WOMEN, PEACE AND SECURITY RESOURCES: UGANDA
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Civil Society and NGO Reports, Papers and Statements

Uganda: “Today you will understand” – Women’s war stories from northern Uganda: an IRIN booklet and audio CD
July 2008

“Today you will understand” is a unique collection of 16 true stories related viaradio interviews conducted jointly by IRIN’s radio project in northern Uganda andmembers of FEMRITE, the Uganda Women Writers’ Association. It is based on the moving, personal stories of women and girls affected by the war innorthern Uganda between government forces and the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA).

To download Today You Will Understand, please click here

Uganda: War And Sexual Based Violence in the North
AllAfrica.com, July 2008
This paper analyzes the 22 years of conflict in Northern Uganda which has been labeled the "worse humanitarian crisis" in a statement by Jan, the representative of the UN, during his visit in Northern Uganda. There were high levels of human right abuse which greatly affected women in the war tone zone. The women are still experiencing psychological, spiritual, and physical health trauma as a result of the long conflict in the region.

To read the full analysis, please click here

Enhancing the EU Response to Women and Armed Conflict with Particular Reference to Development Policy
European Centre for Development Policy Management (ECDPM), April 2008
Women’s multiple and diverse roles in conflict are hidden, poorly understood and, at times, consciously or unconsciously dismissed. Usually it is women’s role as victims that is given most prominence. Though, in recent years the international community has become more responsive to women’s diverse roles as actors on conflict prevention, resolution and peace-building, there is recognition that the EU’s response to this reality must be scaled up, widened and deepened. Local, national or international action that does not involve and empower women is less likely to be successful and sustainable in any field, including that which is intended to bring development or peace. This study is based on the premise that a more effective international/EU response to women and armed conflict must incorporate the three inter-related and mutually reinforcing concepts of gender equality, women’s empowerment and upholding women’s rights.

To read the full report, which looks at women and armed conflict in Uganda, please click HERE

Forced Marriage within the Lord’s Resistance Army, Uganda
Tufts University-Feinstein International Center, May 2008
The Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), a rebel group fighting the government of Uganda, is estimated to have abducted over 60,000 Ugandan children and youth. While in captivity, thousands of abducted women and girls, most of whom are from the Acholi and Langi peoples, fought, cooked, carried supplies, fetched water, and cleaned for LRA fighters and commanders, including those who organized and carried out their abductions. Many of those abducted also served as forced wives to male members of the group, with half of them bearing children to their captor husbands.

”Forced Marriage within the Lord’s Resistance Army, Uganda” demonstrates that forced marriage includes acts codified as crimes in international customary and human rights law. These crimes include rape, sexual slavery, enforced pregnancy, forced labor, enslavement, and torture. However, the crime of forced marriage is unique from the above mentioned crimes, as it contains the element of forced conjugality.

For the full report, please click HERE

The State of Female Youth in Northern Uganda: Findings from the Survey of War Affected Youth
Tufts University-Feinstein International Center, April 2008
SWAY is a research program in northern Uganda dedicated to understanding the scale and nature of war violence, the effects of war on youth, and the evaluation of programs to recover, reintegrate, and develop after conflict.

An understanding of the effects of war on women and girls was particularly lacking, whether they were abducted or affected by the violence in other ways.
This report addresses the specific impact of the conflict on young women focusing on issues such as war violence and abduction, forced marriage and motherhood within the LRA, livelihoods, education and health.

For the full report, please click HERE

Early Marriages in Uganda's Refugee Settlements
Refugee Law Project, Uganda, 2008
This report examines the widespread occurrence of early marriages in Uganda's refugee settlements and how this phenomenon relates to the'vulnerability' and self-reliance paradigms which underpin official protection and assistance. The authors seek to understand why so many refugees engage in early marriages, which are illegal under Ugandan and international law, and widely recognised amongst refugees themselves as harmful.

