03/07/2007

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In 2006, Refugees International testified to congress about the situation in Northern Uganda – a twenty-year conflict that has displaced up to one and a half million people. The people live in overcrowded camps - notorious for squalid living conditions, gender-based violence and other human rights abuses.

The Lord’s Resistance Army regularly abducts children and 30 percent of the fighters are young girls who are then forced to ‘marry’ commanders and bear them children. In addition to attacks by the Lord’s Resistance Army, the women of Northern Uganda have also been subject to rapes and sexual exploitation by the Ugandan People’s Defense Forces who are deployed in or near most of the camps to protect them.

Girl child soldiers who have been released from the Lord’s Resistance Army are extremely vulnerable. Many of the girls that are released return back to the homes of their families either pregnant or with small children. While there are some programs for these young girls, they are often stigmatized by their families upon return. Because another mouth to feed is an additional burden to the household, when times get tough these girls are sent off to fend for themselves. Sometimes, they even find themselves back with the very men who abducted and impregnated them.

Research has shown in other countries that some of the most vulnerable women are the returned female combatants. Many fear the stigma and do not come back to their home communities, preferring the relative anonymity of urban areas. More focus on programs for all young women and education programs for girls can help these young women from being ostracized from their homes.

Additionally, the response to gender-based violence in Uganda is extremely weak. Many Ugandan women must endure repeated examinations and interviews and still not receive treatment. Unlike many of the countries where RI works, Uganda has a functioning government. RI is calling upon the government of Uganda to provide justice to the survivors of rape and gender-based violence and to end the impunity for the LRA and the UPDF.

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