This paper explores the grave human rights violations which women and girls suffered during situations of fierce militarisation between the Uganda People’s Defence Force (UPDF) and the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) in Uganda from 1987 to date. It discusses pertinent international initiatives which recognise these violations in times of war and also looks at the most relevant international human rights instruments relating to them. This article is gendered in approach, and whilst it appreciates that both men and boys were also affected by the LRA struggle, it focuses on the more widely-spread abuses committed against women and girls.

Background

Uganda has suffered a turbulent and violent past. The country is comprised of various tribes which have different linguistic and cultural norms and traditions.⁽²⁾ Most tribes from northern Uganda tend to be marginalised, including the Acholi and Lango people.⁽³⁾ The Ugandan economy has gained strategic regional development in East Africa led by the National Resistance Movement (NRM) leadership of President Museveni. The central, western, and southern parts of the country are well facilitated with state resources, whilst the northern area of the country remains heavily impoverished, particularly those districts bordering Sudan. ter Museveni came to power in 1986, “several Acholi movements have challenged Museveni’s rule.  For example, Alice Auma’s (Lakwena) Holy Spirit Mobile Forces was crushed in 1987.”⁽⁴⁾ Another anti-government rebel group, the LRA, led by Joseph Kony, was formed. The LRA's mandate, supported by the Sudanese Government, is to overthrow Museveni's Government.⁽⁵⁾

Due to the long-running fierce conflict, today northern Uganda faces challenges to its livelihoods, economy, infrastructure trading centres, agricultural production, and livestock herds which were destroyed in the conflict.⁽⁶⁾ The conflict has spilled into the neighbouring countries of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Central African Republic (CAR), and Sudan, making it a regional security concern. There have been several unsuccessful attempts at peace treaties between Ugandan forces and the LRA warlords. The peace talks failed due to lack of formal means of communication between the LRA commanders and the Ugandan military.⁽⁷⁾ Since its formation in 1987, the LRA has committed many atrocious human rights abuses against women and girls, which up to date, the victims still demand actors of these violations to be brought to justice. Issues of poverty, displacement, destruction, family breakdown, health and educational rights, coupled with environmental degradation, have all plagued the female population of Acholi land in northern Uganda.⁽⁸⁾ Currently, Joseph Kony and his group have fled northern Uganda and roam the dense forests of the DRC, CAR and South Sudan. Attempts to capture him and his rump LRA force, believed to be 200-500 strong, have failed.⁽⁹⁾ In a renewed push to bring Kony to justice, President Barack Obama sent 100 United States (US) military troops to the region to help the UPDF track down the self-declared mystic. US troops have set up small bases in the DRC and CAR, where Ugandan soldiers are also operating.⁽¹⁰⁾ With a simple background in mind, let’s now turn to the right of formerly abducted girls.

The human rights abuses of formerly abducted girls in northern Uganda

Girls comprise 20% to 30% of the children recruited and abducted by the LRA in northern Uganda. The Ugandan guerrilla war has been one of the bloodiest in Africa’s history, where hundreds of Ugandan women and girls faced forced recruitment by the rebel fighting forces that climaxed to abduction, maiming, torture and beatings, sexual harassment, sexual servitude, exploitation, mutilation, psychological damage, raping and killing.⁽¹¹⁾ Some of the formerly abducted girls had terrible experiences, including having to kill their relatives. Not only did they witness a number of human rights abuses, they were also forced to carry out violations. It was against the will of most girls who were abused and recruited into the LRA fighting forces, especially during round-ups and village raids.⁽¹²⁾ Non-governmental organisations (NGOs), including Action Aid and Human Rights Watch amongst others, have expressed concern at the great number of girls used in the warfare and how their rights continue to be violated.⁽¹³⁾

Formerly abducted girls who were fighters and served in battalion units as cooks, domestic helpers, caretakers and cleaners, told stories of sexual harassment by rebel commanders.⁽¹⁴⁾ Some girls that were assigned to some units but later escaped from the bush and returned, have faced rejection from their communities. The rejection by family and society has great economic and social impacts on the lives of these marginalised girls. Of great concern are young mothers who bore children in the process of LRA fighting; they face severe discrimination and often their children are nicknamed ‘the child of the enemy’. Both mothers and their children are always linked to LRA rebels and nicknamed killers.⁽¹⁵⁾ Furthermore, it is reported that 9 out of 10 girls who leave the LRA are diagnosed with sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) or HIV.⁽¹⁶⁾ The widespread fear of HIV/AIDS also contributes to the stigmatisation of formerly abducted girls and their children. Girls in particular face severe consequences as a result of stigma and social exclusion.⁽¹⁷⁾ Some girls still remaining with LRA fighters have been used to capture and torture other girls in the neighbouring countries so as to perpetuate the vicious cycle of human rights violations and other crimes against humanity. Formerly abducted girls were subjected to widespread systematic sexual forms of human rights violations that have long-life repercussions including economical, material, mental, emotional, and physical.⁽¹⁸⁾

The LRA rebels are notoriously known for their fierce raids and abduction. The recruitment and enlisting of girls below the age of 15 years is strictly prohibited under international law, the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989), the Rome Statute for the International Criminal Court (ICC) (1998), the Additional Protocols to the Geneva Conventions (1977), including the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention (1999). The Optional Protocol on the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict (2000) allows children’s active participation at the age of 18. The Optional Protocol prohibits fighting forces from recruiting or enlisting any person under the age of 18. In Africa, Uganda in particular, the country that experienced a number of children directly involved with LRA rebel fighting forces, the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (1990) requires all state parties to take necessary measures to prevent the use of children under 18 years from being involved in or recruited by fighting forces.

Although poverty and political turmoil were (and continue to be) evident in northern Uganda, young women and girls did not appear to be voluntarily entering the LRA’s ranks for economic opportunity. On the contrary, girls joined the rebel militia of Joseph Kony through being violently kidnapped and ripped away from their families. Most females served as sex slaves and were located in base camps, such as the DRC, far from their homes and familiar territory, lessening their chances of escape. Young women and girls are deemed easy to manipulate, cheap to capture, and able to produce children to repopulate the ranks of the LRA and thus the ideal target for recruitment. Alcinda Honwana notes that the LRA’s objective is to make “children become empty vessels into which the capacity for violence has been poured.”⁽¹⁹⁾ Manipulation of girls begins immediately after abduction. The aim is to dehumanise girls and to control them through the use of fear. Girls who were forcibly recruited often suffered heavy maltreatment and were forced to be married to male rebel fighters; for example, a recruited girl would be given as a reward to a male soldier for his absolute use as a captive ‘wife’.⁽²⁰⁾ In addition, some girls, including other children associated with fighting forces, died as a result of their experiences within those fighting forces, although death rates for these children remain unknown to date.⁽²¹⁾

International human rights framework and protection of formerly abducted girls in Uganda

Girls are entitled to protection as prescribed by the provisions of international humanitarian law (Article 76). This also includes indirect advantage of the special protection requirements of women and young mothers.⁽²²⁾ In analysing the usefulness of the current international conventions and treaties which are relevant to formerly abducted girls in Uganda, one must begin with the centrepiece of children's rights. Uganda ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) on 16 September 1990. It did not enter any reservations. The Convention on the Rights of the Child is the most widely ratified human rights instrument around the world, and some of its most pertinent Articles include:

• Article 2 forbids gender discrimination
• Article 32 offers children protection from economic exploitation
• Article 34 protects children from sexual exploitation and abuse
• Article 35 prohibits child abduction and trafficking
• Article 38 deals with children involved in armed conflict, specifically calling upon respect for international humanitarian law

The government of Uganda is a signatory to these international instruments and therefore has an obligation and responsibility to defend and protect girls’ rights as stipulated in the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child. In Uganda, self-governance is not effective in the field of women human rights and the government has inadequately responded to forms of discrimination against women and girls which, in turn, coupled with a lack of awareness regarding the duty to follow international humanitarian law. While all maltreatment against children is prohibited, the number of human rights abuses against girls in northern Uganda continues to grow every year. What worsens the situation is that guerrilla forces and paramilitaries like the LRA may not be bound and defy provisions of the UNCRC. One area of concern is the lack of adequate Ugandan legislation and enforcement mechanisms to give formerly abducted girls economic, educational, social and cultural rights.

