DOCSLIB.ORG

Reconciliation and Reintegration of Child Soldiers in Northern Uganda

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Reconciliation and Reintegration of Child Soldiers in Northern Uganda Thesis Eva de Groot 930306-284-050 RECONCILIATION AND REINTEGRATION OF CHILD SOLDIERS IN NORTHERN UGANDA BSc International development Supervisor: Bram Jansen Chair group: Sociology of Development and Change ABSTRACT Child soldiering is still a major problem in many countries all over the world. Lots of research has been done about the reintegration of these children after they return from the army. During the reconciliation and reintegration processes of child soldiers different actors come to the fore, like international organisations, the government and the local communities, implementing their ideas in these programmes. This research focusses on the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and their abduction of children in Northern Uganda, of the Acholi community. This research aims at enriching the knowledge about these different actors, their opinions about the reintegration and reconciliation process of child soldiers and the difficulties or clashes that occur between these actors. The reconciliation and reintegration in the local communities is mainly focused on culture and tradition. This is an important factor to take into account while implementing a programme in this area. It is also important for the different actors to keep this in mind when they have to work together for the reintegration of child soldiers. Furthermore acceptance of the community and the communication between the different actors; community, children, family and other institutions, is an important aspect for a smooth reintegration of children in their community. Keywords: child soldiers, northern Uganda, reconciliation, reintegration, rehabilitation, local, international. 2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis would not have been possible without the help of my supervisor, Bram Jansen. Furthermore many thanks goes out to my friends and family who were always there to read and helped me through the writing process and supported me through the process as a whole. It were intensive but enjoyable weeks where I have had a lot of academic and personal learning experiences. 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract .................................................................................................................................................................................. 2 Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................................................... 3 Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................................................................... 6 Problem statement ....................................................................................................................................................... 6 The case ........................................................................................................................................................................ 7 Research Questions ...................................................................................................................................................... 7 Relevance of this Research ........................................................................................................................................ 8 Social relevance ......................................................................................................................................................... 8 Scientific relevance .................................................................................................................................................. 8 Chapter 2: Theoretical Framework ......................................................................................................................... 10 Child soldier .................................................................................................................................................................. 10 Reconciliation .............................................................................................................................................................. 11 Reintegration ............................................................................................................................................................... 13 Legal pluralism ............................................................................................................................................................ 14 Overview ........................................................................................................................................................................ 15 Chapter 3: Northern Uganda and the LRA ............................................................................................................ 16 History ............................................................................................................................................................................ 16 Motivation ................................................................................................................................................................ 18 Young Children ....................................................................................................................................................... 19 Life of Child Soldiers ................................................................................................................................................. 20 Recruitment ............................................................................................................................................................. 20 Life in the Lord’s resistance army .................................................................................................................. 21 Return Home ........................................................................................................................................................... 22 Chapter 4: The Village of Origin ................................................................................................................................ 24 Reconciliation .............................................................................................................................................................. 24 Reintegration ............................................................................................................................................................... 27 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................................................... 