Women Leaders Reflect on the Prospects for Peace in Northern Uganda

Women Leaders Reflect on the Prospects for Peace in Northern Uganda

Franca Akello, member, Parliament of Uganda (Pader District)

Jane Akwero Odwong, former member, Parliament of Uganda (Kitgum District)

Anne Auru, member, Parliament of Uganda (Moyo District)

Betty Ocan Aol, member, Parliament of Uganda (Gulu District)

Betty Ongom Amongi, member, Parliament of Uganda (Apac District)

Santa Oketta, member, Local Council (Gulu District)

Rose Wabwire Munyira Omusolo, member, Parliament of Uganda (Busia District)

Moderator: Joel Barkan, Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellow, National Endowment for Democracy.

On January 17th, the Woodrow Wilson Center's Africa Program joined the Initiative for Inclusive Security in sponsoring a delegation of Ugandan women leaders to discuss prospects for peace and stability in Uganda. The panelists were participating in the IIS's Eighth Annual Policy Forum entitled "Women in Government: Securing the Future." The WWICS event was designed to share their priorities and strategies for building sustainable peace in northern Uganda. They discussed the current peace talks between the Ugandan government and the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in Juba, Sudan and highlighted the importance of the role of women in the peace talks. Panelists included Franca Akello, member of the Parliament of Uganda representing Pader District, Jane Akwero Odwong, former member of the Ugandan Parliament from Kitgum District, Anne Auru, member of the Ugandan Parliament from Moyo District, Betty Ocan Aol, member of the Ugandan Parliament from Gulu District, Betty Ongom Amongi, member of the Ugandan Parliament from Apac District, Santa Oketta, member of the Local Council of Gulu District, and Rose Wabwire Munyira Omusolo, member of the Ugandan Parliament from Busia District. Joel Barkan, provided introductory remarks and served as moderator.

Joel Barkan, opened the discussion with a brief background on the 20 year long conflict in northern Uganda. The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), formed in 1987 and led by Joseph Koney, has been engaged in an armed rebellion against the Ugandan government in northern Uganda. The LRA is accused of widespread human rights violations, including mutilation, torture, rape and abduction of civilians, the use of child soldiers and a number of massacres. In 2004, after sixteen years of conflict, the Ugandan government and the LRA rebels held their first face-to-face talks, but produced no breakthrough to end the insurgency. However, in July 2006, the Ugandan government and the LRA renewed peace talks in Juba and agreed to a ceasefire in August 2006, aimed at ending the long-running conflict.

Sadly the conflict has not attracted much attention until recently. According to Barkan, recent attention given to the war is due to three distinct developments:

• The sheer magnitude of the war which has caused the displacement of around 1.5 million people.
• The perpetration of unspeakable human rights abuses committed primarily by the Lord's Resistance Army.
• Interest in the four different ways the conflict has played itself out: It has been looked at as a war between the LRA and the Uganda Police Defense Force, the national army of Uganda. It has also been described as a civil war amongst the Acholi (the main ethnic group affected by the LRA). It has been described as a civil war between the southern dominated Ugandan government and the people of the North who haven't been included in Uganda's development since its reconstitution under the leadership of President Museveni. And lastly, it has been looked at as an extension of the war between Northern and Southern Sudan.

Betty Ongom Amongi, stressed how, for the past twenty years, the leaders in the northern part of Uganda have not understood the agenda of the LRA. The LRA claims to be fighting to reinstate the Ten Commandments. However, locals in the northern part of Uganda have been the primary victims, and the majority of the "combatants" today were forcefully abducted and indoctrinated. Northerners have agitated for a political and peacefully settlement, instead of rallying behind the LRA. The government in Khartoum has supported the LRA in the past, and allowed them to retreat to Juba for rearmament and retraining. However with the signing of the Sudanese Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in August 2006, the government of Southern Sudan agreed to mediate talks between LRA and Ugandan government.

The negotiations, at the moment consist of the LRA, the government of Uganda, an observer team, a mediating team led by the current vice-president of the Government of Southern Sudan, Dr. Riek Machar, and special teams that carry out specific missions by request of the participants. These delegations are supported by the UN. Within these four different delegations, there are only three women participants; one with the LRA, and two with the observer team. The five main issues on the agenda of these peace talks are:

• Cessation of hostilities between the LRA and government and provisions to allow the LRA to assemble at the designated areas in Southern Sudan and the DRC.
• The economic and social development of the north of Uganda which would include rehabilitation, resettlement, and political participation.
• The need for accountability, reconciliation, and justice which would address alternative systems of justice, the relevance of the International Criminal Court (ICC), and the question of providing justice to the victims.
• The issue of demobilization, disarmament, resettlement and reintegration of ex-combatants into the community.

So far, the negotiations have only addressed the first point in this agenda.

