Tag Archives: West Nile

“LRA victims to sue over compensation,” Daily Monitor, 7 March 2011

08 Mar 2011In the NewsCissy Makumbi, in the news, Media, newsroom, reparations, West NileJRP

“LRA victims to sue over compensation,” Daily Monitor, 7 March 2011

http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/-/688334/1120350/-/c4222wz/-/index.html

By Cissy Makumbi

Gulu

Victims of the Lord’s Resistance Army and West Nile Bank Front rebellions have threatened to drag the government to international courts for failing to compensate them for losses they incurred as a result of the wars.

The victims said the government failed to protect their properties and lives of their loved ones during the wars that resulted in destitution and increased number of orphans.

The chairperson of the group, Mr Sam Buti, during a memory sharing meeting organised by Justice Peace and Reconciliation Project held in Gulu on Friday, said many of their members have become amputees and can no longer engage actively in productive activities, which therefore calls for their compensation. “Bomb blast victims in Kampala have been compensated swiftly, why not us who have equally been permanently maimed due to government’s reluctance? ” Mr Buti asked.

The Presidential Adviser for northern Uganda, Mr Richard Todwong, said the government will compensate all those who lost their property and asked them for patience. He revealed that the government is already supporting many war victims including paying for their medical bills in hospitals. Over 6,000 maimed and mutilated war victims have already registered under the organization, many of them with no lips, ears and noses.

West Nile Advocacy Training, February 2011

27 Feb 2011PhotosCommunity Documentation, Community Mobilization, reparations, West NileJRP

[AFG_gallery id=’24’]

From February 1-3, JRP’s Community Mobilization and Documentation teams organized an advocacy training workshop for members of the West Nile Kony Rebel War Victims Association (WNKRWVA) in Jershem Hotel in Arua town. The training included participants from Arua, Nebbi, Zombo, Adjumani, Moyo, Yumbe, Koboko and Maracha districts.

On February 4, the Association put the skills obtained in the training to good use. In a meeting facilitated by JRP, WNKRWVA met with local leaders to create awareness about the challenges they are undergoing in pursuing compensation and reparations from the Government of Uganda for atrocities they suffered throughout the conflict.

A statement written by JRP in consultation with the Association was presented to local leaders by the victims. Local leaders present included the Deputy LCV of Arua, the Deputy LCV of Nebbi, and candidates who were standing for elective positions in Arua.

Since this meeting, the group has continued to seek avenues to advance their advocacy demands to their leaders. They are currently undergoing registration of their members in a bid to solidify their demand for reparations. They have opened official files in the office of the LCV and the DISO in Arua district to update local government about their activities and maintain a conducive working relationship.

“Victims of LRA demand compensation,” Daily Monitor, 7 February 2011

08 Feb 2011In the Newsin the news, Media, newsroom, reparations, Warom Felix Okello, West NileJRP

“Victims of LRA demand compensation,” Daily Monitor, 7 February 2011

http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/-/688334/1102898/-/c58m75z/-/index.html

By Warom Felix Okello

West Nile

Hundreds of people living near Murchison Falls National Park who survived attacks by the Lords’ Resistance Army rebels are demanding compensation from government.

Some of the residents suffered bullet wounds, lost their property while others had their relatives killed during numerous ambushes in the park- the epicentre of the attacks in West Nile.

Under the West Nile Kony Rebel War Victims Association, they are demanding that financial compensation and support be given to them. The association chairman, Mr Sam Buti, said: “Even though we suffered tremendously, we have not received any substantial support from the government which should have ensured our protection,” he said.

Records by the association indicate that Nebbi has 500 victims, Arua 400, Zombo 300, Yumbe 200, Koboko 250 and Adjumani 600. Mr Buti said the over 2,750 war victims are mainly from the urban areas.

“We lack finances to enable us trace those in rural areas. If bomb victims can be compensated within days, why not us?” he asked.

Awaiting return
Ms Norah Fuathuma, whose child was abducted, said she is still waiting for the return of his son whether dead or alive. “I think the ICC should come to our rescue because I think our leaders are not mindful of compensating us. The LRA leaders should in fact be taken to ICC because the use of force is not yielding any fruit,” she said.

Joseph Kony has led the LRA in its guerrilla-style war against the government forces, leaving civilians in northern Uganda caught up in the war. Thousands of people were killed, houses burnt, children and women abducted, as the government sent hundreds of residents into internally displaced camps.