28 Chapter 5: International Law ..................................................................................................................................... 29 International Law concerning child soldiers .................................................................................................. 30 The Case of Sierra Leone ......................................................................................................................................... 31 The Case of Northern Uganda ............................................................................................................................... 32 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................................................... 33 Chapter 6: International Support ............................................................................................................................. 35 NUREP ............................................................................................................................................................................. 36 IRC .................................................................................................................................................................................... 37 WVI ................................................................................................................................................................................... 38 4 GUSCO ............................................................................................................................................................................. 40 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................................................... 41 Chapter 7: Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................... 43 References .......................................................................................................................................................................... 48 Appendices ........................................................................................................................................................................ 54 Appendix I ..................................................................................................................................................................... 54 5 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION In the following chapter the problem statement, research questions and scientific and social relevance of this thesis will be explained. PROBLEM STATEMENT At a lot of places in this world child soldiers
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Child Soldiers in Northern Uganda: an Analysis of the Challenges and Opportunities for Reintegration and Rehabilitation
    Child Soldiers in Northern Uganda: An Analysis of the Challenges and Opportunities for Reintegration and Rehabilitation. Item Type Thesis Authors Bainomugisha, Arthur Rights <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by-nc-nd/3.0/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" style="border-width:0" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by- nc-nd/3.0/88x31.png" /></a><br />The University of Bradford theses are licenced under a <a rel="license" href="http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Licence</a>. Download date 01/10/2021 22:17:15 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10454/5284 Child Soldiers in Northern Uganda: An Analysis of the Challenges and Opportunities for Reintegration and Rehabilitation PhD Thesis Arthur Bainomugisha DEPARTMENT OF PEACE STUDIES SCHOOL OF SOCIAL AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES UNIVERSITY OF BRADFORD NOVEMBER 2010 Child Soldiers in Northern Uganda: An Analysis of the Challenges and Opportunities for Reintegration and Rehabilitation Arthur Bainomugisha Abstract The level of brutality and violence against children abducted and forcefully conscripted by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in northern Uganda pricked the conscience of humanity. The suffering of the people in northern Uganda was described by Jan Egeland, the former United Nations Under- Secretary for Humanitarian Affairs, as ‘the biggest forgotten humanitarian crisis in the world’. This study is primarily concerned with the plight of child soldiers in northern Uganda and how their effective reintegration and rehabilitation (RR) could lead to successful peacebuilding. The study is premised on the hypothesis that ‘the promotion of the RR of former child soldiers by providing psychosocial support based on traditional and indigenous resources may contribute to conditions of peace and stability in northern Uganda.’ The main contribution of this research is that it explores the relevance of psychosocial support based on the traditional and indigenous resources to the RR of child soldiers and peacebuilding of war-torn societies.
    [Show full text]
  • Africa's Child Soldiers/Suicide Children
    International Journal of Law and Society 2018; 1(3): 115-124 http://www.sciencepublishinggroup.com/j/ijls doi: 10.11648/j.ijls.20180103.13 ISSN: 2640-1894 (Print); ISSN: 2640-1908 (Online) Africa’s Child Soldiers/Suicide Children: A Regulatory Framework Michèle Olivier Department of Politics, Faculty of Business, Law and Politics, University of Hull, Hull, UK Email address: To cite this article: Michèle Olivier. Africa’s Child Soldiers/Suicide Children: A Regulatory Framework. International Journal of Law and Society . Vol. 1, No. 3, 2018, pp. 115-124. doi: 10.11648/j.ijls.20180103.13 Received : October 8, 2018; Accepted : October 25, 2018; Published : November 21, 2018 Abstract: Despite the prohibition of child soldiers by international law, recent African conflicts have witnessed a persistence of this phenomenon, which is becoming ever more specialised. An example of such specialist involvement of children in African armed conflicts is the use of young children, especially girls as suicide bombers by the jihadist terrorist groups Boko Haram and Al-Shabaab. Using children in armed conflict is regarded as amongst the worst forms of child abuse under international law and African regional law. This article examines the almost unprecedented threat to the human rights of children created by child soldiers and specifically child suicide bombers with the objective of identifying major weaknesses in the responses by both general international law and African Union legal instruments. Despite the comprehensive engagement of international regulations with children in armed conflict, they are silent on the practice of using children for the specific purpose of suicide bombings. This article considers the question whether child suicide bombers can be considered to be child soldiers and as such should benefit from the regulations applicable to the latter category.
