Memorandum submitted by CAFOD, Christian
Aid, Conciliation Resources, Quakers and World Vision
1. WHAT HAS
BEEN THE
IMPACT OF
THE ICC ARREST
WARRANTS ON
THE PROSPECTS
FOR PEACE?
1.1 The immediate priority for those affected
by the armed conflict in Northern Uganda is peace, [26]defined
as the "absence of violence, war, and/or conflict. [27]The
Refuge Law Project survey demonstrated a strong consensus that,
"war had to end first and only then, can decisions be made
as to what mechanisms of justice should be implemented".[28]
1.2 The issuing of arrest warrants by the
International Criminal Court (ICC) has been credited, although
the evidence for this is unclear, with allegedly jump-starting
the Juba peace process. However, substantial evidence does exist
to support the fact that the ICC arrest warrants serve as an obstacle
to peace. This evidence includes, local radio broadcasts on Mega
FM, in which senior Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) commanders have
participated and have stated that the LRA will not accept a negotiated
settlement committing them to trial at The Hague. [29]In
the last round of peace talks it seems the parties, with the support
of GoSS mediation and African Union observers, have accepted that
the legal challenges are serious and have begun to negotiate a
process that does not resolve the issue of surrendering the four
members of the LRA high command but does construct agreed strategies
that might move the process forward
1.3 The Cessation of Hostilities Agreement
and the Juba peace process has contributed to hundreds of thousands
of internally displaced people beginning the process of return.
However, even since the peace process commenced, return to the
northern districts of the Acholi sub-region still remains extremely
limited. Only one per cent of the internally displaced population
have returned to their village of origin and seventy per cent,
more than 780,000 people, remain in camps. [30]Uncertainty
over the prospects for peace and concerns for security stop many
people from leaving the camps. Lack of basic services and restrictions
on freedom of movement are also contributing factors.
1.4 The failure of the Ugandan People's
Defence Force (UPDF) to resolve the conflict through a military
solution arguably proves that any attempt to execute the warrants
by force, will only lead to insecurity for the civilian population,
displacement and further human rights violations in Uganda, South
Sudan and DRC. It could also prompt the LRA to retaliate against
civilians and humanitarian workers as has happened in the past,
including immediately after the arrest warrants were announced.
[31]
1.5 The arrest warrants have had an impact
on the work of the Amnesty Commission to encourage soldiers out
of the bush. The Amnesty Commission has a crucial role in securing
peace by ensuring that LRA soldiers, many of whom were abducted
as children, feel there is a process for them to leave the LRA,
to demobilise and to begin a process which will enable them to
return to their families. The relationship between amnesty and
the ICC is awesomely complex
2. IS THERE
A TENSION
BETWEEN THE
NEEDS FOR
PEACE AND
THE REQUIREMENTS
FOR JUSTICE
AND IF
SO HOW
CAN IT
BE BEST
ADDRESSED?
2.1 While peace is the priority for the
conflict-affected community, justice is important in ensuring
that peace is sustainable. It is regrettable that this debate
has become characterized by the counterproductive language of
justice versus peace. The question that needs addressed is not;
"what is the tension between justice and peace", but
what types of justice would best serve a sustainable and just
peace?
2.2 Analysts argue that the lack of accountability
and impunity following previous regime change, and deep seated
regional divisions within the country, are the root causes of
the conflict in northern Uganda. [32]Therefore,
the crimes committed by all parties to the conflict must be addressed.
Perceived impunity for members of the Ugandan security forces
involved in war crimes is no less damaging than perceived impunity
for members of the LRA. Any process, which only addresses the
actions of one side is likely to harbour problems for the future
and would undermine the likelihood of securing a just and sustainable
peace. Human Rights Watch's "Uprooted and Forgotten, Impunity
and Human Rights Abuses in Northern Uganda",[33]documents
crimes committed by the LRA and the UPDF in Northern Uganda. According
to this report, the UPDF are allegedly guilty of wilfully killing
civilians, torture, summary executions, rape and sexual violence.
[34]Abuses
by the LRA include the killing of civilians, child abductions,
torture, mutilations, rape and other forms of sexual violence.
[35]Justice
has to be impartial to build a sustainable peace.
