28 Institute for Justice and Reconciliation
The Greater Horn Region Uganda
A renewed civil society initiative, the National Reconciliation and Transitional Justice Audit, is currently being undertaken by the Refugee Law Project to document and map out the various conflicts that have affected Uganda from independence, and whose legacies remain unaddressed, in order to shape future transitional justice processes and a specific policy, expected by 2014.
UGANDA Uganda’s transitional justice path since the end of the Juba peace talks has been far from predictable. Even though the peace talks were concluded without a final agreement, the government has selectively implemented provisions of the Juba agreements, despite its stated commitment to pursue a robust transitional justice process. Progress has been made through the Justice, Law and Order Sectors’ Transitional Justice Working Group, which makes the Ugandan Transitional Justice process a very a government-led and government-owned initiative. The current context is one that prioritises the prosecution of non-state actors, evident in the trial of former Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) fighter, Thomas Kwoyelo, and the review of the amnesty which enacted laws to pardon those who renounced rebellions. The amnesty law stands accused of frustrating trials. Other components of justice, such as reparations, truth-seeking, reintegration and guarantees of nonrepetition, have not been fully implemented and yet it is clear to practitioners in this field in Uganda that a comprehensive transitional justice road map for Uganda requires ‘Moving through Individual and Community Repair to Social and National Healing’. A new civil society-led initiative called the National Reconciliation and Transitional Justice Audit which is currently being undertaken by the Refugee Law Project to document and map out the various conflicts and their legacies that have affected Uganda since Independence. Stephen Oola, Acting Head of Research and Advocacy Department, Refugee Law Project, School of Law, Makerere University, March 2012
In 2006, the government of Uganda and the LRA signed the Juba Peace Agreement, ending a destructive 22-year civil war. In response to atrocities committed during the conflict in the region, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for five of the LRA’s most senior leaders. The LRA leadership subsequently reneged on signing a final peace agreement with the Ugandan government. In May 2011, Yoweri Museveni (in power since 1986) was once again sworn in as President. In the period following the contested election, opposition leader Kizza Besigye was attacked and arrested over anti-government protests. While the political climate in Uganda remains volatile, a number of civil society-led justice and reconciliation processes are however focusing on issues such as reparations, traditional justice and the progress of the International Crimes Division (ICD). In 2011, LRA commander Thomas Kwoyelo, one of five commanders indicted by the ICC, was tried by the ICD of the High Court. However, Kwoyelo’s defence lawyers protested that Kwoyelo had been denied amnesty under the Amnesty Act and in late September 2011, the Constitutional Court ruled that Kwoyelo should be eligible for amnesty and ordered the ICD to end the case against him. Kwoyelo’s release and the lack of clarity around the Ugandan Amnesty Act, have sparked much debate within civil society about the Act itself, the cost of the trial and the absence of a broader transitional justice process inclusive of truth-telling, reparations, institutional reform, etc. The IJR has maintained a long-standing partnership with a number of dynamic and respected civil society organisations (CSOs) in Uganda, such as the Refugee Law Project in Kampala and the Gulu-based Justice and Reconciliation Project (JRP) working in the field of justice and reconciliation. In addition, the IJR has worked with the Ugandan government’s Justice Law and Order Sector (JLOS) and the War Crimes Division in particular – both of which are located in the Ministry of Justice. The Institute will continue to work together with government to respond to its needs and to bolster local CSOs with the capacity and credibility to add value to the national process. It is important to note, however, that this work is dependent on no further deterioration of the political climate, and could in fact be hindered by the prevailing climate. With the incumbent President’s stated intent to stay in office for this period, it is possible, even likely, that such tensions may escalate further.