The Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), a rebel group operating mainly in northern
The LRA aims to overthrow the government of
It is believed that 85 percent of the LRA’s ranks consist of children who were abducted. Children have been abducted primarily from inside
Until recently, the LRA had been heavily supported by the Government of Sudan and had fought alongside the Sudanese army against the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA), led by John Garang and based mainly in southern
Approximately three-fourths of the population in the Ugandan Gulu, Pader and Kitgum districts has been displaced by the conflict since the mid-1990s.
Gross violations by both the LRA and Ugandan government forces (including the Ugandan People’s Defence Force) have been documented. In particular, child soldiers have been used by both sides.
Intensification of the conflict
In March 2002, the Ugandan army (Ugandan People’s Defence Force or UPDF) launched a military offensive against the LRA code named “Operation Iron Fist,” sending troops into southern
Alleged violations by the LRA
Since the launch of Operation Iron Fist, there has been a significant increase in the number of LRA attacks against civilians. Alleged crimes by the LRA include:
- Abduction: The LRA is believed to have abducted over 20,000 people during the course of the war, many of whom remain unaccounted for. Since June 2002 there has been a sharp rise in abductions, with an estimated 10,000 children abducted.
- Recruitment of child soldiers
- Displacement: Since the start of Operation Iron Fist, the number of internally displaced persons has drastically increased from 450,000 to over 1.6 million. The phenomenon of “night commuters” has also emerged. An estimated 44,000 people – mostly children and their mothers – flee their homes each night in fear seeking refuge from possible abduction by the LRA. They search for places to sleep in town centers, such as churches and hospitals, and return to their homes in the morning.
- Killing of civilians, abductees, refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs): Between June and December 2002, the LRA is reported to have killed 539 civilians. LRA attacks increased significantly in 2003 and resulted in the deaths of approximately 3,000 people. For example, on November 6, 2003, the LRA is reported to have killed 60 civilians, beheading some and burning or hacking to death others.
- Torture and sexual violence of civilians, abductees and IDPs, including rape and sexual enslavement
Alleged violations by Ugandan government forces
Ugandan government forces are alleged to have committed abuses including:
- Extrajudicial execution
- Arbitrary detention
- Torture
- Rape, sexual assault and exploitation (principally by the UPDF)
- Child recruitment
- Forcible relocation of civilians: In the name of security, the Ugandan government forcibly relocated civilians. As a result of an October 2, 2002 order alone, some 300,000 civilians were displaced.
The United Nations Secretary-General’s report to the Security Council on children in armed conflict specifically mentioned the UPDF’s recruitment and use of children, which constitutes a violation of various instruments to which
The Ugandan government’s Joint Anti-Terrorist Task Force (JATF) is also reported to have committed human rights violations. For instance, on or about September 1, 2003 the JATF allegedly executed four men it previously had detained without charge.
Amnesty Act of the Government of
An amnesty act, which came into force in December 1999, offers an amnesty to all rebel fighters who give themselves up. The Ugandan government has said it is planning to scrap the amnesty for senior rebel commanders.
Role of the ICC
In December 2003, the Government of Uganda referred the “situation concerning the Lord’s Resistance Army” to the ICC. In response, the ICC Prosecutor informed the Ugandan government that he would analyze all crimes committed in northernThis description was taken from Human Rights First. http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/international_justice/regions/uganda/uganda.htm
