UGANDA

COMPENDIUM OF CONFLICTS IN UGANDA
was considered more as a military counterinsurgency
strategy than as a way of protecting
people. Participants described some IDP
camps as “Protecting camps” as opposed to
“Protected camps” given that the military were
often encycled by civilians. Many of the IDP
camps became a one-stop abduction centre,
as LRA would abduct at will. More civilians
are estimated to have died as a result of the
encampment than from direct armed violence.
A policy on internal displacement, which
provides for the rights of IDPs, was published
in 2004, and Uganda was the first to ratify the
African Union Convention for the Protection
and Assistance of IDPs in Africa. These policies
aside, however, the Ugandan Government’s
actual response to mass-scale displacement
was widely criticized by participants,
particularly in
areas where
displacement
occurred. 24 Internal
displacement is still
a reality in Uganda,
as for example in
the displacement
of approximately
400 Bakonzo caused
by ethnic clashes
in Bundibugyo in
2012. 25,26 Displaced
people in Uganda
also include people
who have fled from
neighbouring countries
to Uganda. In 2013,
Uganda hosted 190,000
registered refugees
and asylum seekers, in
24 See also Refugee Law Project (2012) From arid zones in to the desert: The Uganda national IDP policy
implementation 2004 – 2012. Working paper no. 23
25 Bukenya, B. (2012). 400 displaced by ethnic clashes in Bundibugyo. Uganda Radio Network. [Internet], 10
July. Available from: [Accessed 27 May
2014]
26 Bassime, F et al. (2012). The Bakonjo Bamba clashes: looking beyond the fights. Daily Monitor [Internet],
14 July. Available from: [Accessed 27 May 2014]
24