11/01/2002

Uganda is experiencing a humanitarian catastrophe. In the northern Acholi region of the country, an almost unknown and forgotten conflict has been raging for the past 16 years. The conflict has resulted in over 500,0000 IDPs, the abduction of up to 20,000 children by the rebel group, the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), and widespread human rights abuses by both the LRA and government soldiers. Displaced Ugandans are often attacked by the LRA in their camps and the government is not able to provide adequate security, so IDPs are living in perpetual terror of attack. One official told RI, "The world is not aware that 1/2 million people are displaced. This is a humanitarian crisis. There’s a generation of people who’ve lived in IDP camps."

When people think of Uganda they think not of conflict but of one of the few success stories in Africa. Members of the international community uphold Uganda as "a development star" and an oasis of stability amidst a continent in turmoil. According to one estimate, donors provide about 53% of Uganda’s budget. A UN official explained, "People are in desperate need of humanitarian assistance, but donors don’t want to portray Uganda as another African country that is going down the drain. Because they give so much to Uganda, donors have a political motivation so make sure that it is seen as a success story." Donors have not been vocal enough about the severity of the crisis in northern Uganda and have shown a remarkable lack of interest in solving the conflict.

The LRA is a quasi-religious insurgency with vague political objectives. Joseph Kony, the leader of the LRA, began his brutal campaign against the population in northern Uganda in 1986, the same year that President Museveni took power. Kony is said to receive his military strategies from spiritual guides, read the minds of his soldiers and his enemies, and predict the future. Negotiating with such a leader would prove to be extremely difficult. Furthermore, since the LRA was listed as a terrorist organization as of September 2001, several Ugandan government officials have stated that they will not negotiate with terrorists. President Museveni has publicly stated that he is committed to pursuing a peaceful end to the conflict; he even nominated a peace team that could negotiate with the LRA. However, the military campaign continues and the peace team has never held a meeting.

Over 500,000 IDPs live in camps in northern Uganda. In 1996, in Gulu district, the government forced over 300,000 people to enter into camp so that, according to official statements, the Ugandan military could better protect them. People in Lira and Kitgum fled LRA violence and spontaneously created settlements. Unfortunately, the military has been unable to protect the people living in the camps, and the LRA continues its attacks with great frequency. Villagers reported to RI that they do not trust the Ugandan military to protect them and some northerners reported that Ugandan soldiers rape, harass, and torture people suspected of collaborating with rebels. In addition, the government has stated that anyone outside of the camps will be considered to be a rebel or a rebel collaborator. As a result, people living in camps live in fear of the next attack, leaving the camps only at night to seek safety in the bush, in many cases alongside the Ugandan soldiers.

Because of insecurity, NGOs, with the exception of the Ugandan Red Cross, have stopped providing services or assistance in the camps. The World Food Program (WFP) is the only international organization regularly traveling to the camps, but they do so under heavy military escort. If, for security reasons, WFP could no longer send food to the camps, IDPs would be without food. Because people are unable to go to their villages to plant and harvest, they are totally dependent on the food provided by WFP. The agency is currently facing a shortfall of 35,000 metric tons and reports that because IDPs will probably not be able to harvest in December and January, WFP will have to triple the amount of assistance it provides.

Although IDPs live in deplorable conditions, the Ugandan government has the responsibility for providing protection and assistance to its displaced citizens. Its efforts to protect and assist IDPs have been inadequate. OCHA has worked with the government on codifying the Guiding Principles for Internal Displacement in the from of an IDP Policy, but the policy has not been approved by the Cabinet. The IDP Policy has not resulted in an improvement of protection or assistance for IDPs.

While negotiating with the rebels would be challenging, the government has had little success in its attempts to win this war militarily. The conflict in northern Uganda is very much tied to the war in Sudan, and experts note that the LRA cannot be defeated without addressing the link between the Ugandan government, which reportedly supports southern Sudan and the Sudanese People’s Liberation Army (SPLA), and the government of Sudan, which has given military assistance to the LRA. In an agreement signed in March 2002, the Sudanese government pledged to cease assistance to the LRA and to allow Ugandan troops to enter southern Sudan to destroy LRA bases. However, officials in Uganda report that it is possible that extremists within the National Islamic Front are still supporting the LRA. After the agreement between the two governments was signed, the Ugandan military began Operation Iron Fist and went into southern Sudan to defeat the LRA and to "rescue abducted children." All but a few of the officials that RI interviewed strongly believe that Operation Iron Fist was a failure and resulted in an intensification of the conflict. President Museveni has pledged that the UPDF will defeat the LRA by March, but many experts in Uganda agree that the LRA is a very professional force and that the war cannot be won militarily.

Negotiation may be the only way to end the conflict. The Acholi Religious Leaders Peace Initiative (ARLPI), an interfaith NGO, has catalyzed the peace movement in Acholiland. The people in northern Uganda have urged a peaceful solution to the conflict, especially because many of their children have been abducted into the LRA and are now the "soldiers" on the frontlines. The widely held sentiment by people in northern Uganda is that the government is not committed to peace. On one occasion, when religious leaders tried to meet with the LRA, they were ambushed by the Ugandan military and accused of being rebel collaborators. The Ugandan government, while publicly stating that it will negotiate, has shown little real commitment to a peaceful solution and critics have gone to far as to accuse it of sabotaging peace efforts.

Refugees International, therefore, recommends that: