What Happened to Children Who Returned from the Lord’s Resistance Army in Uganda?

Tim Allen,James Ocitti,Melissa Parker,Costanza Torre,Jackline Atingo,Dorothy Atim,Cristin A Fergus,Charlotte Brown

doi:10.1093/jrs/fez116

Abstract

AbstractIn northern Uganda, more than 50,000 people were recruited by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) between the late 1980s and 2004, mostly by force. Around half of those taken were children (under 18 years old). A large number were never seen by their families again, but more than 20,000 returned through aid-financed reception centres. Endeavours were made to reunite them with their relatives, who were mostly living in insecure displacement camps. Relatively few were subsequently visited, even after the fighting ended in 2006. Thousands of vulnerable children were largely left to their own devices. This article draws on research carried out in 2004–06 and from 2012 to 2018, and compares findings with other publications on reintegration in the region. It argues that implementing best-practice guidelines for relocating displaced children with their immediate relatives had negative consequences. The majority of children who passed through a reception centre are now settled as young adults on ancestral land, where they are commonly abused because of their LRA past. With few exceptions, it is only those who spent a long period with the LRA and who are not living on ancestral land who have managed to avoid such experiences.

Highlights

During the 20 years since the publication of Graca Machel’s influential report to the UN General Assembly (Machel 1996), the plight of children in contemporary war has persistently been highlighted as a matter of grave concern in international meetings
There have been new international agreements on best-practice responses, most notably the Cape Town Principles and Best Practices: On the Prevention of Recruitment of Children into the Armed Forces and Demobilization and Social Reintegration of Child Soldiers in Africa (UNICEF 1997), the Inter-agency Guiding Principles on Separated and Unaccompanied Children (UNICEF 2004) and the Paris Principles and Guidelines on Children Associated with Armed Forces or Armed Groups (UNICEF 2007), as well as legal developments associated with international criminal courts and tribunals
They all passed through a reception centre that was run by Gulu Support the Children Organisation (GUSCO)

Summary

Introduction

During the 20 years since the publication of Graca Machel’s influential report to the UN General Assembly (Machel 1996), the plight of children in contemporary war has persistently been highlighted as a matter of grave concern in international meetings. This article focuses on the experiences of children recruited by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) who were mostly returned to their relatives between 1997 and 2006 They all passed through a reception centre that was run by Gulu Support the Children Organisation (GUSCO). With international aid-funding, centres became walled compounds and were run by salaried staff They received back what were referred to as ‘formerly abducted people’ from the UPDF, including both children and young adults. Reception-centre staff were encouraged to see the returning children and young adults as innocent victims, who had been abducted and forced to commit violent and murderous acts against their will (Allen 2005; Allen and Schomerus 2006; Akello et al 2006, 2009). Females were with the LRA for more than twice the time spent by males

Assessing the Reintegration of Children

Reflections and Comparisons

Findings

Conclusion