Memorandum submitted by the Norwegian
Refugee Council
INTRODUCTION
1. A peaceful resolution, which addresses
the underlying causes of Uganda's conflict, offers a final solution
to the displacement, deprivation and violence that communities
have faced for the last twenty-one years. Enthusiasm for a resolution
to this conflict has never been stronger, the international and
national climate encourages action and the current opportunities
must be taken.
2. While we must invest as much as possible
in the Juba talks, humanitarian needs will remain paramount for
the foreseeable future and the need for effective and appropriate
humanitarian interventions must form part of any transition process.
3. With the hope that peace will be reached,
twenty-one years of infrastructural and economic neglect will
need to be addressed. Families will need support to return, rebuild
their homes and become self-sustaining. The process of transforming
northern Uganda from a conflict zone to a peaceful environment
will require adequate resources in order to address northern perceptions
of marginalisation from the rest of the country. Security will
continue to be a major concern across northern Uganda. Investment
and support for the transition to a post-conflict environment
must be balanced in a manner which ensures protection and assistance
to IDPs throughout the region, regardless of their location.
4. At this critical time the Norwegian Refugee
Council (NRC) and the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre,
with its ten years of experience in northern Uganda, calls on
all institutions, including the government of Uganda (GoU), regional
mechanisms and the international community, to ensure that the
1.7 million people[37]
displaced by the conflict are given choices for their future—choices
which they are able to make in an informed manner, free of coercion,
in an environment which guarantees their security.
The journey home
5. Despite the positive nature of the Juba
talks the humanitarian crisis has not ended, nor will it end overnight.
Fears regarding return must be acknowledged and taken seriously.
We are only just beginning to understand what the movement towards
return will look like. The security situation across northern
Uganda remains unpredictable. For the duration of this conflict
violence has been cyclical. There is a strong history of attacks
on communities who have returned in the past and for many this
unpredictability is a very serious reason for remaining in the
camps now. Fears regarding return must be acknowledged and taken
into account as transition planning develops.
6. Responsible measures that foster a sense
of safety and security are needed for these fears to subside,
such as increased de-mining and information campaigns that make
it clear to IDPs when and where it is safe to return. Local authorities,
supported by the UN, should take an active role in these initiatives.
7. It is likely that a significant number
of IDPs will remain in camps for the foreseeable future, and thus
the humanitarian community will have to address the need for basic
services in camps. Continued maintenance and restructuring of
existing camp and site infrastructure is important, as many camps
and sites will one day likely be transformed into villages.
8. The challenge of planning and responding
to three complex phases—continued encampment, partial population
movement and eventual return—will require flexibility across
the humanitarian community and we must guard against an exclusive
focus on any one phase. Agencies working in northern Uganda will
continue to require appropriate, reliable and timely funding to
effectively respond to the needs on the ground.
9. For those families who are choosing to
take advantage of increased freedom of movement, a replication
of camp-style living is unfolding as communities move closer to
their land. The strain of twenty-one years of conflict will take
time to deal with, and many families will feel safer together
rather than in lone homesteads on their land. This may be interpreted
as dependency and a reluctance to return, but the coping mechanisms
of communities must be respected and supported.
10. The humanitarian community together
with the GoU should carefully and systematically assess the intentions
of IDPs with regard to their future and the end of their displacement.
Such an assessment would help the relevant actors to plan the
rehabilitation of return or resettlement areas according to the
population movements expected. It would also enable them to identify
how many displaced are likely to stay in camps and sites in the
mid and long-term and ensure that these locations have adequate
conditions for their sustainable settlement and integration.
Co-ordinated planning for recovery
11. As a possible transition from humanitarian
to development needs takes place, the coordination of early recovery
interventions is vital. Actions in these areas should address
issues related to land and property rights, the need for consistent
and sustained provision of basic services by the GoU, and the
phasing out of humanitarian interventions, all of which are of
vital importance to ensuring a sustainable future.
12. The Early Recovery Cluster is currently
operationally absent in northern Uganda. This is a major gap.
With its designated role under the Humanitarian Reform—Cluster
Approach, UNDP must take leadership and responsibility for establishing
and coordinating the Early Recovery Cluster together with GoU.
Donor governments should monitor the development of the Early
Recovery Cluster and ensure its activity produces results on the
ground.
13. Once established, the Early Recovery
Cluster should as a matter of priority achieve a gradual and smooth
transition from humanitarian aid to long-term development assistance.
In addition, the cluster should address how district governments
can be supported to more effectively ensure the delivery of basic
services throughout northern Uganda. While the GoU has primary
responsibility to ensure that humanitarian and protection needs
are met, and to coordinate and support these interventions, the
Early Recovery Cluster remains a necessary requirement.
14. The government's recently-revised Peace
Recovery and Development Plan (PRDP) [38]is
a demonstration and recognition of the need to take action on
the development of northern Uganda. It is a welcome initiative
taken by the GoU to address the marginalisation and particular
needs of northern Uganda, and now needs to be followed up with
concrete action which allows IDPs to exercise their fundamental
rights. NRC recommends.