    [Show full text]
  • Child Soldiers’: the Gap Between the Global Humanitarian Discourse and the Local Understandings and Experiences of Young People’S Military Recruitment
    WORKING PAPER SERIES NO. 52 Understanding and Addressing the Phenomenon of ‘Child Soldiers’: The Gap between the Global Humanitarian Discourse and the Local Understandings and Experiences of Young People’s Military Recruitment Ah-Jung Lee [email protected] Paper submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Forced Migration at the Refugee Studies Centre, University of Oxford January 2009 Refugee Studies Centre Oxford Department of International Development University of Oxford Working Paper Series The Refugee Studies Centre Working Paper Series is intended to aid the rapid distribution of work in progress, research findings and special lectures by researchers and associates of the RSC. Papers aim to stimulate discussion among the worldwide community of scholars, policymakers and practitioners. They are distributed free of charge in PDF format via the RSC website. Bound hard copies of the working papers may also be purchased from the Centre. The opinions expressed in the papers are solely those of the author/s who retain the copyright. They should not be attributed to the project funders or the Refugee Studies Centre, the Oxford Department of International Development or the University of Oxford. Comments on individual Working Papers are welcomed, and should be directed to the author/s. Further details may be found at the RSC website (www.rsc.ox.ac.uk). RSC WORKING PAPER SERIES NO. 52 1 Contents 1 Introduction 3 2 Critical Analysis of the Global Humanitarian Discourse on Child Soldiers 5 Development
    [Show full text]
  • A Violent Playground the Recruitment of Child Soldiers in Congo
    A Violent Playground The recruitment of child soldiers in Congo Master Thesis MSc Political Science: Conflict and Cooperation Supervisor 1: Dr. M.S. Spirova Supervisor 2: Dr. N.J.G. van Willigen 10th of June 2014 Word Count: 16.413 Catherina Donkersloot S0812420 1 Table of Contents Introduction ........................................................................................................ 3 Chapter 1 Theoretical Framework & Literature Review ..................................... 6 (1) The phenomenon of child soldiers ............................................................. 6 (2) The conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo ............................ 11 (3) Armed Groups ......................................................................................... 13 Chapter 2 Methodology .................................................................................... 19 Chapter 3 Results ............................................................................................. 22 Variable 1: Young Population .......................................................................... 22 Variable 2: New Wars ...................................................................................... 28 Variable 3: Functional Value ........................................................................... 31 Variable 4: Certain Signals .............................................................................. 34 Variable 5: Lower Salaries and Other Rewards ............................................... 35 Variable
    [Show full text]
  • Child Soldiers in Africa: a Case Study of Uganda and South Sudan
    UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI INSTITUTE OF DIPLOMACY AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES CHILD SOLDIERS IN AFRICA: A CASE STUDY OF UGANDA AND SOUTH SUDAN BETTY CHERWON REG.NO.R50/69712/2013 SUPERVISOR: DR. ANITA KIAMBA A Research Project Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Award of Masters in International Studies at the Institute of Diplomacy and International Studies (IDIS), University of Nairobi. MAY 2014 DECLARATION I declare that this research project is my original work and has not been presented before for an award of any degree in any other university. Signed………………………………………………………Date…………………………………. Betty Chebet Cherwon This Research project has been submitted for examination with my approval as the university supervisor Signed………………………………………………………….Date……………………………… Dr. Anita Kiamba Supervisor Institute of Diplomacy and International Studies (IDIS) i University of Nairobi ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I am particularly grateful to the government of Kenya, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for making it possible for me to undertake this course. To all those who gave their time and shared their thoughts regarding child soldiers, I am entirely grateful. My supervisor, Dr. Anita Kiamba gave unreserved support and guidance. Finally, I owe so much to my family. My parents for the continuous encouragement and Ryan and Riziki, you were and continue to be, my inspiration. Betty Cherwon Nairobi, 2014 ii ABBREVIATIONS ATT Arms Trade Treaty AU African Union CRC Convention on the Rights of the Child DRC Democratic Republic of Congo ICRC International
    [Show full text]
  • Tug-Of-War: Children in Armed Groups in Drc
    TUG-OF-WAR: CHILDREN IN ARMED GROUPS IN DRC A study on the push and pull factors influencing children to join armed groups ‘voluntarily’ in North and South Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo May 2018 This research report was produced for War Child UK and War Child Holland in December 2017 by Emma de Vise-Lewis and Stefano Schwarz of Child Frontiers and Bavon Mupenda, independent consultant. War Child is a child protection charity working in countries devastated by conflict. We’re providing life- changing support to the most vulnerable children whose lives, families and communities have been torn apart by war. All photographs in this report were taken with consent of the child and the parent /care giver. The photos chosen for this report were done so to illustrate the report and do not depict children who are former child soldier and/or associated with armed groups. The opinions and statements presented here do not necessarily represent those of War Child UK and War Child Holland. Child Frontiers Ltd War Child UK War Child Holland Suite A 15/F Studio 320, Highgate Studios Helmholtzstraat 61-G Hillier Commercial Building 53-79 Highgate Road, London, 1098 LE Amsterdam, 65-67 Bonham Strand East NW5 1TL, UK The Netherlands Sheung Wan +44 207 112 2555 +31 20 422 7777 Hong Kong [email protected] [email protected] warchild.org.uk warchildholland.org UK registered charity no. 1071659 CONTENTS ABBREVIATIONS 6 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 7 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 9 PART 1: INTRODUCTION TO THE RESEARCH 19 1.1 Overview of child soldiering in eastern Democratic
    [Show full text]
  • Child Soldiers Or War Affected Children?
