Uganda: Profile of internal displacement
Posted by the Global IDP Project
August 10, 2005
Summary
Uganda: collapse of peace talks dims hopes for two million IDPs
Prospects for an end to the massive displacement crisis and two decades of armed conflict between the government and rebels of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in northern Uganda look dim after the breakdown of peace talks in February 2005. The collapse of the talks brought an end to a ceasefire and a resumption of rebel attacks on internally displaced people (IDPs), involving killings, maiming, rapes and looting. Peace efforts may be further complicated by the intervention of the International Criminal Court which is in the process of issuing international arrest warrants for the rebel leaders.
The number of IDPs rose dramatically from around 400,000 in March 2002 to the current total of nearly two million, after the government launched a military operation, code-named "Operation Iron Fist". The Ugandan army (UPDF) was allowed to attack the LRA rebels’ rear bases in southern Sudan under an agreement with the Sudanese government. In response to the increased military pressure, LRA forces returned to Uganda and initiated a spate of attacks and massacres, causing massive displacement to largely unprotected IDP camps. The Sudan-Uganda agreement was renewed in May 2005 and the military operations have contributed significantly to the weakening of the LRA, reportedly numbering no more than around 500 fighters as of August 2005.
Living conditions in the camps are appalling, with a widespread lack of infrastructure and basic services, including schools, health care, and water and sanitation facilities. Some 30,000-40,000 children, so-called night commuters, come into urban areas every night to sleep on the streets or in public buildings and shelters, largely due to fears of being abducted by the LRA.
The LRA rebels, whose activities were initially limited to Acholiland, comprising Gulu, Kitgum and Pader Districts, spread further south and east in 2003 causing the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people in the Lango and Teso regions, the latter having also been affected by large scale internal displacement caused by raids by Karamojong warriors. A relative calm in these districts in the second half of 2004 encouraged up to 350,000 IDPs to move progressively closer to their homes.
The UN took a number of steps to increase international focus on the critical humanitarian situation in northern Uganda. UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland visited Uganda at the end of 2003 and the strengthened UN Inter-Agency Internal Displacement Division, which made Uganda one of its priority countries in 2004, conducted a number of follow-up visits. Although this has led to an enhanced UN presence, strengthened coordination mechanisms and improved conditions for some IDPs, the international presence in northern Uganda continues to be far from adequate considering the scale of the crisis.
August 10, 2005
Summary
Uganda: collapse of peace talks dims hopes for two million IDPs
Prospects for an end to the massive displacement crisis and two decades of armed conflict between the government and rebels of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in northern Uganda look dim after the breakdown of peace talks in February 2005. The collapse of the talks brought an end to a ceasefire and a resumption of rebel attacks on internally displaced people (IDPs), involving killings, maiming, rapes and looting. Peace efforts may be further complicated by the intervention of the International Criminal Court which is in the process of issuing international arrest warrants for the rebel leaders.
The number of IDPs rose dramatically from around 400,000 in March 2002 to the current total of nearly two million, after the government launched a military operation, code-named "Operation Iron Fist". The Ugandan army (UPDF) was allowed to attack the LRA rebels’ rear bases in southern Sudan under an agreement with the Sudanese government. In response to the increased military pressure, LRA forces returned to Uganda and initiated a spate of attacks and massacres, causing massive displacement to largely unprotected IDP camps. The Sudan-Uganda agreement was renewed in May 2005 and the military operations have contributed significantly to the weakening of the LRA, reportedly numbering no more than around 500 fighters as of August 2005.
Living conditions in the camps are appalling, with a widespread lack of infrastructure and basic services, including schools, health care, and water and sanitation facilities. Some 30,000-40,000 children, so-called night commuters, come into urban areas every night to sleep on the streets or in public buildings and shelters, largely due to fears of being abducted by the LRA.
The LRA rebels, whose activities were initially limited to Acholiland, comprising Gulu, Kitgum and Pader Districts, spread further south and east in 2003 causing the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people in the Lango and Teso regions, the latter having also been affected by large scale internal displacement caused by raids by Karamojong warriors. A relative calm in these districts in the second half of 2004 encouraged up to 350,000 IDPs to move progressively closer to their homes.
The UN took a number of steps to increase international focus on the critical humanitarian situation in northern Uganda. UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland visited Uganda at the end of 2003 and the strengthened UN Inter-Agency Internal Displacement Division, which made Uganda one of its priority countries in 2004, conducted a number of follow-up visits. Although this has led to an enhanced UN presence, strengthened coordination mechanisms and improved conditions for some IDPs, the international presence in northern Uganda continues to be far from adequate considering the scale of the crisis.
posted by chocolate_eyes @ 10:10 AM
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