15. It is important for the GoU and donor
governments to take stock of the EHAP and to ensure that lessons
learned from the EHAP contribute to effective implementation of
the PRDP. In addition, the PRDP should also take into account
lessons from the implementation of the IDP Policy, which remains
largely non-functional at the sub-county level.
16. The continuing process of developing
the PRDP is as important as the strategy itself. However, district
governments and communities have not been adequately consulted
and as a result do not feel ownership of what will soon be their
framework for response. While the deadline for consultation was
extended, the need for dissemination with local governments and
communities remains.
17. It is imperative that the launch of
the PRDP at the end of June 2007 is not seen as an end to humanitarian
response. The international community, through the UN Consolidated
Appeals (CAP) process, must continue to ensure that humanitarian
issues are addressed.
18. The PRDP offers a strong framework for
intervention across the regions of northern Uganda. It is important
that the interventions of all humanitarian and development actors
complement the PRDP.
19. Restoring effective governance across
northern Uganda will be vital to long-term peace, security and
development, and also to the effective implementation of the PRDP.
To effectively fulfil the commitments in the plan, serious government
presence is needed at all levels of district administration. The
response to return will be determined at the sub-county level,
support to which needs to be strengthened in order to ensure effective
service delivery
Security and safety for communities
20. The recently begun, transition from
military to civilian security across the region is welcomed. The
GoU's deployment of Special Police Constables (SPCs), part of
the implementation of the Emergency Humanitarian Action Plan (EHAP),
governed by the Joint Monitoring Committee (JMC), is one step
forward in the long process of restoring law and order across
the region. In this regard NRC recommends:
21. SPCs must be adequately and continually
supported with training, equipment and logistics, and remunerated
on a regular basis.
22. Close monitoring of SPCs is required
to ensure cases of individual abuse are addressed and followed
up.
23. The deployment of SPCs must be managed
by a strong command structure and
complemented by an effective judicial system
which covers all the functions of justice, law and order, such
as arrest, prosecution, incarceration and probation.
24. The SPC deployment is in accordance
with Uganda's IDP Policy, which mandates that the police are responsible
for protection in camps. Yet it must be remembered that armed
members of the UPDF still maintain a presence in many camps.
25. In light of developments towards ending
this conflict an appropriate exit strategy for ending military
security and transferring to full civilian security must be developed.
Any such strategy must incorporate lessons learned from the deployment
of SPCs.
A sustainable future through access to land
26. For many people across northern Uganda,
land is the basis for increased self-reliance and long-term security.
As population movement continues, disputes over land are expected
to increase, with land rights likely to be one of the major issues
affecting people's ability to obtain a lasting solution. Given
the localised nature of most disputes, programmes which focus
on dispute resolution and prevention would be a good way to support
people to overcome such problems. Further to this NRC recommends:
27. District and national government officials
need to ensure consistent messaging and information on land issues.
28. Dispute resolution mechanisms under
the Land Act are currently lacking, resulting in abuse of rights
in relation to land. Further resources need to be allocated through
the GoU to ensure these are effectively operational.
29. The conflict has reduced the authority
and reach of traditional dispute mechanisms. There is great misunderstanding
of what the customary laws are and therefore rights under this
system are being abused especially at the family level. The rules
of customary law need to be clarified and publicised and the authority
of traditional systems re-invigorated, further to this the links
between these mechanisms and statutory provisions and bodies must
be determined.
30. In conclusion, the situation in northern
Uganda is one ripe with opportunity but equally uncertain. The
situation continues to demand a humanitarian response, but one
which is mindful of opportunities for the future. Ultimately it
will be the communities, displaced for almost a quarter of a century
that will realise the right to make informed, voluntary and secure
choices about their future. The GoU, international and humanitarian
community must ensure these rights are both supported and respected.
ENDNOTES
The Norwegian Refugee Council has been active
in Uganda since 1997, implementing projects in Gulu, Kitgum, Pader,
Lira, Arua and Moyo, distributing food and non-food items, supporting
food security initiatives, improving and providing education for
children and youth, managing camps, monitoring return, and providing
information counselling and legal assistance to both IDPs and
refugees.
The Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre,
established in 1998 by the Norwegian Refugee Council, is the leading
international body monitoring conflict-induced internal displacement
worldwide. Through its work, the Centre contributes to improving
national and international capacities to protect and assist the
millions of people around the globe who have been displaced within
their own country as a result of conflicts or human rights violations.
June 2007
37 http://idmc.nrc.ch/8025708F004CE90B/(httpDocuments)/1138A18CCFFD77B6C125727C004EAAC0/$file/
CAP+2007.pdf, United Nations, Consolidated Appeals Process 2007. Back
38
The PRDP builds on the foundations laid by the GoU's Emergency
Humanitarian Action Plan (EHAP), which was launched in June 2006.
However the EHAP has been slow to materialise on the ground, especially
in terms of allocation and distribution of funds. Back
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