    Child soldiers or war affected children? Why the formerly abducted children of northern Uganda are not child soldiers, Intervention 2014,Volume 12, Number 3, Page 356 - 366 Child soldiers or war affected children? Why the formerly abducted children of northern Uganda are not child soldiers Margaret Angucia In many places around the globe, over many The concept of ‘child soldiers’ and the centuries, adults have forcibly involved children humanitarian industry in war. In more recent times, these forcibly involved Despite this long history of children’s invol- children have come to be collectively referred to as vement in war, the etymology of the word ‘child soldiers’, in an attempt to address the crises ‘child soldiers’ is not clear. For their part, the that these children experience within war con- international legal frameworks concerning ditions. However, recent ¢eld experiences from children and war, speci¢cally the Conven- northern Uganda show that children, formerly tion on the Rights of the Child (1989), The abducted by the Lord’s Resistance Army, as well African Charter on the Rights and Welfare as the community they return to, do not consider of the Child (1990) and the Optional Proto- themselves as soldiers. This paper explains the col to the Convention on the Rights of the reasons why the children reject this categorisation Child on the Involvement of Children in and prefer to be regarded as war a¡ected. This Armed Con£ict (2000) do not use the term paper concludes with the warning that erroneous child soldiers. On the other hand the bench- categorisation of war a¡ected children might mark, United Nations commissioned, The in£uence, and/or undermine, the e¡ectiveness of Graca Machel Report (1996) study on targeted intervention programmes.
    [Show full text]
  • Child Soldiers Today
    Contents Introduction 4 Sold into Service Chapter 1 8 The Problem of Child Soldiers Today Chapter 2 20 Recruiting Children to Fight Chapter 3 32 Life of a Child Soldier Chapter 4 44 Returning to Civilian Life Chapter 5 55 Addressing the Problem of Child Soldiers Source Notes 67 Organizations to Contact 71 For Further Research 73 Index 75 Picture Credits 79 About the Author 80 Chapter 1 The Problem of Child Soldiers Today he confl ict in Syria, which began in late 2011, is a chaot- Tic situation, with several different armed groups fi ghting to topple the regime of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad. The rebel armies and government forces do have one thing in common: They all use child soldiers. Human Rights Watch, an international monitoring group, found that opposition armies fi ghting govern- ment troops in Syria commonly use fi ghters as young as fi fteen, and children even younger take support roles. Boys described to interviewers how they fought on the front lines, served as snipers, spied on government forces, treated the wounded in combat, and carried ammunition and supplies to support the battle effort. Extremist Islamist groups such as ISIS and Nusra Front were par- ticularly aggressive in recruiting children. One doctor with Human Rights Watch reported treating a boy of about ten whose task was to whip prisoners held in an ISIS facility. Although overall numbers of child soldiers in Syria are hard to determine, a Syrian group has documented more than two hundred deaths of what it calls noncivilian male children—a vague reference to boy soldiers and support personnel.
    [Show full text]
  • The Use of Children As Soldiers in Africa Report
    The Use of Children as Soldiers in Africa report The Use of Children as Soldiers in Africa A country analysis of child recruitment and participation in armed conflict Preface The purpose of this report is to document and assess the extent of the military recruitment of African children and their use as soldiers in armed conflict. In particular, the report provides details of national legislation governing recruitment into the armed forces, national recruitment practice (which, sadly, does not always conform to the prevailing legislation), and, where armed conflict is ongoing, the extent of child participation in hostilities, whether as part of government armed forces, government-sponsored armed groups or militia, or non-governmental armed groups or militia. It also includes basic demographic data and information on the estimated size of governmental armed forces and non-governmental armed groups. An attempt has been made to include relevant and accurate information on the situation in each African country. Every effort has been made to ensure that the information contained in the report is correct as at the end of February 1999. In a small number of cases information has proved impossible to obtain. Requests for information were sent to each of the States referred to in this report via their Embassies in Europe or their Permanent Missions to the United Nations in Geneva or New York. Where responses were received, these have been reflected in the report. This report is being presented as a background document to the African Conference on the Use of Children as Soldiers, which is taking place in Maputo, Mozambique, from 19-22 April 1999.
