Uganda
Overview
phase: Situations & Cases
The Situation in Uganda involves a protracted conflict between the government of Uganda and armed rebel groups, primarily the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). The LRA has waged an ongoing insurgency against the Ugandan government; the Ugandan Army, the Ugandan People’s Defense Forces (UPDF); and local defense units since 1987. The conflict has caused tens of thousands of deaths and abductions, and has displaced up to two million civilians throughout the region, causing many to live in internal displacement persons camps with threats of both LRA and UDPF abuses.
The LRA has consistently targeted and directed attacks against civilians. As part of these attacks, the LRA have used many tactics to brutalize the civilian population, including mass murder, mutilation, and forceful abduction of children to be child soldiers, servants, and sex slaves. Although the Lord’s Resistance Army has been inactive in northern Uganda since 2006, it still operates in the border region between the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic, and South Sudan. The UDPF has also been accused of attacks against civilians. Alleged rebel collaborators have been subjected to torture as part of interrogations and have been killed if found outside camps. In the camps, women and girls are victims of sexual abuse and civilians have been killed from beatings. To date, however, the alleged crimes committed by the LRA have been the focus of the conflict.
Uganda ratified the Rome Statute on June 14, 2002. Uganda referred itself to the International Criminal Court (ICC) on December 16, 2003. Following a preliminary examination, the Office of the Prosecutor officially opened an investigation on July 28, 2004. Within the Situation in Uganda, there are the following cases: The Prosecutor v. Joseph Kony and Vincent Otti and The Prosecutor v. Dominic Ongwen.
For more information on the Situation in Uganda, please visit the ICC page.