For the full report, please click HERE

Voubly Traumatised: Lack of Access to Justice for Female Victims of Sexual and Gender-Based violence in Northern Uganda
Amnesty International, November 2007
Many women and girls in northern Uganda suffer sexual and gender-based violence committed by state actors, including official authorities and military officers, and nonstate actors within the family and in the community. These women victims of violence in northern Uganda often face insurmountable difficulties in trying to ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice. Many are afraid to report rape and other forms of violence, not only because of intimidation, hostility and ridicule from the community, but also due to state inaction in ensuring redress. As a result, the justice system in northern Uganda ignores, denies and tacitly condones violence against women and girls and protects suspected perpetrators. Amnesty International considers victims’ lack of access to justice as an issue of serious concern warranting the immediate attention of the Ugandan government and the international community.

For the full report, please click HERE

Girls in Fighting Forces: Moving Beyond Victimhood
Myriam Denov, Canadian International Development Agency, 2007
Girls within armed groups have generally been neglected by scholars, governments and policymakers. This Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) paper traces the experiences of girls in armed conflict in Angola, Sierra Leone, Mozambique and Uganda. It finds that girls in fighting forces are rendered invisible and marginalised during and after conflict, although they are fundamentally important to armed groups. They experience victimisation, perpetration and insecurity, but are also active agents and resisters.

To read the full report, please click here

Statement: Northern Uganda Women Speak Out on Juba Talks
The Uganda Women’s Network, October 2006
Guided by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000) on women, peace and security and the Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa (2004), five women’s organizations with the support of the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and under the leadership of the Uganda Women’s Network (UWONET) engaged in consultations from 10 – 14 October in Northern Uganda. These consultations were undertaken to demonstrate solidarity with the women of Northern Uganda and gather the views of women most acutely affected by the 20-year conflict on the current ongoing peace process in Juba.

For the full statement, please click HERE

Beyond Victimhood: Women’s Peacebuilding in Sudan, Congo and Uganda
International Crisis Group's Africa Report, June 2006
Peacebuilding cannot succeed if half the population is excluded from the process. Crisis Group’s research in Sudan, Congo (DRC) and Uganda suggests that peace agreements, post-conflict reconstruction, and governance do better when women are involved. Women make a difference, in part because they adopt a more inclusive approach toward security and address key social and economic issues that would otherwise be ignored. But in all three countries, as different as each is, they remain marginalised in formal processes and under-represented in the security sector as a whole. Governments and the international community must do much more to support women peace activists.

For the complete report, please click HERE

Human Security Bulletin: Human Security in Uganda
Canadian Consortium on Human Security, November 2004
The Human Security Bulletin is the flagship bilingual on-line publication of the Canadian Consortium on Human Security (CCHS) . The Bulletin is a core part of CCHS efforts to facilitate the exchange of information and analysis on human security issued notes by humanitarian workers, a photo exhibit and a compilation of the best recent human security resourcess. This issue of the Human Security Bulletin examines the human security situation in Uganda. It includes key statistics, links to Canadian and international research, information on government and civil society initiatives, editorials, field notes by humanitarian workers, a photo exhibit and a compilation of the best recent human security resources.

Learning in a War Zone: Education in Northern Uganda
Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children, February 2005
In September 2004, staff from the Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children went on a mission to northern Uganda. One focus of the mission was to look at the education situation in the north given that the region has been and is currently in a situation of violent conflict. With 1.6 million people displaced, learning systems and structures have been altered significantly, even with the Ugandan government’s pledge of Universal Primary Education (UPE).

Perspectives and experiences of women in Northern Uganda in the ICC
Women's Initiatives for Gender Justice, in collaboration with Isis-WICCE and Ugandan Women Activists, Press Release, 23 November 2004

ICC’s Uganda Probe Must Protect Witnesses: Court Needs to Investigate Crimes by All Sides in Northern Uganda’s Conflict
Human Rights Watch, July 2004
With the struggle on the Northern Uganda, the International Criminal Court must ensure protection for witnesses and victims, Human Rights Watch said today. The court needs to investigate serious crimes committed by all sides to the conflict in order to ensure justice and promote sustainable peace.

