2014. Read the petition here.

Women’s Advocacy Network delivers petition

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WAN parliamentThis week, members of the Women’s Advocacy Network (WAN) delivered a long anticipated petition to the Uganda Women Parliamentarian’s Association (UWOPA). The petition calls for, among other things, a comprehensive reparations programme to be instituted, the prioritisation of reparations for war-affected women and increased accessibility for reproductive and mental health services for children and women affected by conflict.

You can read the petition here. 

Women’s Advocacy Network petition

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24th February 2014

The Chairperson,

Uganda Women Parliamentarians’ Association (UWOPA)

Cc

1.       The Rt. Hon. Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga

Speaker of Parliament of the Republic of Uganda

Kampala -Uganda.

 2.       The Acholi Parliamentarians’ Association

 

PETITION BY WOMEN’S ADVOCACY NETWORK TO THE PARLIAMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF UGANDA SEEKING ITS INTERVENTION IN ADDRESSING ISSUES AND CHALLENGES FACED BY WAR AFFECTED WOMEN IN THE ACHOLI SUB REGION. 

 

Madam Chairperson,

 

This humble petition is submitted pursuant to rule 29 of the rules of procedure of the Parliament of the Republic of Uganda.

 

Women’s Advocacy Network on behalf of war affected women in the Acholi sub region presents this petition to you. We are seeking your support to lobby for the intervention of Parliament of the Republic of Uganda to address issues and challenges faced by war affected women in the Acholi sub region.

 

Madam Chairperson, we acknowledge and are appreciative of the efforts and input of this August House in articulating and bringing to the fore the issues and concerns of the people of Northern Uganda who have been greatly affected in all spheres of life by the conflict that spanned over  twenty (20) years.  We are especially appreciative of the role UWOPA continues to play to ensure women issues are taken into consideration and their rights are upheld in Uganda.

 

Madam Chairperson, we were adversely affected by the conflict between the LRA and Government in Northern Uganda.  Some of us were abducted, tortured, raped, mutilated, forced to become wives of rebel commanders, provided forced labor in rebel camps and were also forcefully conscripted to engage in combat. We were forced to bear children under harsh and deplorable conditions. As a result we developed health complications such as gynecological problems, chronic back problems, gunshot wounds and were exposed to traumatic experiences.  We also gave birth to children in captivity who are being ostracized by the communities we live in.

 

Madam Chairperson, those of us who escaped abduction were forced to live in deplorable conditions in the Internally Displaced Peoples (IDP’s) camps where we were often targeted for rape and sexual exploitation. We contracted HIV/AIDS as a result and also bore children out of rape. We continue to bear the burden of looking after our immediate and extended families in absence of our husbands who were killed in the conflict or are still missing and are unaccounted for.

 

 

Our current status

 

Madam Chairperson, majority of us do not know the identity of the fathers of our children since the LRA commanders who sexually enslaved and abused us in captivity used pseudonyms, while the few whose identities are known, have refused to pay maintenance for the children they forced us to bear. We continue to face rejection and stigmatization from an embittered community and families that are not ready to accept children fathered by rebels.

 

Madam Chairperson, while most of the male combatants were integrated in the army and receive a monthly stipend, there was no such mechanism for the support and reintegration of the female victims apart from the amnesty package which did not take into consideration the children we came back with from captivity.We find ourselves re-victimized and forced to live in deplorable conditions.

 

Madam Chairperson, we are also vulnerable economically, socially, physically and psychologically. We missed out on opportunities of going to school and wasted a lot of our productive years in captivity. This hinders us from accessing formal employment, yet we live in a society where it is difficult for women to access land. This has relegated us to casual jobs that do not pay very well in spite of our everyday burdens and challenges inclusive of the cardinal responsibility of looking after our children that were born in captivity.

 

Madam Chairperson, we as Women’s Advocacy Network are not sitting down and wallowing in our pain and misery but rather doing our part in our small ways to alleviate the challenges we are facing.  We continue to hold dialogues in our communities aimed at reconciliation, fighting stigma and reintegration.

 

Prayers sought

 

Madam Chairperson, we are confident of the role that the Parliament of the Republic of Uganda plays in addressing issues that affect the citizens of Uganda and are assured that our concerns will be discussed by the August house. Therefore, as the Women’s Advocacy Network on behalf of war affected women in the Acholi sub-region, we request you to lobby the Parliament of the Republic of Uganda to;

 

  • Adopt a comprehensive reparations policy that will help us alleviate most of our problems related to our social economic status thus reducing our vulnerability.   The proposed reparations policy should offer individual and collective reparations to female survivors of this conflict as well as acknowledge, repair the harms suffered, restore our dignity and recognise our rights as citizens of this country.  The proposed reparations policy should offer free accessible health care tailored to address women’s health issues, livelihood skills to help us recover lost education opportunities and compensation for lost time.
  • Prioritize the creation of an urgent gender reparations fund to cater for the immediate needs of war-affected women.
  • Recommend for increased budgetary provisions for health services in war-affected areas, to ensure accessibility to reproductive and mental health services especially for children and women affected by the war.
  •  Recommend for increased budgetary allocation to the education sector to cater for war affected children in the Acholi sub region and particularly children born in captivity.  This allocation should also be used to train teachers on how to handle such children that may be experiencing trauma and other conditions related to their past.
  • Call for an accelerated finalization of the National Transitional Justice Policy and the establishment of a sound legal framework with comprehensive, adequate and sustainable mechanisms which are key in addressing the concerns of war affected women.
  • Ensure that the National Transitional Justice Policy that will be adopted is holistic and will include mechanisms to ensure full participation of war affected women.
  • Recognize the special and unique needs of the children born in captivity whose fathers and patrilineal heritage is unknown and request for a review of the laws that require information and documentation on paternity to be amended.
  • Call for strengthening of the Acholi cultural institution because it was also affected by the conflict yet it is a trusted body that can play a big role in addressing the reconciliation needs of its people.

 

Madam Chairperson, we are available whenever called upon to shade more light on issues encompassed in this petition.

 

We remain yours the undersigned;

 

Download: Women’s Advocacy Network petition (pdf)