3. HOW, IF
AT ALL,
CAN THE
ICC, NATIONAL AND
TRADITIONAL MEASURES
COMBINE TO
TACKLE IMPUNITY
AND FURTHER
JUSTICE AND
RECONCILIATION?
3.1 The conflict in Northern Uganda is highly
complex; children have been forcibly abducted into the LRA whereupon
they have become perpetrators of human rights violations. Indeed
Dominic Ongwen, now indicted by the ICC, was himself abducted.
Thousands of parents wait anxiously for a peace agreement, hoping
that their child will emerge from Garamba to be demobilized, disarmed
and reintegrated. However, many formerly abducted people remain
marginalized by society, and isolated revenge killings for past
atrocities have started to be reported in northern Uganda. Traditional
and unofficial Ugandan approaches to justice appear to offer a
model for tackling this unique dilemma, helping to promote truth
telling and accountability whilst being committed to incorporating
the confessor into society again. There are significant lessons
that the Development Committee might learn from the remarkable
resilience and generous capacity of the Acholi and other African
peoples to reintegrate into communion those who have been guilty
of serious wrongdoing.
3.2 It is important to acknowledge that
this question is being addressed from within Uganda. Civil society
organisations, the Government of Uganda and other stakeholders
are currently developing a framework by which national and traditional
processes will combine to challenge impunity and to further justice
and reconciliation. Therefore, the key role of the international
community should be to support the local actors in the development
of such processes by providing the necessary funding and expertise
and allowing the space to examine how best to proceed.
3.3 Local principles of justice and reconciliation
that could contribute to a sustainable peace could include:
— Public acts and statements of
apology and contrition to communities affected by the conflict
by both the Ugandan Government and the LRA;
— Reparations paid to affected
communities by the Government of Uganda in the form of improved
services, clearly identified as compensation;
— Traditional ceremonies of reconciliation
held between communities where tension and collective guilt have
been created or exacerbated by the conflict, eg the Acholi and
Langi peoples, possibly as part of a national truth-telling and
reconciliation process;
— Extensive oral history and truth
telling programmes made available to victims/perpetrators. These
would need to take into account the protection of confessors from
mob justice;
— Programmes that facilitate the
creation of monuments to and commemorative ceremonies and events
for the dead by their communities;
— Voluntary community service
programmes for former LRA fighters, in which they would make reparation
for their crimes but also be recognized as victims.
3.4 In bringing closure to the conflict
in northern Uganda victims need to be recognised as the primary
beneficiaries of any judicial processes. Punishment is only one
aspect of the judicial process, careful listening to individual
victims of atrocities may be more significant. We hope that the
ICC, and those involved in national and traditional justice will
be able to learn from the experience of truth and reconciliation
commissions in both Africa and Latin America.
3.5 In both Northern Ireland and South Africa
many serious crimes remained unpunished. In both situations a
more rigorously judicial disposal of cases might have threatened
re-igniting conflicts or endangering civil peace. We hope that
the UK Government will be able to share the lessons of the Good
Friday Agreement as regards the ending of acute armed conflict.
Even from a judicial perspective there are occasions where accountability
for terrible atrocities has to be attenuated in the interests
of preventing such atrocities in the future.
4. HOW BEST
CAN THE
GRIEVANCES, AGAINST
THE LORD'S
RESISTANCE ARMY
AND THE
GOVERNMENT OF
UGANDA, BE
ADDRESSED?
4.1 It is crucial that the people affected
by the armed conflict have a voice in defining how grievances
should be addressed. This requires effective consultation with
the affected populations and will demand financial resources,
time and space. Faith based communities and civil society have
a crucial role to play in facilitating such processes, giving
voice to the voiceless.
4.2 The Juba peace process has reached a
critical stage. With the conclusion of Agenda Item II, Comprehensive
Solutions, discussions are now focused on Accountability and Reconciliation.
The very fact the parties are discussing this at all is a significant
step forward in the prospects for peace. Initial reports from
the peace negotiations suggest they have almost reached agreement
on a set of shared principles. Substantial progress has been made
in acknowledging that violations have been committed on both sides.
4.3 The text of the submission by the LRA/M
peace delegation in Juba on the occasion of the launching of Agenda
Item III—Accountability and Reconciliation, offers some
hope that the LRA may accept an accountability mechanism. We therefore
hope that national and traditional measures can combine to meet
international standards of justice, which will satisfy the ICC.
