Reintegrating Child Soldiers in Uganda

Dear Mr. Schaeffer,

Thank you for putting us in contact with Tom Fred Obonyo, RESPECT's representative in Northern Uganda.

We are international students working on our Master's degrees in International Peace and Conflict Resolution at American University's School of International Service in Washington D.C. Our group is doing a class project about the re-integration of child soldiers in Uganda. We are focusing our research on the obstacles facing non-governmental organizations (NGOs) currently working in Uganda to rehabilitate/reintegrate child soldiers.

We understand the busy schedule you must have and we appreciate you and Mr. Obonyo taking the time to help us with our project.

Sincerely,
W. Alejandro Sanchez, Sandra Campella, Kristen Faudree, Patrick Breiding, and Michelle Santos

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Mr. Sanchez What are the main challenges non-governmental organizations (NGOs) face when focusing on child soldier issues in Uganda?

Mr. Obonyo

1. NGOs can not stop rebels and the Ugandan People's Defence Forces (UPDF) from recruiting children into the army.
2. NGOs are sometimes threatened by both the government and the rebels, for wanting to find out why they recruit child soldiers.
3. Child soldiers returning from the bush normally are not protected by the government, even after their rehabilitation by the NGOs. Hence they can be re-abducted and recruited again to join the army.
4. The number of child soldiers returning almost overruns the capacity of the NGOs working to the rehabilitated them, and to provide standard rebhaillitation. It doesn't help that they are always coming back from the bush.
5. Sometimes the government tries to influence NGOs to act in a desired way.
6. Most NGOs lack competent counselors to give appropriate and reliable life skills to the child soldiers returning from the bush.

Mr. Sanchez What is the relationship of the government of Uganda to the NGOs?

Mr. Obonyo In our area, the relationship between the [Ugandan] government and the NGOs is good in terms of support to implement the activities in the communities in internally displaced person (IDP) camps. Through support from the government, many NGOs like us manage to reach the vulnerable communities in the camps in the Acholi region to distribute food and non-food items. The government has been providing military escort to the NGOs. Without such support the situation can get out of hand.

However, in other areas of the country there is no such support from the government to the Humanitarian NGOs. In the Kitgum town council area there are displaced persons from Kitgum Mtidi and Muciwini. This community has lived under the trees for more than six months with very poor sanitation. The government has refused to let the NGOs relocate them.

Mr. Sanchez In your opinion, what can be done to build relations between the Ugandan government and NGOs?

Mr. Obonyo There is a great need for NGOs to build a good relationship with the government, especially in the following areas:

1. Establishing a concrete working relationship between the government and the NGOs at national and local levels, and internationally.
2. Enhancing the commitment by the NGOs and local communities toward peace and reconciliation.
3. Building consensus between NGOs and local communities, especially with religious leaders, chiefs, and community based organizations’ (CBO) Women and Youth groups.
4. Establishing concrete relationships with humanitarian human rights NGOs.

Mr. Sanchez What kind of care and concern have the children who have escaped from the Lord's Resistance Army received to begin a reintegration process back into society?

Mr. Obonyo In my opinion, I see that there is not much care and concern from the government for the children who have escaped from the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). The government shows their lack of care and concern in the following ways:

1. The government has been recruiting these same children to join the UPDF.
   • A July 2003 Human Rights Watch (HRW) report quotes a 16 year–old boy, John W, who spent nine days in the barracks at Acol-pii in January 2003 as saying, "They [the soldiers] would say things like, 'we will treat you well, give you money and food and a new uniform. Why waste your time going home and doing nothing?'"

     He goes on to say: "At one point, soldiers approached me with a newly pressed uniform and 80,000 Ugandan shillings (US $45). They told me that I could have this money and clothes right now, and more later if I agreed to join them."

     Although the boy eventually refused to join the UPDF, HRW reported cases of other children who accepted.

   • The report carries the testimony of 13 year-old Martin P. who was subjected to UPDF pressure and initially agreed to "help" the UDPF find the LRA. Through the intervention of a UPDF commander, he was spared.

     The report cited one counsellor at a children's rehabilitation center who "expressed surprise at seeing children who had pass from the center, later wearing the uniform of the UPDF.

   All of this information, shows very clearly the government is doing very little to provide care, and shows very little concern about the children who are escaping from the LRA.

2. Most children who end up in the rehabilitation centers in Kitgum and Gulu will have passed through the UPDF's child Protection Unit (CPU). The CPU is a reception and interrogation center where rescued children or those who escape from LRA provide intelligence to the army. It appears that the CPUs also function as screening and recruiting centers for the army.

Mr. Sanchez What has been particularly successful in reintegrating child soldiers?

Mr. Obonyo The security of the child soldiers who return from the bush while still at the rehabilitation center.

Mr. Sanchez What still needs to be done to reintegrate child soldiers?

Mr. Obonyo

1. Continued support should be given to the NGOs helping in reintegrating child soldiers.
2. Both the UPDF and the rebels need to be sensitized to human rights and the role of NGOs reintegrating child soldiers into their communities.
3. More NGOs need to take up the role of reintegrating child soldiers so at any one moment only a few child soldiers are in a rehabilitation center for proper reintegration activities.
4. The government needs to impose strict rules on the use of child soldiers in the government forces and also proved adequate security to the local population so rebels don't abduct and recruit children into its forces.
5. The way NGOs carryout their activities should be improved so the government doesn’t improperly influence their activities.
6. More qualified counselors need to be trained and available to the NGOs reintegrating child soldiers.
7. The international community should press both to the government and the rebels to respect children's rights and end the 18 year conflict that has displaced so many in the Acholi community.