Perils and Promises; Living Feminist Politics in Uganda
Winnie Byanyima, Former MP, African Gender Institute panel disussion, GWS Africa, 8 March 2004

Uganda : Amnesty International Report 2004
Amnesty international, 2004
The report focuses on the torture increased against a background of government campaign against crime and terrorism. Ruling by the constitutional court allowed political organizations to participate freely in public.

Civil Society, Women Empowerment and Decentralisation in Uganda
Apollo Nkwake Mukasa, Abstract, ISTR Sixth International Conference, Contesting Citizenship and Civil Society in a Divided World, Toronto, Canada, 11-14 July 2004
Mukasa illustrates the potential role of civil society organizations in ensuring women's participation in the political process in Uganda.

Women, Armed Conflict and Food Security In Uganda : An Exploratory Study of Four Districts
Isis–Women’s International Cross Cultural Exchange, May 2004
An in-depth examination of war effects on socio-economic and psycho-social livelihoods and in particular, women’s contribution to access to food in conflict situations in Kasese and Kitgum, as compared with conflict free Mbarara and Bugiri districts.

For more information on this study, please click HERE

Where Are The Girls? Girls in Fighting Forces in Northern Uganda, Sierra Leone and Mozambique: Their Lives During and After War
International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development, March 2004
This study contributes to what is currently known about the experiences of girls in fighting forces as distinct from those of boys. It is meant to assist policymakers in developing policies and programs to help protect and empower girls in situations of armed conflict and postwar reconstruction. Within the context of Northern Uganda, Sierra Leone and Mozambique girls in the fighting forces have suffered major human rights violations, especially gender-based violence. The rights of these girls are under threat from their own governments, armed opposition forces, and, occasionally, by members of their communities and families. Current approaches to understanding the role of girls in conflict, where girls are understood only to be captive "wives," "sexual slaves" or "camp followers", are limited and inaccurate.

For the full report, please click here

Uganda: Domestic Violence Worsens AIDS: Battered Women Face Greater Vulnerability to HIV
Human Rights Watch, August 2003
A document illustrating the widespread rape and brutally attacks on women, by their husbands, in Uganda, where a specific domestic violence law has not been enacted and where spouse rape is not criminalized. The Ugandan government's failure to protect women from domestic violence and discrimination increases women's risk of contracting HIV.

Just Die Quietly: Domestic Violence and Women's Vulnerability to HIV In Uganda
Human Rights Watch, August 2003
The article analyses the vulnerability to women and how to protect them from violence in their home. They urge the Ugandan government, donors, and regional and international organizations to undertake the following actions such as prosecute those responsible and create an environment in which women can protect themselves from HIV/AIDS.

Stolen Children: Abduction and Recruitment in Northern Uganda
Human Rights Watch, Slaves, "Wives," and Mothers: The Experience of Girls, March 2003
Although not as numerous as boys, girls are abducted in large numbers by the LRA. Some are given military training and are forced to fight, carry out raids on villages, and help abduct other children. Most are virtual slaves, forced to work long hours carrying heavy loads, walking long distances to fetch water and firewood, and performing other tasks, including cooking and field work. At age fourteen or fifteen, many are sexually enslaved as "wives" of commanders and subjected to rape, unwanted pregnancies, and the risk of sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS.

A Lingering Pain: Women and War in Uganda
WOUGNET, November 2002
Isis Women's International Cross-Cultural Exchange launched a video documentary based on the suffering of Uganda women as war survivors and their experience of gender based violence. The documentary raises awareness on the conflict against women. The launch of the 16 days of activism was a campaign tool against all forms of violence against women.