A peace effort between the two groups, mediated by South Sudan’s Riek Machar yielded no fruit in 2006. As the sound of guns fell silent, residents are returning to their villages and rebuilding their lives.

“Victims of war in West Nile receive advocacy skills training,” JRP, 1 February 2011

01 Feb 2011Press ReleasesCommunity Mobilization, Media, newsroom, Press Release, West NileJRP

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 1, 2011

Victims of war in West Nile receive advocacy skills training

ARUA— From February 1-3, 2011, the Justice and Reconciliation Project (JRP) will hold a three-day workshop in Arua to train victims of war in West Nile on how to use advocacy strategies to seek redress for the transitional justice issues that affect them most. On Friday, February 4, 2011, the participants will implement their training in a meeting with local leaders to seek justice solutions for war victims in the region.

This training and meeting will be held at the Jershem Hotel in Arua town with members of the West Nile Kony Rebel War Victims Association, and will engage local-level, grassroots persons directly affected by conflict to apply advocacy and lobbying strategies to their demand for justice for past abuses.

Participants will explore a variety of advocacy and lobbying strategies including: problem identification and analysis, proposal and objective formulation, and strategy implementation. These tools will help victims identify “what needs to be done?” and “how?” During the course of the training, victims will formulate a statement to be presented to local leaders at Friday’s meeting.

This training is part of a larger initiative by JRP to ensure that the opinions of victims are not left out of the wider discussions on transitional justice issues such as community reparations, truth-seeking, reconciliation, traditional justice, and gender justice.

Media are invited to observe portions of the training sessions and to cover the meeting with local leaders. For more information, email info@justiceandreconciliation.com or call Sylvia Opinia, JRP Community Mobilisation Team Leader, at +256 (0)471433008 or +256 (0)772332353. Or, visit us on the web at www.justiceandreconciliation.com.

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.

To download this press release, click here.

2010 Annual Report

31 Jan 2011ReportsAcholi, Annual Report, Lango, Teso, West NileJRP

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.

To access the report, click here.

West Nile TJ Policy Consultation, November 2010

01 Dec 2010PhotosPartners, TJ Policy, West NileJRP

[AFG_gallery id=’20’]

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.

Enhancing Grassroots Involvement in TJ Debates

24 Nov 2010BlogAcholi, In the Field, Lango, Media, Partners, Press Release, Teso, TJ Policy, West NileJRP

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.

To download the full press release, click here.

“Arua- Enhancing grassroots involvement in transitional justice debates,” JRP, 23 November 2010

23 Nov 2010Press ReleasesCommunity Documentation, Media, newsroom, Partners, Press Release, West NileJRP

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 23, 2010

Enhancing grassroots involvement in transitional justice debates

GULU / ARUA / SOROTI— Today the Justice and Reconciliation Project (JRP), in partnership with the South Africa-based Institute for Justice and Reconciliation (IJR), commences a series of grassroots consultations in northern Uganda to explore local perspectives on transitional justice.

The first consultation, to be held November 24-25 at Slumberland Hotel in Arua Town, 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.

Subsequent consultations will be held in Gulu/Lango from December 1-2 and Teso sub-region from December 8-9. The findings 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 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

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.

West Nile Documentation, October 2010

31 Oct 2010PhotosCommunity Documentation, West NileJRP

[AFG_gallery id=’17’]

From October 18-21, JRP’s Research, Documentation and Advocacy Team paid another visit to the West Nile sub-region, visiting Arua town. There, JRP met with representatives of the West Nile Kony Rebel War Victims Association and various other victims from the region to learn about their experiences during the conflict and post-conflict struggles.

Though largely overlooked by most NGOs and the Government, the suffering of West Nile over the last two decades has proved to be serious. While Acholi sub-region formed the epicenter of the war, West Nile suffered its own share of violence over the last thirty years, as various rebel groups have operated in the region.

Many of the survivors we interviewed lost virtually all their means of sustenance in ambushes on the Kampala-Arua Road, and still nourish the trauma of the abductions that oftentimes followed. The West Nile Kony Rebel War Victims Association has made a series of attempts to draw attention to their case, but this has not yet materialized in substantial governmental support. Occasionally government representatives have paid compensation to individual victims, but a transparent and inclusive policy is still lacking.

Though this naturally frustrates the members of the association, the participants expressed a strong desire not to give up their fight for accountability and reparations. They took a very positive stance towards working together with JRP. JRP will therefore continue documenting their experiences and assist in their future advocacy and mobilization efforts.