How has Uganda attempted to reintegrate abductees and former combatants from the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) back into civilian life? This article from Conflict, Security and Development analyses disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) in northern Uganda and the challenges facing attempts to reintegrate former LRA combatants. It finds that the impact of Uganda’s informal DDR process is limited by the ongoing conflict and humanitarian crisis. DDR will only succeed if it is part of a wider peacebuilding process.
Over two decades, the LRA has abducted over 20,000 children and young people in northern Uganda, turning them into soldiers and rebel ‘wives’. An informal DDR process has been established to deal with abductees who escape from the LRA or are captured by the Ugandan army. When the conflict between the Ugandan government and the LRA ends, an effective formal DDR programme could form part of the peace-building process. The DDR programme will only succeed if it is part of a wider process that addresses root causes of the conflict and promotes reconciliation.
Uganda’s informal DDR process involves amnesty for former combatants, basic counselling, skills training, family tracing and opportunities to reintegrate into the Ugandan military. Although this process has helped many returnees to manage the transition to civilian life, it is marked by a number of problems:
- Demobilisation is haphazard, with a significant number of returnees going home without reporting to the authorities. Reception centres suffer from the failure to standardise counselling, go-home packages, length of stay and overall approach.
- Reintegration is complicated by massive displacement of populations. Returnees are often reintegrated into IDP camps where the situation is one of squalor and insecurity.
- While the community in general welcomes home returnees, stigmatisation is common. Giving packages or skills training to returnees can cause resentment among civilians.
- The emphasis on returnees as children and victims may distort the effectiveness or reintegration. While many returnees are profoundly disturbed by their experience, others have adapted to bush life and even grown to enjoy it.
- Returned LRA commanders have received work and salaries from the government of Uganda. While the civilian population tolerates this situation in order to achieve peace, problems may arise if large numbers of LRA officers return.
- Some allege that the army improperly recruits returnees into the military without giving them the option of a return to civilian life. The truth of this claim is, however, hard to assess.
In order for a formal DDR programme to be effective, four crucial issues need to be addressed:
- Resettlement and rehabilitation – money will be needed to dismantle IDP camps, resettle the population and rebuild the region. The process will be expensive and require commitment from the Ugandan government and international donors.
- Justice and reconciliation – justice must be achieved by strengthening the police and courts and by laying the past to rest. Disagreement remains over whether and how to punish those guilty of war crimes.
- The regional context – until there is stability in south Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, rebel groups will continue to find safe haven there.
- Political stability – there needs to be a healthy democratic climate. If the Acholi in the north are unable to express discontent through political channels, they may see violence as an option.
