Vicky Esquivel-Korsiak

On November 15, 2012 JRP hosted its first annual Dissemination Forum to showcase five publications produced in the past calendar year. The Forum drew 65 participants from across northern Uganda and Kampala representing victims groups, religious leaders, advocates and other stakeholders. Through the Forum, JRP was able to highlight issues and recommendations arising from its research, including how these recommendations can be carried forward by activists and communities. The Forum also provided an opportunity to elicit feedback on the reports and how JRP can continue to improve its work.

The reports disseminated included:

The Day They Came: Recounting the LRA’s Invasion of Teso Sub-Region through Obalanga Sub-County in 2003. This field note explores the impacts of the LRA incursion into Teso sub-region using case studies and victims’ testimonies from the sub-county of Obalanga in Amuria District.

When a Gunman Speaks, You Listen: Victims’ Experiences and Memories of Conflict in Palabek Sub-County, Lamwo District. This field note focuses on Palabek’s history from 1986 to the present based on victims’ testimonies and information provided by interviewees.

Paying Back What Belongs to Us: Victims’ Groups in Northern Uganda and their Quests for Reparation. This report serves to illuminate the current state, emergence and development of different victims’ groups and associations throughout the Greater North of Uganda and to highlight their activities and demands.

Gender and Generation in Acholi Traditional Justice Mechanisms. This report seeks to understand how traditional ceremonies are helpful to women and youth, and whether such ceremonies are relevant to the unique concerns women and youth face in post-conflict recovery.

The Uganda Reconciliation Barometer 2012. This report measures the attitudes and perceptions of northern Ugandans on critical justice and reconciliation issues since the end of the LRA conflict in Acholi sub-region.

 The reports were well received by all stakeholders and JRP was encouraged to continue improving its research through the use of new methodologies such as that employed in the UG Barometer report.  Across the various discussions participants continually returned to the plight of victims and survivors. Across the North, reparations and compensation are seen as key to communities rebuilding and moving forward. Participants discussed whether a national or regional compensation policy would be more appropriate, and whether the government, who comes up with the policy, should also be in charge of its implementation given the alarming rise of corruption in Uganda. Participants agreed that future meetings should try to bring more government representatives to the table not only to learn about JRP’s research, but to engage in a true dialogue about possible solutions to the plight of victims and survivors.

JRP plans to repeat the forum in late 2013 where it will present four new field notes and the next phase of the UG Reconciliation Barometer focusing on Lango sub-region. 

Oryem Nyeko

FOLLOWING A LAUNCH  in Kampala, the Justice and Reconciliation Project and the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) held the Gulu launch of their most recent report “Unredressed Legacy: Possible Policy Options and Approaches to Fulfilling Reparations in Uganda” on Thursday, 21 February 2013. The event was attended by representatives of northern Uganda CSOs and war victims’ associations such as the Kitgum Women Peace Initiative, the Women’s Advocacy Network and the Moyo Town War Victims Association. It served both as the official launch for many that contributed to its content and as an opportunity for discussion and feedback on the way forward for reparations in Uganda.

A “practical document”

Intended to be a “practical document” for to be presented to the government, the report makes clear what direction reparations in Uganda should take in the view of the ICTJ, JRP and victims’ groups. Drawing on challenges and successes of reparation policies in Peru, Sierra Leone and Timor-Leste, the report discusses the need to establish a legal reparations framework and how such a policy should be framed and implemented in Uganda.

Why now?

The report notes that under international law the state is responsible for reparations for its own actions as well as those of the LRA and other non-state actors as “the primary duty bearer for guaranteeing human rights, pursuing accountability, and delivering justice and reparation to victims”.

Discussions on reparations, and the form they should take, have been on the table since the Juba Agreement on Accountability and Reconciliation was signed in 2007. Despite this, the Government has implemented only ad hoc initiatives in the form of development and humanitarian aid programmes. This report suggests that now is the time to design and implement a comprehensive reparations programme for victims of conflict in northern Uganda that is distinct from these past interventions.

A reparations policy for whom?

The report proposes that the Government implement both an urgent and a comprehensive reparations policy. It stresses the importance of specifically defining who should be eligible, why, and when to avoid ambiguity and the creation of unrealistic expectation – ultimately, the policy should acknowledge as many victims as possible and allow specific material forms of reparation while prioritising those that need them most. For each component of the proposed programme, the report suggests potential lead institutions, such as the Ministry of Health and District Local Government for meeting psychosocial support needs, and identifies the steps required to move forward as well as the potential delivery modalities.

Way forward, recommendations, discussions and implementation

Implementing the programme would require consultation with local government and communities, working with war victim associations, supervision of the implementation at community level by technical government staff, as well as constant dialogue with existing service providers, such as local school teachers, hospital administrators and social workers, who may provide some of the solutions to practical problems. On the issue of funding, the report calls for the creation of a reparations fund under the national budget, narrowing the types of violations which would be eligible for reparations and limiting the amount to what government can deliver over time.

An English version of the report and summaries in Lugbara, Acholi, Langi and Iteso were distributed and are available on JRP’s website. 

Grace Acan

DURING THIS QUARTER, the Gender Justice Unit was able to implement the following activities under its three programmatic areas.

Under our Legal Programme, we have been conducting a survey on gender needs in transitional justice in northern Uganda. The purpose of the survey was to establish unique needs of both women and men in post conflict northern Uganda as well as to identify gender gaps in ongoing transitional justice processes. Last year we conducted interviews and focus group discussions in five Districts and this year we have been compiling the data as well as preparing to begin verification workshops in the five Districts. We hope to launch the findings in early April.

Under the Women’s Advocacy Network (WAN), the department held two meetings with the representatives of various groups belonging to WAN. The purpose of these meetings was to review activities implemented by WAN last year as well as discuss which activities WAN will be conducting this year. During the meetings, the members agreed to expand community outreaches from four communities to six communities, discussed topics of the radio talk shows and the need to continue with activities from last year which include mediation and tracing of children’s paternal families, a very important aspect of the Acholi culture. They also discussed doing advocacy both at local and national level..

Under the Ododo wa program, the department integrated three new groups. These groups are based in Pader, Koch and Atiak. The department held a first meeting with the groups to introduce themselves, the project as well as assess the needs of their members. We shall be meeting the groups quarterly to hold storytelling sessions with them.

Other activities that the department implemented included an end of year evaluation meeting.  Since the department was established at the beginning of 2012, the meeting was important to evaluate our work, its impact, lessons learnt and way forward. During this meeting, the department was able to decide activities and priority areas to work on in 2013.

The department also conducted a gender mainstreaming workshop for the organisation. The objective of the one day training was to train staff on gender and how to incorporate gender aspects in the work of the various department.