The UN Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) includes provisions to protect women and girls in conflict and war situations. Uganda ratified this convention in July 1985.⁽²³⁾ Therefore, it has an obligation to ensure that discrimination against women is eliminated, including in rural and hard-to-reach areas. The vast majority of formerly abducted girls are from such areas in northern Uganda. Any efforts to end discrimination against women can improve the social and economic positions of young women and girls in the war torn region. Article 16(2) of CEDAW prohibits child marriage, and Uganda as state party to CEDAW is obliged to take essential actions to abolish child marriage and hold accountable the perpetrators involved, putting into consideration the lives of formerly abducted girls. In theory, these human rights instruments exist, but in practice the Ugandan Government has not taken quick steps to effectively enforce them. If these provisions were enforced, Uganda has a responsibility to hold accountable the LRA commanders and its forced marriages against girl abductees. On the contrary, the Ugandan Government has been unable to protect and provide justice to female abductees who have returned home. In light of this, an international human rights provision focusing on sexual abuse experienced by girls, including forced marriages perpetrated in the course of war, fighting and militarisation would be beneficial to deal with injustices and violations against girls in war affected areas in Uganda.

Lastly, the Rome Statute of the ICC is a significant instrument in advancing justice and protection, and the area of women and girls rights is no exception. Uganda ratified the Rome Statute in June 2002.⁽²⁴⁾ Several Articles in the statute are concerned with abducted girls and gender in times of conflict. Article 8(2)(e)(vi) describes how rape, sexual slavery, and other forms of sexual violence perpetrated in non-international wars can be considered war crimes and be prosecuted in the International Criminal Court.⁽²⁵⁾  Rape, as defined by the Rome Statute, is a crime against women, girls, and is a war crime. To understand better, sexual slavery which the LRA uses as a tactic war method itself is a grave abuse and highly condemned. Girls abducted by LRA rebel forces in northern Uganda were subjected to multiple forced pregnancies and those who attempted to remove the pregnancy using local herbs were beaten or killed. Article 8(2) offers practicable ways for those who perpetrated sexual crimes against girls and women in northern Uganda to be brought to justice, not sparing Kony who must face international justice.⁽²⁶⁾

Article 34(7) of the Constitution of Uganda offers special protection to children, particularly vulnerable children.⁽²⁷⁾ Formerly abducted girls in northern conflict zones fall under this category of vulnerable children. The Constitution also states that, “Women shall be accorded full and equal dignity of the person with men.”⁽²⁸⁾ The Children's Statute was endorsed in 1996. Local leadership councils at grass roots levels are given responsibility for ensuring children's safety and well-being. While these national laws protect and promote girls rights, and even provide space for the UN and other NGOs to help protect and promote women’s rights, there has been little effort to address the problem of formerly abducted girls that fled the LRA fighting bases. Kony continues to kill and abduct more girls.⁽²⁹⁾ These girls have specific needs, including the need to address malnourishment, bush skin infections, wounds, rape and sexual-based psychological counselling, and require serious rehabilitation. In addition to existing Ugandan laws that protect children from exploitation, there is no specific provision relating to formerly abducted girls. Girls’ rights abuses are exacerbated further as there is ineffectiveness of international enforcement mechanisms or  lack of accountability when mechanism are implemented.

Conclusion

Despite the fact that Uganda is a signatory to international conventions, there is no respect for such standards in times of war and fierce militarisation. Formerly abducted girls in northern Uganda are highly vulnerable to human rights abuses. There is need to ensure that continued international funding is strengthened, to fully finance the rehabilitation programmes. One way to gunner support for international aid is to continuously highlight the problems facing girls in conflict affected areas of northern Uganda. Specific financing should be pledged for rehabilitation and reintegration programmes for formerly abducted girls. Emphasis should be put on rehabilitation programmes for girls with special provisions for former abductees. As villages and households affected by the LRA war make efforts to rebuild their lives, it is important to recognise that the process of healing from trauma is vital in post-war recovery.

The Ugandan Government, together with human rights bodies and NGOs, should make deliberate efforts to ensure that the needs of formerly abducted girls are catered for. At a minimum, these should include health care and psychosocial counselling for girls who are survivors of rape and sexual assault, as well as providing childcare centres for girl mothers. The human rights abuses suffered by sexually exploited girls who were abducted or recruited by LRA rebel forces are human rights crimes and clearly related to conflict and war. Through a more expansive humanitarian aid and increased international attention to the plight of young girls and women in war and fighting situations, there is hope for a better life for girl abductees in northern Uganda.

