Alleged Abuse in Disarmament in Uganda Known by UNDP, But Dollar Figures Still
Not Given: What Did UN Know and When?
Byline: Matthew Russell
Lee at the U.N.
UNITED NATIONS, June 23 -- While UN Secretary General Kofi Annan states that the
details of programs and funding through UN agencies is publicly available, the
UN Development Programme on Friday said it was still unable or unwilling to
specify how much money has been spent on disarmament programs in northeastern
Uganda, a region in which UNDP now acknowledges it is aware of
allegations of abusive
involuntary disarmament by the Ugandan military.
In a media availability late morning on Friday,
Inner City Press asked
the Secretary General how the press and public can have prompt access to
information about funding activities of UN agencies, particularly where as in
Uganda allegations of abuse exist and are known to the agency; the question
referred back to a previous question about a UN Freedom of Information Act. Mr.
Annan stated that
"this kind of information is generally open... But I wish you pursue it, they
should be able to give it to you."
An hour later in a contentious on-the-record interview, UNDP spokesman William
Orme did not provide any financial information, but stated that UNDP "is aware
of the allegations of abuse by the Ugandan military... including the ones you
[Inner City Press reports] have raised" and that UNDP "has made their concerns
known to Ugandan officials."
Asked directly when and to whom in Uganda UNDP's concerns have been expressed,
and how and when UNDP became aware of the allegations, UNDP's Mr. Orme stated,
"that's all I'm prepared to say."
Uganda
per UNHCR
Inner City Press asked Mr. Orme is there are any written agreements between UNDP
and the government of Uganda. Mr. Orme recited that all UNDP project are carried
out with the knowledge and consent of the host governments. Asked if this
knowledge and consent is oral or in writing, Mr. Orme answered, "In writing."
Asked the documents are available, Mr. Orme replied, "What documents?"
"The ones reflecting knowledge and consent."
Mr. Orme did not provide access to any documents. On UNDP's
web site, the most recent "country
cooperation framework for Uganda" is from December 2000, more than five
years old, and expired. On Friday, Mr. Orme said that there may be no documents
about UNDP's programs in Eastern Uganda. Of these programs, he stated that they
are development programs, with some voluntary disarmament included. Inner City
Press asked if these voluntary disarmament programs have taken place in the same
areas as the allegedly abusive involuntary disarmament operations by the Ugandan
People's Defense Force in conjunction with Local Defense Units (LDUs) -- for
example, in Inner City Press' June 21
report, provided to
UNDP for comment on June 19, in three districts bordering Kenya: Kotido, Moroto
and Nakapiripirit.
Four days ago, Inner City Press asked UNDP and some others in the UN system to
comment on:
In
Kotido district on May 19, 2006, in Jimos village, the UPDF and LDUs encircled a
village and attacked them to force them to turn over their weapons. 4 people
were killed by the UPDF/LDUs including a 15 year old girl. Over 100 homes were
burnt and the protective fence shelters used to protect the collective living
space from enemy armed raiders were burnt. Many inhabitants, including many
women, were taken and detained in the UPDF barracks in Kotido.
In
Moroto district, at Loputiput and Longoleki village, in Nadunget sub county, on
May 19, 2006, the army encircled the village at 4 a.m.. People were ordered out
of their huts and beaten while the army searched the village. Even though it
appears the army found no weapons or ammunition, ten men from the village were
taken and detained at the Moroto army barracks.
Also in Moroto District, newly disarmed villages began being attacked on June 3
and there are at least a dozen attacks have occurred. For example, on June 1,
2006, a prominent Karamajong peace leader who people had worked with to design a
voluntary disarmament program saw what was occurring in forced disarmament and
so to save his village brought in a dozen guns that were in his village. He then
asked the UPDF / LDUs for protection against the armed raiders. He was told they
would not protect the village. On June 3 his village was attacked by armed
raiders and he and some of his sons were killed and over 118 head of cattle were
stolen.
On
May 26, 2006, in Loperot parish attacks killed an old woman, 4 women were raped,
many people were beaten. One boy who was shot in the leg and beaten was then
forced to drink three liters of local liquor. He was later admitted in Matani
Hospital in Moroto district.
Inner City Press' June 19 written questions to Mr. Orme also stated that "this
is an inquiry about a UNDP program in Uganda -- assistance with the disarmament
of the Karamajong people. What is UNDP's role in this program? What oversight is
UNDP giving to how the program is going? Have problems been seen with forcible
disarmament, abuses of women and children and post-disarmament looting of
Karamajong cattle and villages? Any information you can provide on UNDP's
awareness of and involvement in these issues will be appreciated." Inner City
Press named a deadline of 5 p.m. eastern June 20.