Women's experinces of armed conflict in Uganda, Gulu District 1986-1999
Isis–Women’s International Cross Cultural Exchange
The report demonstrates the women who survived abduction by rebels reveal the cruelty of government soldiers in livid tales of individual and gang rapes. It also examines the history of Uganda especially women, families and children.



UN Documents

Uganda faces the ‘Lion in the Village’
UN Department of Public Information (DPI), Africa Recovery (currently Africa Renewal), January 2001
Women were another key to Uganda’s success, the President observed. The document addresses the issues that affect Uganda such as implementing AIDS prevention and education programmes.

Empowering the Poor at the Local Level
UN Department of Public Information (DPI), Africa Recovery (currently Africa Renewal), November 1998
UNDP honours women battling poverty in their communities. Ms. Edith Wakumire of Uganda was one of five women honoured for poverty reduction work at the local community level during a United Nations Development Programme-sponsored awards ceremony on 16 October to commemorate the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.


Government Statements and Reports

Declaration of the 4th Regular Meeting of IGAD Ministers in charge of Gender/Women Affairs
Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), February 21-22, 2006

Proceedings of the 3rd Regular Meeting of Ministers in Charge of Gender Affairs
Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), July 15, 2004
The specific objectives of the meeting were: to develop an IGAD Gender Policy framework with the view to facilitate the mainstreaming of Gender perspectives into all activities of IGAD in order to make them gender responsive and contribute to the achievement of economic integration, food security and environment protection, peace and Security and Humanitarian affairs in the region; to review a draft modalities of creating and IGAD women for Peace and Development Forum and to discuss the process and needs for improved Gender Budgeting in the region.

Summary Proceedings of the Workshop on engendering CEWARN (Conflict Early Warning and Response Mechanism)
Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), November 25 – 26, 2002
This workshop was organized with the following objectives focusing gender issues within the framework of CEWARN:
• Broaden participants knowledge on engendering CEWARN as well as perception of the participants and deepening the analysis of the concept and recommend innovative ideas on engendering CEWARN
• Provide a forum for floating and testing ideas, which can later be formulated to logical framework and integrated to the CEWARN activities
• Assure presentation of Women in CEWARN and CEWERUs (In-state Conflict Early Warning and Conflict Management Unit)
• Develop Institutional Link between Gender Desk, CEWARN/CEWERUs and national machineries

Report of the 2nd Regular Meeting of Ministers in Charge of Women’s Affairs
Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), July 4-5, 2002
The objectives of the meeting included reporting on the progress made since the First Regular Meeting of Ministers in charge of Gender and presenting a training program on Advanced Negotiation & Mediation Training for Women in Peace Making, Leadership & Development.

Domestic violence intensifying spread of HIV in Uganda
Gloria Katusiime, 13 August 2003
In a report released by the Human Rights Watch (HRW), thousands of Ugandan women are becoming infected with HIV and will eventually die of AIDS because the government is failing to protect them from domestic violence. The report reveals that women whose husbands rape or physically attack them are unable to protect themselves from infection or get access to HIV/AIDS services.

Northen Uganda: Child Mother and Returnees Require Special Care
Refugees International, 11 July 2002
Ugandan military (UPDF) launched Operation Iron Fist in an attempt to root out LRA’s, including their fighters, wives and children.

Seminar on Gender Mainstreaming of IGAD Peace Building and Conflict Resolution Programme
Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), October 15-16, 2001
The objectives of the Seminar were:
• To share experiences and enhance the participants capacity and women’s involvement in peace making and peace building.
• To review the current peace initiatives of IGAD in relation to the involvement of women.
• To review the IGAD Conflict Prevention, Management and Resolution and Humanitarian Affairs programmes and identify gender gaps.
• To map out a strategic action plan for onward submission to the First Regular Meeting of the IGAD Ministers In-charge of Women’s Affairs.

Gender Mainstreaming Summary Report
Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), July 3-4, 2000