Institute for Historical Justice and Reconciliation
The IHJR seeks to dispel public myths about historic legacies
in societies divided by ethnic conflict
Loading...- Historical Memory Research in Luwero Triangle
A pilot study targeting sub-counties in Buganda which formed part of the Luwero War Triangle. Historical memory is a qualitative research method, used to solicit information from respondents in Luwero Triangle area specific to selected sites. - Historical Memories of Cooperation in Uganda
Report by Charity Kyomugisha of the Proceedings of the Second History and Reconciliation Workshop under the theme “Historical Memories of Cooperation in Uganda,” A workshop organized by Centre for Basic Research and held on March 1-3 2005 at Hotel Africana, Kampala. - Historical Perspectives, Memories & Reconciliation
By Professor Dani W. Nabudere, on the Origins of the Luwero and Northern Wars in Uganda. The issue of historical memory has become important in an age of heightened conflicts between different kinds of groups, in many cases arising out of historical issues of contested pasts so that these pasts may be transformed historical disputes from a cause of further or renewed conflicts.
IHJR Uganda Project
Project Abstract
The IHJR's Uganda Project aimed to explore Uganda's recent past through the promotion of archival research, academic publications, public discourse, and the engagement of the government, military, academic and independent sectors. The work was funded by an initial grant from the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation with additional support from the Rausing Trust. The Uganda Project was a multi-year initiative with the long-term goal of creating a clear historical record of events.
Background
The people of Uganda have, in the post-colonial era, witnessed a variety of conflicts stemming partly from the consequences of colonization as well as from their histories, which culminated in a series of conflicts, including the tensions around the "Lost Counties" dispute, the conflict surrounding the events of 1965-66, the war in Toro/Kasese, the war in Teso district under the Uganda Peoples' Army, the war in the west of the country organised by the Allied Defence Forces straddling the border into eastern D. R. Congo, the war in the Luwero Triangle and the continuing war in Northern Uganda. Although the current conflict has been referred to as a "Northern Question," this is partially misleading because the war in the north involves much of the country, many ethnic groups are impacted by it and it is not a purely northern affair.
Over the years several conflict resolution initiatives attempted different approaches and techniques. However, many of these approaches generally ignore the past in a search for immediate solutions, focusing on a limited political process aimed at ending conflicts. The South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) has been the most prominent among more than 30 truth commissions worldwide. The various approaches, in addition to the retributive justice approaches, including the ICTY and ICC, have shown that there is no primary model to be followed by countries emerging from a conflict, and each society has to find a format that would work best for itself. Reconciliation is indeed a tall order. Most criticisms of the TRC in South Africa stem from the fact that no quick follow-up of prosecutions and the minimal reparations were made, and many of the perpetrators, who admitted serious crime were not held responsible for those crimes. Moreover, the process of dialogue and reconciliation was not extended to the wider community in the contending parties. Therefore, the promise of a TRC in Uganda will not necessarily bring the reconciliatory results envisioned. Uganda had its own early version of Truth Commission, and an ongoing Amnesty Commission. Yet those have suffered from lack of support, and now resources, and have not engaged and involved the community adequately.
Bringing perpetrators to the International Criminal Court has its own shortcoming and very strong opposition in Uganda, both at the national and the local level. It is clear that successful reconciliation has to begin with the people themselves. The project described below is a hybrid format, designed specifically by Ugandans to meet the needs they defined as critical in fostering reconciliation: a neutral forum to bring grievances; a people-to-people reconciliation process at the local level, and in-depth research by respected scholars from all sides of the conflict who investigate together the roots of the conflict. While the war in the North consumes much of the public attention- and funding - there is a great deal that needs to be done and can be done quietly and on the local level.
It has been debated whether development programs and reconciliation efforts can take place before the conflict is over. This attitude has been changing since countries cannot wait to see protracted conflicts end before they engage in rebuilding, physically and politically. In Uganda, the EU is engaged in a serious multi-year rebuilding while recognizing that the continuous conflict has to be taken into account, though not block engagement.
Project outcomes
The IHJR Uganda Project addressed gross human rights violations and ethnic rivalry in the country from its pre-colonial to the post-colonial era. There has been academic research to write joint narratives by scholars from different ethnic and regional perspectives. Every research paper incorporates at least two perspectives of a conflict situation. The text was envisioned to include a dialogue between the contributors, to exclude propaganda, and examine the empirical evidence of the conflict. Please refer to REPORTS for more details.
