UGANDA

COMPENDIUM OF CONFLICTS IN UGANDA
In the Rwenzori region, a similar case was made. Capitalising on historical grievances,
the National Army for the Liberation of Uganda (NALU) was able to recruit from former
Rwenzururu Movement combatants who had not been properly demobilised, disarmed
and reintegrated. Later, the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) were able to recruit from the
pool of former NALU combatants.In Karamoja, Government has made several attempts
at voluntary and forced disarmament, with various levels of success and marred by
human rights violations. 66
Participants identified the DDR deficit as both an unaddressed legacy of conflict as
well as a conflict driver. Although the Amnesty Commission was recognised for its
contribution to DDR and peacebuilding, it was also considered to have not done enough.
Traditional justice mechanisms played some role in reintegration, but the potential of
other transitional justice mechanisms to address the DDR deficit remains under-utilised.
Although discussions around DDR and transitional justice gained momentum during
the Juba Peace Talks, and agreements on both issues were signed between the LRA
and Government of Uganda, neither agreement was ever fully implemented, and the
potential linkages between them have not yet crystallised, whether in practice or in
policy discussions. In discussions about transitional justice in the international arena,
however, conceptual connections between DDR and transitional justice have increasingly
been made over the last few years. For example, Pablo de Greiff has argued that linking
DDR to reparations enhances the chance of success of DDR processes. He argues that
“Providing benefits to ex-combatants without attending to the claims of victims not only
leaves victims at a comparative disadvantage, but gives rise to new grievances, which
may exacerbate their resistance against returning ex-combatants.” 67 Generally, it has
become increasingly recognised that the two processes overlap in purpose, and can
mutually reinforce each other. 68
POVERTY AND PEACE
When participants were faced with the question “Do you think there is peace in Uganda?”
they responded instead with reference to various specific conflicts - both described in
this thematic section and the overview of conflicts below - to justify why their response
was almost always a resounding ‘no’. Researchers were primarily interested in armed
conflicts and secondarily in manifest conflict dynamics in society that were not necessarily
accompanied with gunshots and raised pangas. Participants, however, insisted that the
This report provides an overview of some of the DDR related challenges and their implications in northern
Uganda, e.g. the recruitment of over 3000 people into auxiliary forces to help boost the UPDF during the
war without appropriate DDR afterwards, and the prevalence of illegal fire arms. Respondents of the
study made a direct link between “weapon availability, disgruntled ex-combatants, disenfranchised youth
and current insecurity in their communities”. It further quotes similar challenges in Bunyoro, Karamoja
and Teso, where community leaders referred to a “culture of the gun” or “a culture of violence”
66 For more information on these operations, see conflict numbers 52 and 61 in this Compendium.
67 de Greiff, P. (2010) Research brief: Establishing links between DDR and reparations ,International Center
for Transitional Justice [Internet] February. Available from:
[Accessed 21 March 2014]
68 This recognition is illustrated by a collaboration between the International Center for Transitional Justice
and the United Nations resulting in the publication of a module for the UN’s Integrated DDRStandards
on transitional justice, published in 2009. See Module 6.20, Integrated Disarmament, Demobilization and
Reintegration Standards: DDR and Transitional Justice (14 December 2009), accessible at http://ictj.org/
sites/default/files/UN-DDR-and-Transitional-Justice-2009-English.pdf
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