For the affected communities evidence demonstrates that national
judicial processes are regarded as the most appropriate judicial
system to address human rights violations committed in Northern
Uganda[36].
5. HOW CAN
THE INTERNATIONAL
COMMUNITY HELP
CREATE THE
CONDITIONS FOR
SUSTAINABLE PEACE
AND REDEVELOPMENT
IN THE
NORTH?
5.1. The International community must ensure
that the processes, mechanisms and Good Offices supporting the
peace process are well resourced—including support for the
processes involving the war-affected population. Support for the
process must continue to be expressed at the highest level and
the importance of confidence building measures should not be underestimated.
The international community must not be tempted to encourage a
policy of deadline diplomacy; especially in view of the Commonwealth
Heads of Government Meeting to be held in Uganda, which will inevitably
focus international attention on the crisis in Northern Uganda.
5.2 The international community, including
the British Government, must use its influence to ensure the Ugandan
Government remains committed to the peace process. Long term peace
and development in the country as a whole requires increased commitment
to fulfilling international human rights standards and principles
of good governance. 5.2 Within Uganda, inequality between North
and South has fed this conflict, and this imbalance must be overcome
to build future national stability. The international community
must engage the Government of Uganda on the Peace Recovery and
Development Plan (PRDP) and make clear commitment to resource
the PRDP as the peace process progresses. SMART benchmarks for
the implementation of the PDRP should be developed in consultation
with civil society and an independent monitoring mechanism should
be established. The UK government should promote consultation,
inclusive of civil society.
5.3 It is a frequently acknowledged observation
that it takes as long for a society to emerge from a conflict
as it has been in the conflict in the first place. In Northern
Uganda this is 21 years. A peace agreement would mark only the
first step of a sustainable peace. Concerted effort will be needed
to support the long process of building a just and sustainable
peace.
26 Forgotten Voices, A Population-Based Survey on
Attitudes About Peace and Justice in Northern Uganda, P Pham,
P Vinck, M Wierda, E Stover, A di Giovanni (International Centre
for Transitional Justice, Human Rights Centre, University of California,
Berkley, July 2005) (ICTJ Report), p 23 31% of respondents to
the ICTJ survey specified peace as their immediate priority. 34%
cited food (p 25).This is arguably referring to IDPs wish to regain
their livelihoods, such as farming and employment. The Government's
strategy of "protected villages" forced 80% of the region's
population into overcrowded IDP camps, where they have been dependent
upon external humanitarian relief to support their basic needs.
For IDPs to resume their livelihood strategies, sustainable peace
is a prerequisite. Peace First, Justice Later: Traditional
Justice in Northern Uganda, Dr L Hovil, Dr J R Quinn, Refugee
Law Project Working Paper No. 17 (Refugee Law Project, July 2005)
(RLP Report), pp 17-19. Back
27
Page 23, ICTJ Report, ibid. Back
28
Page 17, RLP Report, supra n. 1. Back
29
Such broadcasts have played a significant role in creating uncertainty
about the chance for peace among the affected population. Back
30
IDP Population Movement, April 2007, Inter Agency Standing Committee
Working Group in Uganda. Back
31
After the arrest warrants were announced in October 2005, the
LRA apparently began a new and deliberate tactic of targeting
humanitarian aid workers, four were murdered in October and the
same month, a handwritten letter apparently from the LRA was passed
to local people threatening to kill any white person moving in
the region. It blamed the ICC for the change in tactics. In October
2005 suspected LRA rebels shot and killed Caritas Gulu staff member,
Okot Stalin. In November 2005 two British and two New Zealand
tourists travelling in Murchison Falls National Park were ambushed
by suspected LRA rebels, one member was killed. Back
32
See for example, Behind the Violence, Hovil and Lomo,
Refugee Law project Working Paper No 11 (Refugee Law Project,
February 2004). Back
33
Uprooted and Forgotten, Impunity and Human Rights Abuses in
Northern Uganda, Human Rights Watch, September 2005 Vol 17, No
12(A) (Human Rights Watch, September 2005)(HRW Report). Back
34
PP 24-35, HRW Report, ibid. Back
35
PP 14-22, ibid. Back
36
More than one third of those surveyed by the ICTJ held this opinion.
Page 33, ICTJ Report, supra n. 1 Back
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