11/07/2002

When the Ugandan military (the UPDF) launched Operation Iron Fist in an attempt to root out the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), thousands of LRA fighters and their wives and children, mostly formerly abducted children, were uprooted from their bases in southern Sudan and reentered Uganda. The women and children moved too slowly for the LRA, and commanders were faced with two choices: they could either release the women and children or kill them. Fortunately, the LRA has chosen to begin releasing them. Although statistics are difficult to obtain, approximately 500 women and their children have escaped or been released, rescued, or captured from the LRA since June. Because of funding shortfalls, however, NGOs are having difficulty assisting these women and children.

Organizations responsible for providing assistance to former LRA fighters report that the numbers of released, rescued, or captured fighters has dramatically increased since the beginning of Operation Iron Fist. Throughout the north, reception centers run by local and international NGOs provide services such as psychosocial support, vocational training, family tracing, and health referrals for formerly abducted children. The services provided differ depending on the NGO. The reception centers that provide reintegration assistance to these children are clearly overwhelmed. Some of the NGOs are experiencing severe budget shortfalls and are unable to expand their programs to meet the needs of the increased numbers of returnees.

The presence of mothers and their children in the centers is a new phenomenon. The experience of 22-year old "Harriet" underscores the difficulties that she and hundreds of other young women and girls like her will face in the future as they begin to rebuild their lives. Harriet, now a mother of three, was abducted in 1995. After one week with the LRA, she was given against her will to a soldier who was her father's age. When Operation Iron First began, she was forced to walk with the LRA from southern Sudan into Uganda. Pregnant and with two small children, she carried supplies on her head for the LRA for the three-month trip. During the walk, she was often severely beaten because she was walking too slowly. Because the women were so slow, Harriet and some other child mothers were released by the LRA. At present, because "child-mothers" are a new group of returnees, NGO reception centers have not yet started training courses or income generation projects for them. Harriet has no skills and no husband to help her, but she explained, "I want to start my own business so that I can help my children."

In addition to meeting the needs of child-mothers, NGOs also report that there are now more "high-risk" cases in the reception centers—children who need intensive counseling, who often exhibit extreme anti-social behavior, and who have difficulty reintegrating into their communities. A majority of the returnees in the centers are boys who are 12-15 years old. Before Operation Iron Fist, only about 5 percent of the formerly abducted children were considered high risk, with about 65 percent falling into the low risk category. According to a director at one of the reception centers, now the trend has changed, with a majority falling under the high-risk category. Many of the returnees fought with the LRA for long periods of time, and some were even born in captivity. These high-risk children require intensive follow-up and many are unable to return to their families or reintegrate into their communities.

When formerly abducted children escape or are rescued from the LRA, most of them are first taken to the UPDF’s Child Protection Unit in the military barracks. In some cases, young women and children are kept in the barracks for several weeks and some children report harassment, beatings, and other forms of mistreatment there. Most of the formerly abducted children that RI interviewed explained that they were treated well in the barracks, but one boy explained that he had to suffer "continuous beatings" for the week he was in the Child Protection Unit.

Formerly abducted children are usually readily accepted by their families and former communities, but some face threats to their security upon their return. In some cases the UPDF pressures former LRA fighters to join the government army. "John" was abducted in 1992 and fought with the LRA until he escaped last year. After spending some time at an NGO reception center, he returned to his community. He was afraid that the LRA would find him and kill him, and then he heard that the Ugandan military was looking for him. When the UPDF actually did enter his community in search of him, he returned to the reception center. There are reports that the UPDF has given some formerly abducted children financial incentives to join the UPDF.

The Amnesty Commission is the government body charged with providing reintegration assistance to returnees. Since its official appointment in June 2000, the Amnesty Commission has faced severe budgetary constraints, and according to some, a lack of political support. According to representative of the Amnesty Commission, "Things are rather stiff here. When reporters [former LRA fighters seeking amnesty] come and don’t get their package they are disappointed and they often wonder why they left the bush." Only a small percentage of those seeking amnesty have received their reintegration package, which includes clothing, bedding, kitchen utensils, agricultural implements and a cash grant of 240,000 Ugandan Shillings (about 130 USD). As of October 15, 75 percent of reporters from all insurgent groups had not received a package. The number of former LRA fighters not receiving assistance is much higher.

Some have argued that the international community is reluctant to fund the Amnesty Commission because the Government of Uganda has failed to support it. From June 2002-3, the total budget for the Amnesty Commission is 5 billion Ugandan Shillings (about 2.7 million USD), out of which the Government will provide 1.6 billion (about 860,000 USD). The remainder is supposed to come from donors. In October, the Government cut the budget of all the ministries, with the exception of the Ministry of Defense, by 23 percent.

Refugees International therefore recommends that: