The Role of Custom and Tradition in Fostering Reconciliation in Northern Uganda: Lessons from the Gacaca Courts of Rwanda

2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy Bryan Masiko
Keyword(s):  
Northern Uganda

scholarly journals Expressing what? The stigmatization of the defendant and the ICC’s institutional interests in the Ongwen case

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-23
Author(s):  
Liana Georgieva Minkova
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Northern Uganda ◽  
International Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Trials ◽  
Operation Risk ◽  
International Criminal Trials ◽  
Empirical Contribution ◽  
Selection Of

Abstract The potential of international criminal trials to express the wrongfulness of mass atrocities and instil norms of appropriate behaviour within communities has been subject to a lively theoretical debate. This article makes an important empirical contribution by examining the limitations to the expressivist aspiration of international criminal justice in the context of the message communicated by the International Criminal Court’s Office of the Prosecutor (ICC-OTP) in the Ongwen case. A detailed analysis of the selection of charges, modes of liability, and the overall presentation of the Prosecutor’s arguments at trial suggests that the ICC-OTP’s limited capabilities to apprehend suspects and its dependency on state co-operation risk the excessive stigmatization of the few defendants available for trial for the purpose of demonstrating the Court’s capability of prosecuting notorious criminals. As the only apprehended commander from the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), Dominic Ongwen has been presented by the ICC-OTP as the ‘cause’ of crimes committed in Northern Uganda without due regard for the degree of his alleged involvement in those crimes compared to other LRA commanders, the role of other actors in the conflict, or the significance of his own victimization as a child. Ongwen’s excessive stigmatization expressed the importance of the Ugandan investigation after a decade of showing no results. Yet, it also produced a simplistic narrative which failed to express the complexity of violence in Northern Uganda.

Microfinance accessibility, social cohesion and survival of women MSMEs in post-war communities in sub-Saharan Africa: Lessons from Northern Uganda

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (5) ◽  
pp. 749-774
Author(s):  
George Okello Candiya Bongomin ◽  
Atsede Woldie ◽  
Aziz Wakibi
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Social Cohesion ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Northern Uganda ◽  
Microfinance Institutions ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Post War

PurposeGlobally, women have been recognized as key contributors toward livelihood and poverty eradication, especially in developing countries in sub-Saharan Africa. This is due to their great involvement and participation in micro small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) that create employment and ultimately economic growth and development. Thus, the main purpose of this study is to establish the mediating role of social cohesion in the relationship between microfinance accessibility and survival of women MSMEs in post-war communities in sub-Saharan Africa, especially in Northern Uganda where physical collateral were destroyed by war.Design/methodology/approachThe data for this study were collected using a pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire from 395 women MSMEs who are clients of microfinance institutions in post-war communities in Northern Uganda, which suffered from the 20 years' Lord Resistance Army (LRA) insurgency. The Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS) software was used to analyze the data and the measurement and structural equation models were constructed to test for the mediating role of social cohesion in the relationship between microfinance accessibility and survival of women MSMEs in post-war communities.FindingsThe results revealed that social cohesion significantly and positively mediate the relationship between microfinance accessibility and survival of women MSMEs in post-war communities in Northern Uganda. The results suggest that the presence of social cohesion as a social collateral promotes microfinance accessibility by 14.6% to boost survival of women MSMEs in post-war communities where physical collateral were destroyed by war amidst lack of property rights among women. Similarly, the results indicated that social cohesion has a significant influence on survival of women MSMEs in post-war communities in Northern Uganda. Moreover, when combined together, the effect of microfinance accessibility and social cohesion exhibit greater contribution towards survival of women MSMEs in post-war communities in Northern Uganda. Indeed, social cohesion provides the social safety net (social protection) through which women can access business loans from microfinance institutions for survival and growth of their businesses.Research limitations/implicationsThis study concentrated mainly on women MSMEs located in post-war communities in developing countries in sub-Saharan Africa with a specific focus on Northern Uganda. Women MSMEs located in other regions in Uganda were not sampled in this study. Besides, the study focused only on the microfinance industry as a major source of business finance. It ignored the other financial institutions like commercial banks that equally provide access to financial services to micro-entrepreneurs.Practical implicationsThe governments in developing countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa where there have been wars should waive-off the registration and licensing fees for grass-root associations because such social associations may act as social protection tools through which women can borrow from financial institutions like the microfinance institutions. The social groups can provide social collateral to women to replace physical collateral required by microfinance institutions in lending. Similarly, the governments, development agencies, and advocates of post-war reconstruction programs in developing countries where there have been wars, especially in sub-Saharan Africa should initiate the provision of group business loans through the existing social women associations. This may offer social protection in terms of social collateral in the absence of physical collateral required by the microfinance institutions in lending. This may be achieved through partnership with the existing microfinance institutions operating in rural areas in post-war communities in developing countries. Additionally, advocates of post-war recovery programs should work with the existing microfinance institutions to design financial products that suit the economic conditions and situations of the women MSMEs in post-war communities. The financial products should meet the business needs of the women MSMEs taking into consideration their ability to fulfil the terms and conditions of use.Originality/valueThis study revisits the role of microfinance accessibility in stimulating survival of women MSMEs as an engine for economic growth in the presence of social cohesion, especially in post-war communities in sub-Saharan Africa where physical collateral were destroyed by war. It reveals the significant role of social cohesion as a social protection tool and safety net, which contributes to economic outcomes in the absence of physical collateral and property rights among women MSMEs borrowers, especially in post-war communities.

scholarly journals The Association between Attachment and Mental Health Symptoms among School-Going Adolescents in Northern Uganda: The Moderating Role of War-Related Trauma

