Freeing Child Soldiers in Uganda
By Amanda S. Coleman
For the past eighteen years, numerous military groups in Africa have been forcing innocent children to act as soldiers. One of the better known groups, and the worst abusers, is the Lord’s Resistance Army, based in northern Uganda. It is one of the main perpetrators of heinous acts against children. It uses child soldiers to fight against the Ugandan government, in addition to enslaving and raping them.
The Lord’s Resistance Army’s (LRA) goal is to overthrow the Ugandan government and implement a regime that will realize their radical Christian beliefs. LRA members say they are fighting for the establishment of a government based on the biblical Ten Commandments. The LRA was formed shortly after former President Tito Okello was overthrown by the National Resistance Army and Uganda’s current leader, Yoweri Museveni in January 1986. By that August, a large popular insurgency against the government had developed in the northern region of Uganda. But support for the LRA amongst the people in the northern region soon dwindled and the rebels resorted to abducting children to keep their insurrection alive.
An astounding 80 percent of LRA soldiers are children who were kidnapped or brainwashed into joining. In some cases, the kidnapped children were forced to kill their own parents, leaving them with no choice but to join the Army. Some victims of the LRA become sex or labor slaves and are either sold or given as gifts to arms dealers in the Sudan. The LRA forces the children they capture to commit terrifying and gruesome acts, such as killing other children who attempt to escape. Those who refuse to cooperate are either killed or have their lips cut off, one of the LRA’s favorite methods of punishment.
The United Nations estimates that, in total, at least 66,000 youth between the ages of 13 and 30 have been abducted. One-third of all Ugandan boys and one-sixth of all girls were taken for at least one day. Males are usually taken for longer periods of time.
Currently, the human rights organization, Human Rights Watch, is working hard with the United Nations to stop the LRA and other similar groups from enslaving children. All governments and groups thought to be using child soldiers were asked to end all use and recruitment of child soldiers, and to work with the UN to develop plans to put an end to this. “Ending the conflict is crucial for the people in northern Uganda and Southern Sudan who have suffered so egregiously for nearly two decades,” said Richard Dicker, director of the International Justice Program at Human Rights Watch. “Fair and credible prosecutions for the most serious crimes are an essential component to building a durable peace, and must be part of any outcome.”
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants on July 8 and September 27, 2006 against Joseph Kony, his deputy Vincent Otti, and other LRA commanders. They were charged with crimes against humanity and war crimes, including murder, rape, sexual slavery, and enlisting children as fighters. Since the ICC has no police force, they have been unable to hunt down Kony and the others. They can only rely on rebel troops to capture them. The LRA’s response is that they will not surrender unless they are granted complete immunity from prosecution. Some fear that the indictments by the ICC will threaten the peace talks between the Ugandan government and the LRA, mediated by southern Sudan. The Ugandan government, as well as a majority of the Ugandan people, prefers offering amnesty to the rebels in exchange for an end to the violence. ICC arrest warrants and trials may only delay the peace process even further.
Next month, Ugandan government officials and members of the LRA will meet in Sudan’s capital, Juba, to discuss the arrests and the next steps towards reconciliation. In the mean time, the UN emergency relief co-coordinator Jan Egeland is negotiating with Kony for the release of women and children. After nearly twenty years of civil war, with almost 20 million people displaced, the Ugandan people are tired of the violence and willing to forgo revenge in favor for a little peace and quiet, but whether they will achieve it remains to be seen.
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/09/AR2006050901907.html
http://www.tkb.org/Group.jsp?groupID=3513
http://www.fas.org/irp/world/para/lra.htm
http://www.jurist.law.pitt/edu/paperchase/2006/12/icc-seeking-un-peacekeepers-help-in.php
http://globalsecurity.org/military/world/para/lra.htm