Written by Patience Gulu Namanya ⁽¹⁾

NOTES:

(1) Contact Patience Gulu Namanya through Consultancy Africa Intelligence’s Gender Issues Unit (gender.issues@consultancyafrica.com). This CAI discussion paper was developed with the assistance of Claudia Forster-Towne and was edited by Kate Morgan.
(2) They include Acholi, Alur, Banyankole, Baganda, Basoga, Bagwere, Bakiga, Banyoro, Batooro, Lango, Karamajong, Japadhola, Iteso; Onyano, E.O., ‘Ugandan traditional cultural values’, Academia.edu, http://www.academia.edu.
(3) Sima, A., et al., 2012. Perceptions of children involved in war and transitional justice in Uganda. Munkschool: Toronto.
(4) Falkenburg, L., ‘Youth lost: Ugandan child soldiers in the Lord Resistance Army’, Small Wars Journal, 15 March 2013, http://smallwarsjournal.com.
(5) Ibid.
(6)  Annan, J., Blattman, C. and Horton, R., ‘The state of youth and youth protection in northern Uganda: Findings from a survey for war affected youth’, UNICEF report, 2006, http://chrisblattman.com.
(7) Louis, A., 2008. The hard road to peace in northern Uganda, Analysis of contrasting perspectives on the northern Uganda peace negotiations. Institute of Social Studies: Hague.
(8) ‘The Uganda Action Plan on UN Security Council Resolutions 1325 and 1820 and the Goma Declaration’, Republic of Uganda Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, December 2008, http://www.peacewomen.org.
(9) ‘US offers up to $5m for leads on Uganda warlord Kony’, BBC News, 3 April 2013, http://www.bbc.co.uk.
(10) ‘Obama sends 100 US troops to Uganda to fight LRA’, NewVision Uganda, 14 October 2011, http://www.newvision.co.ug.
(11) Allen, T., ‘War and justice in northern Uganda: An assessment of the International Criminal Court's intervention’, An independent draft study report, February 2005, http://r4d.dfid.gov.uk.
(12) Baines, E. and Wierda, M., 2006. War-affected children and youth in northern Uganda: Towards a brighter future. MacArthur Foundation: Chicago.
(13) They include: Feed the children, Action for development, Action Aid, Invisible children, Human Rights Watch, Caritas International, UNICEF, UNDP, UNCHR, ICC Trust Fund for Victims; Uganda National NGO Forum website, http://www.ngoforum.or.ug.
(14) Kalla, K. and Dixon, P., ‘Learning from TFV’s second mandate; from implementing rehabilitation assistance to reparations’, Trust Fund for Victims, 2010, http://www.trustfundforvictims.org.
(15) Akello, G., Richters, A. and Reis, R., ‘Reintegration of former child soldiers in northern Uganda: Coming to terms with children’s agency and accountability intervention’, http://www.ourmediaourselves.com.
(16) Ibid.
(17) Ibid.
(18)  Kalla, K. and Dixon, P., ‘Learning from TFV’s second mandate; from implementing rehabilitation assistance to reparations’, Trust Fund for Victims, 2010, http://www.trustfundforvictims.org.
(19) Honwana, A., 2006. Child soldiers in Africa. University of Pennsylvania Press: Philadelphia.
(20)  ‘Q&A on Joseph Kony and the Lord’s Resistance Army’, Human Rights Watch, 21 March 2012, http://www.hrw.org.
(21) ‘The scars of death, children abducted by the Lord’s Resistance Army in Uganda’, Human Rights Watch, 1 September 1997, http://www.hrw.org.
(22) Banning, T., et al., ‘Human rights instruments’, University for Peace, November 2003, http://www.upeace.org.
(23) ‘About CEDAW’, CEDAW, 2013, http://www.cedaw2011.org.
(24) ‘Rome Statute ratifications’, Human Rights Watch, 14 December 2012, http://www.hrw.org.
(25) ‘Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court’, International Criminal Court, 17 July 1998, http://www.icc-cpi.int.
(26) ‘The prosecutor v. Joseph Kony, Vicent Otti, Okot Odhiambo and Dominic Ongwen’, International Criminal Court website, 6 May 2005, http://www.icc-cpi.int.
(27) ‘The constitution of the Republic of  Uganda’, Ammendement Act 2005, http://opm.go.ug
(28) Ibid.
(29) ‘Uganda: No end to LRA killing and abductions’, Human Rights Watch, 23 May 2011, http://www.hrw.org.