PLoS ONE ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. e88494 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Okello ◽  
Etheldreda Nakimuli-Mpungu ◽  
Seggane Musisi ◽  
Eric Broekaert ◽  
Ilse Derluyn
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Northern Uganda ◽  
Mental Health Symptoms ◽  
Health Symptoms ◽  
Moderating Role

Of Justice and the Grave: The Role of the Dead in Post-conflict Uganda

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (5) ◽  
pp. 819-843 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaymelee Kim ◽  
Tricia Redeker Hepner
Keyword(s):  
Transitional Justice ◽  
Northern Uganda ◽  
Focal Points ◽  
Mass Graves ◽  
High Profile ◽  
Post Conflict ◽  
War Survivors ◽  
The Dead ◽  
Post War

In the aftermath of war, survivors’ definitions of justice are often in tension with those of governments and international actors. While post-war northern Uganda has been the site of high-profile prosecutions of Lord’s Resistance Army rebels, our research in rural Acholiland highlights how survivors define justice largely in terms of material compensation for both the living and the dead. These priorities are linked to the omnipresence of improperly buried human remains as evidence of physical and structural violence. Mass graves, burials in former displacement camps, and unidentified remains become focal points around which survivors articulate ongoing socioeconomic suffering and demands for redress. A ‘thanatological approach’ that centres the role of the dead and critically explores the possibilities presented by forensic science in a transitional justice context reveals survivors’ prioritisation of reparative and restorative justice despite the international and national focus on retributive justice through institutions like the icc.

Brokering research with war-affected people: The tense relationship between opportunities and ethics

Ethnography ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 124-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie Schiltz ◽  
Karen Büscher
Keyword(s):  
Social Space ◽  
Northern Uganda ◽  
Research Project ◽  
Post Conflict ◽  
Conducting Research ◽  
Ethical Stance ◽  
Ambiguous Position

This article examines the roles of brokers in conducting research in a (post-)conflict context and uses this analysis as a lens to rethink reflexive ethics in humanitarian research. Drawing on fieldwork in Gulu, northern Uganda, the paper analyses the ambiguous position of brokers, and the complex social space in which they navigate. The paper outlines how brokers, in the pursuit of opportunities and in trying to meet expectations of other players, use strategies such as concealing information for researchers, or actively promoting the research project rather than merely facilitating it. It is further argued that research in northern Uganda may reproduce conceptions of war-affected people as vulnerable and of the war-affected context as problem-fraught and in need of intervention. The paper concludes by seeking ways to rethink a reflexive ethical stance in humanitarian research and encourages researchers to take the role of brokers and other stakeholders into account.

scholarly journals The role of Civil Society Organisations in post-conflict development of northern Uganda

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 122-148
Author(s):  
Denis Musinguzi
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Qualitative Methodology ◽  
Northern Uganda ◽  
Community Needs ◽  
Civil Society Organisations ◽  
Post Conflict ◽  
Dialectical Relationship ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
Violent Conflicts

This article examines the role of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in post-conflict reconstruction and development of northern Uganda. The analysis is informed by the increased spate of violent conflicts in Africa since the end of the Cold War; the destruction caused by violent conflicts; and the significant role played by CSOs in post-conflict reconstruction and development. The northern part of Uganda witnessed the most protracted and devastating Lord‘s Resistance Army (LRA) conflict in the country‘s post-independence history, which forms the central focus of the study. To generate a deeper analysis of the role of CSOs, this article delves into the historical evolution of civil society from the classical thought of ancient Greece to the modern and contemporary perspectives of civil society. The analysis of the role of CSOs in post-conflict reconstruction and development is framed in the war-topeace transition; and recognises the dialectical relationship between peace and development. The article examines the community‘s perceptions on the role of CSOs and its responsiveness to community needs. It concludes with a reflection on simmering issues, which if not properly addressed, could destroy the positive inroads and peace dividends being realised in northern Uganda. A constructivist and qualitative methodology guided the study, which sought to interpret reality from the context of the espondents.

War experiences and psychotic symptoms among former child soldiers in Northern Uganda: the mediating role of post-war hardships – the WAYS Study

2014 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 155-167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kennedy Amone-P’Olak ◽  
Balaam Nyeko Otim ◽  
George Opio ◽  
Emilio Ovuga ◽  
Richard Meiser-Stedman
Keyword(s):  
Child Soldiers ◽  
Psychotic Symptoms ◽  
Northern Uganda ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
Former Child Soldiers ◽  
War Experiences ◽  
Post War

Adolescent Resilience in Northern Uganda: The Role of Social Support and Prosocial Behavior in Reducing Mental Health Problems

2013 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 138-148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily E. Haroz ◽  
Laura K. Murray ◽  
Paul Bolton ◽  
Theresa Betancourt ◽  
Judith K. Bass
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Support ◽  
Prosocial Behavior ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Northern Uganda

scholarly journals Mango Trees, Offices and Altars: The Role of Relatives, Non-governmental Organisations and Churches After Rape in Northern Uganda

2015 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 309-334 ◽  
Author(s):  
Holly E. Porter
Keyword(s):  
Extended Family ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Study Participant ◽  
Northern Uganda ◽  
Social Harmony ◽  
Family Structures ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
Depth Interviews

This article reflects on why so many women never access justice or take advantage of available services after rape in northern Uganda. It focuses on roles of three prominent non-governmental actors: lineage-based kinship authority, churches, and non-governmental organisations examining the parts they played after 94 instances of rape in this study and more broadly, how they have shaped notions of rape and appropriate responses to it. Evidence from this study (participant observation over three years and 187 in-depth interviews) suggests that although non-governmental organizations and churches have impacted evolution of social norms, reactions to wrongdoing are primarily decided by extended family structures, and are subject to a primary value of social harmony.

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