History of the War

The war in northern Uganda has been called the most neglected humanitarian emergency in the world today. For the past 21 years, the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and the Ugandan government have been waging a war that has forced nearly two million innocent civilians from their villages and homes and into these IDP Camps. The war has seen over 38,000 children abducted and forced to fight as child soldiers. A war has not only lead to the murder, torment, and rape of thousands, but also the devastation of an entire community.

The LRA rebel movement can be traced back to a woman named Alice Lakwena. In the 1980s, Lakwena believed the Holy Spirit spoke to her and ordered her to overthrow the Ugandan government for their injustices. Lakwena and her followers, known as the Holy Spirit Movement, gained momentum as resentment toward the government increased. When Lakwena was exiled, Joseph Kony, took control and transformed Lakwena’s rebel army into the LRA. Kony’s LRA did not receive the same support as the Holy Spirit Movement because of their extreme tactics. With dwindling support for their cause and heightened government offensives, the rebels resorted to abducting children and indoctrinating them into their ranks. It is estimated that more than 90% of the LRA’s troops are children. In 1996, as a response to the LRA attacks in the villages, the Ugandan government forcibly evicted thousands from their homes and relocated them into overcrowded camps in hopes of providing protection.

In recent years more and more international attention has been focused on this crisis. In 2001, the US Patriot Act officially declared the LRA to be a terrorist organization, a huge step in drawing attention to the conflict and the atrocities committed by the LRA. In 2004, Congress passed the Northern Uganda Crisis Response Act, the first piece of American legislation to address this disaster. And in 2005, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Joseph Kony and four of his top commanders. A temporary truce between the Ugandan government and the LRA has held for more than a year, and as peace continues to progress, many nations, including the US, have appointed special envoys to oversee this process. This current cessation of hostilities marks the longest period of peace in the North for more than 20 years, and the talks have made significant strides in reducing the conflict. A declaration for lasting peace is scheduled to be signed on April 3^rd!

Nevertheless, in Gulu and the surrounding districts, issues concerning the nature of justice for victims and perpetrators for war crimes are presently being debated. And, the majority of northern Uganda’s population lives in IDP camps, and while the desire is for them to return home, the issues surrounding their return are complex. Some have been displaced for more than a decade, and their former ways of life are all but gone.