    [Show full text]
  • Child Soldiers from a Legal Perspective a Literature Based Case Study of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone And
    Network On Humanitarian Assistance Network on Humanitarian Action N Child soldiers from a legal perspective A literature based case study of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone and Uganda. Linda Hårsta Löfgren Supervisor: Göran Lysén Master Thesis 30 ECTS International Humanitarian Action NOHA, December 2013 Uppsala University “One of the most sacred of human laws is the requirement that children should be protected from cruelties, since they represent the future of humanity. Their abusive recruitment into armed conflicts is a grave breach of this sacred law: it is a war crime and, indeed, should also be treated as a crime against humanity.”1 1 Udombana, Nsongurua J (2006), p. 108 2 | Page Table of Contents ABSTRACT..............................................................................................................................5 PREFACE.................................................................................................................................6 ACRONYMS............................................................................................................................7 CHAPTER ONE......................................................................................................................9 1.1. INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................9 1.2. RESEARCH PROCESS.................................................................................................10 1.2.1. THE AIM AND OBJECTIVES...............................................................................10
    [Show full text]
  • Child Soldiers in Intrastate Conflicts: an Empirical Analysis
    CHILD SOLDIERS IN INTRASTATE CONFLICTS: AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS by Vera V. Achvarina B.A. in Theoretical and Applied Linguistics, Russian State University for Humanities, Moscow, 2000 M.A. in East Asian Studies, University of Pittsburgh, 2003 Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Pittsburgh 2010 UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH GRADUATE SCHOOL OF PUBLIC AND INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS This dissertation was presented by Vera V. Achvarina It was defended on February 12, 2010 and approved by Simon F. Reich, Professor, Director of the Division of Global Affairs, Rutgers University William Keller, Professor, GSPIA Barry Ames, Professor and Chair, Department of the Political Science Carolyn Ban, Professor, GSPIA Charli Carpenter, Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Massachusetts-Amherst Dissertation Advisor: Simon F. Reich, Professor, Director of the Division of Global Affairs, Rutgers University ii Copyright © by Vera V. Achvarina 2010 iii CHILD SOLDIERS IN INTRASTATE CONFLICTS: AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS Vera V. Achvarina, PhD University of Pittsburgh, 2010 In my dissertation I seek to answer the question of why some non-state armed groups in modern conflicts recruit children whereas others do not. I argue that four factors help explain the difference in rebels’ recruitment of minors. The first two are related to the armed group-specific characteristics of fighting capacity relative to the government and the scope of belligerents’ territorial access and control within and across the conflict country borders. Both of these factors positively affect the insurgency’s propensity to recruit children, especially for armed groups that are unpopular among their constituency.
    [Show full text]
  • Comparative Perspectives on the Rehabilitation of Ex-Slaves and Former Child Soldiers with Special Reference to Sudan
    African Studies Quarterly | Volume 10, Issue 1 | Spring 2008 Comparative Perspectives on the Rehabilitation of Ex-Slaves and Former Child Soldiers with Special Reference to Sudan RANDALL FEGLEY Abstract: Despite the January 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement, reconstruction of southern Sudan remains a daunting task, which limited resources and unlimited suspicions may derail or delay. Among myriad issues facing agencies and their client communities are the problems of assisting children traumatized by the brutal legacies of Sudan’s first half century of independence. Given the length of Sudan’s conflicts, few have experienced a “normal” childhood. Furthermore, the psychological and social aspects of rehabilitation have only been examined recently. This article tabulates the successes and failures of governmental and non-governmental programs rehabilitating former slaves, many of whom were or are children, and child soldiers, many of whom are now adults. It compares activities in Sudan to programs in other parts of Africa (Angola, Ethiopia, Ghana, Liberia, Mozambique, Sierra Leone and Uganda) and beyond (Afghanistan, India, Sri Lanka and the United Arab Emirates). Applying these comparisons in the absence of long-term assessments, the author endeavors to determine pitfalls to be avoided and best practices to be followed. Historical Context Most ancient forms of forced servitude sought to absorb conquered peoples and avoid their reintegration into previous cultures. But the rise of profit-driven mass slavery in Imperial Rome, Ottoman Turkey, and later the Americas, raised new issues, as slaveholders had little desire to integrate chattels into their societies. The Trans-Atlantic slave trade created an easily distinguishable class to clarify socio-economic divisions.
    [Show full text]