There are various reasons why negotiations stalled:

• Mistrust exists between the LRA and the Government of Uganda. Both sides do not trust the mediator, Vice-President Riek Machar, given his links to the Khartoum government. Each side questions the other side's commitment to the peace talks.
• LRA leaders have refused to retreat to designated assembly points.
• Internal dynamics within Southern Sudan and the uncertainty regarding the autonomy of Southern Sudan.
• The involvement of the ICC has caused some controversy. In January 2003, President Museveni referred LRA members to the ICC, which then indicted five leaders for crimes they committed between 2002 and 2004. However, with the beginning of the peace talks, the government accepted an offer of amnesty from the LRA, but the ICC refuses to drop the indictments. (Barkan explained that once a country makes a referral to the ICC as Uganda has, the ICC is then unable to withdraw that referral.) A consensus has emerged among northerners and the government both of whom want peace and forgiveness, but do want to appear to condone impunity. The Ugandan government finds itself in a dichotomy, having referred the LRA's case to the ICC at a time when the LRA was not in Ugandan territory. However, the LRA is now in Ugandan territory, giving the government the authority to prosecute indicted LRA members through the national justice system. Amongi mentioned two approaches that would serve as alternatives to the ICC, one consist of prosecuting indicting LRA members through the national justice system and/or utilizing an Acholi traditional mechanism, known as "Matuput."

Anne Auru, however, spoke in support of the ICC. She explained that regarding the Acholi as the primary victims of the conflict in northern Uganda is a misconception. The conflict in northern Uganda has affected many other ethnic groups as well. For this reason she disagrees with trying LRA members utilizing traditional Acholi mechanisms because justice would not be attained for other minority ethnic groups affected by the war.

Betty Ocan Aol, began by providing background on the Ugandan Women Parliamentary Association, which includes all women members of parliament, regardless of their party affiliations. Members of this association mainly discuss issues affecting women and their needs such as access to education, land ownership and access to reproductive health services, especially during the reconstruction process. Aol stressed the need for women to effectively participate in the peace process. This is because women are directly affected by certain issues and if they were not represented, these issues would be ignored.

She noted that the earlier peace talks in 2004 were mediated by a woman, Betty Bigombe. In light of this precedent, Aol advocated for the creation of a gender expert team which in consultation with Ugandan women's group would participate in the current negotiation process. The inclusion of women with technical and professional skills in this peace process would help magnify the voice of women and drum up support for their initiatives. She noted that since the early 1990s women have struggled to mobilize peace processes and after more than a decade women have still not been included, which is very disappointing. She insisted that the ICC is an inadequate response to the crimes committed during the war. She noted the difference between retributive and restorative justice, pointing out that most Ugandan women want peace, and therefore want the ICC to remain only marginally involved with the peace talks and the effort to bring about justice.

Jane Akwero Odwong, began by explaining the significance of the Eighth Annual Policy Forum and its activities geared at increasing the role of women in governance. In regards to Uganda the most pressing issue brought to the forefront was the involvement of women in the process of negotiation, mediation and reconstruction. As a former member of parliament, Odwong was elected as a representative of Kitgum District while she was a member of a ruling party in an area that predominantly votes for members of opposition parties. Her role enabled her to create a dialogue among opposing members of parliament and increase support for women in the peace process among her constituents. While in Parliament she urged members to pass a resolution to declare the North a disaster zone to stress the plight of women and children who bore the brunt of the war. Lastly she commented on the positive role of the international community in the Ugandan peace process.

Franca Akello, pointed out that women are still learning how to operate as parliamentarians under a multi-party system. She noted that Ugandan women make up 30% of the members in parliament which exceeds the representation of women in the United States Congress. Akello and women in parliament support grassroots organizations and civil society groups who lobby to increase awareness of issues affecting women. At the grassroots level she reiterated that most Ugandans want peace and are ready to forgive past inflictors of crimes against the population, as a means of moving forward.

Akello then discussed various pending bills regarding sexual offences, human trafficking, and domestic relations. These bills, if ratified, would serve to increase the rights of women in Uganda and their role in the reconstruction process. Reconstruction initiatives such as the Peace Recovery and Development Program (PRDP) were developed to help tackle the issue of land. Presently, in the Acholi tradition, women are not allowed to own land which is counter intuitive given that most households are headed by women as a result of the conflict. Akello also urged the government to distribute contracts to reconstruct communities to women-owned businesses.

Another recommendation made by women in parliament is increasing the participation of women in all structures of government. Women, she felt, should occupy at least one fourth of all positions in government and be placed in positions that directly affect the community.

Santa Oketta, is a district councilor. In her district she devotes most of her time to addressing the grievances of child mothers, most of whom were victims of the war.

Rose Wabwire Munyira Omusolo, ended the discussion. She said she is involved in the parliamentary peace forum. She insisted that the government is committed to bringing about peace, but realizes the need for more mechanisms that increase the visibility of women in government and in the peace process.

Drafted by Doreen Chi, Program Assistant and Tina Byenkya, Intern, Africa Program