Northern conflict creates protection crisis - NGOs

The 18-year old war between the government and rebels in northern Uganda has created the "world's worst protection crisis" in which gross abuse of international humanitarian and human rights law by all parties is rampant, a coalition of civil society groups said in a report. "The war in the region is a dirty war - a war in which civilians have become the principle strategic targets and victims of violence; in which civilians have become the field upon which the conflict is fought, and through which victory is being sought," the report, released by the Civil Society Organisations for Peace in Northern Uganda (CSOPNU), said. The report was officially launched in the northern town of Gulu on 10 December, the International Human Rights Day. "A serious protection vacuum exists in the region," it added. "Gross abuses of international humanitarian and human rights law are perpetrated against civilians on a grand scale, with culpability on both sides." However, the Uganda government spokesman and Information Minister, James Nsaba Buturo, told IRIN that although the social welfare of residents in the region had remained a major challenge, the security situation had improved. "[The rebel Lords Resistance Army (LRA) leader Joseph] Kony is no longer attacking camps," the minister said. "Abductions have dwindled significantly and some of those heinous crimes by the rebels are now a thing of the past. "We are now looking at the rehabilitation, reconstruction and development of northern Uganda and government has put aside US $200 million to kick-start this work though we know it is going to be more than that," he added. The report blamed the LRA for threatening civilians with what it called "a brutal cocktail of psychological violence, physical violence and coercion that has consumed everyday life. Every moment of daily life is touched by the fear of attack; every action taken has become governed by the ever-present threats of murder and abduction." It lamented that the Ugandan government had opted for military action in a bid to protect civilians but that option had complicated the protection crisis. "The government has so far failed in its obligation to mobilise a fully effective strategy for humanitarian protection in northern Uganda," it noted. "These [military] strategies have in fact contributed to the production of the humanitarian protection crisis, [because] the military offensive has not proven itself successful in adequately protecting civilians from abuses by the LRA. "Forced displacement has contributed to producing one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world, and has exposed civilians directly to violence and coercion at the hands of government forces," it added. The report said by arming civilians, the government had exposed the gaps in its capacity and will to mobilise regular forces, "pushing civilian victims of violence to defend themselves, forcing father to face son, armed across the lines of abduction. "This process has flooded the region with small arms, creating local armies with no formal accountability, that themselves prey on the vulnerable, and are exploited by the powerful." The LRA has fought the Uganda government since 1988 ostensibly in a bid to overthrow President Yoweri Museveni. The rebel group has, however, became notorious for its atrocities against civilians, killing thousands and displacing 1.6 million who live in camps where the government says it is better able to offer protection. According to the report, the government's displacement strategy had restricted civilian movement and denied the civilians the right to access their land. Both the LRA and the Ugandan army exposed those who disregarded restrictions to threats. "Seventy percent of IDPs [internally displaced persons] claim that lack of food and hunger are the most serious threats that they face, and malnutrition rates continue to be of concern while lack of access to fuel wood as a key concern," the report said. It said available water supplies were inadequate and the shortages had created life-threatening public health conditions. The report listed malaria, respiratory and diarrhoeal diseases, HIV/AIDS and related illnesses as the main health problems in the region.