On June 20, Mr. Orme had his staffer Cassandra Waldon telephone Inner City
Press; near the end of the conversation she stated that everything she said was
"on background" and "you can't use it." Inner City Press then asked, among other
things, for financial information and for an on-the-record response as quickly
as possible. Even so, Inner City Press waited an additional day before
publishing its initial
report.Two days later no on-the-record response had been given, and no
financial information, and so the question was raised in rushed form to
Secretary General Kofi Annan.
Inner City Press asked about "UNDP-funded disarmament in Uganda of pastoralist
tribes that use the guns really to defend their herds. I guess what I want to
ask is, although we are still pursuing it, there seem to be abuses in the
program; we have asked how much funding UNDP provides for the disarmament of
pastoralist tribes. I will say that for four days we have been unable to get
even a number about how much is funded. So I guess, this idea of freedom of
information act, which I once asked you about before…is it your sense that a
UNDP agency should be able to, in four days, disclose how much it is funding a
program?"
The Secretary General
responded: "I am not sure I would tie that to a freedom of information act.
I am not sure whom at UNDP you asked, but this kind of information is generally
open; the UN peacekeeping budgets are open, and the amounts of money we spend on
disarmament efforts are public information, for the public. So I really don’t
know whom you asked in UNDP, and why you haven’t got it. And really, don’t
expect me to give you an answer. But I wish you pursue it. They should be able
to give it to you."
One observer noted that while the Department of Peacekeeping, which Mr. Annan
previously headed, may quickly provide financial information, UNDP for now
operates differently, including with a lesser degree of responsiveness to
questions from the press and even from the Office of the Spokesman for the
Secretary General.
Minutes later at the
noon
briefing, the OSSG's Marie Okabe was asked what the procedure for getting
such information is, without having to ask the Secretary General. Ms. Okabe
replied that the requested information was now upstairs.
But upstairs just after the noon briefing, Inner City Press was directed to
again call UNDP spokesman William Orme. Mr. Orme did not however on Friday
provide a single piece of financial information, despite Inner City Press' June
20 question about how much money has been spending on UNDP disarmament programs
in northeastern Uganda. Mr. Orme stated that he now had to seek the information
in Uganda. Inner City Press asked how it is possible that UNDP Headquarters in
New York does not have or will not disclose such a figure. No explanation was
not provided; Mr. Orme has stated that the information will be provided on
Monday. We will await it, in writing. In the interim, if answers cannot be had
inside UN Headquarters, they will be sought elsewhere: watch this site.
* * *
Also at the noon briefing, Inner City Press
asked
for response to a
call by
Uganda's envoy in Juba for the UN military option to arrest Joseph Kony, Vincent
Otti and three others in the Lords Resistance Army. At press time, the
spokesman's office said:
"In
response to your question from today's Noon Briefing: As requested by the
Security Council (SC) in Resolution 1663, the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS)
continues to go everything within its mandate and capabilities against the LRA,
however our forces are extremely limited by both. It must be stressed that the
Governments of the region (Sudan, Southern Sudan, Uganda, DRC) have significant
more capacity to act against the LRA than UNMIS does. (UNMIS has only 700 guard
troops in all of Equatoria - an area the size of Austria - while reports have
put combined SAF-SPLA-UPDF at 50,000, although SAF is withdrawing and UPDF
presence may fluctuate). UNMIS is also configurated towards implementing a
classic Chapter 6
monitoring and verification mission and, as such, does not possess any offensive
assets. Areas of focus to assist against LRA now that UNMIS deployment is
reaching completion are more pro-active patrolling in known LRA areas, and
assistance facilitating the coordination of information between thre three
military forces on the ground - SAF, SPLA and UPDF. To do more would require a
stronger mandate and much more robust resources."
It's a response, and it was fast. But presumably the call for UN military action
was directed at the 17,000 UN troops in the DRC with MONUC. To be continued.
Heard in the hall: an outgoing ambassador told Inner City Press that the fix
is in on the UN budget crisis. "There is no more crisis," he said, "the United
States caved in." He predicted that on Wednesday the cap will be lifted, along
with happy talk about reforms that have been achieved. Asked if Japan had left
the U.S. alone with its threats, the diplomat said, "Japan chases behind the
U.S. and then doesn't back them up. But don't quote me by name!" Okay...
On a
lighter note, on Thursday evening photos of Angkor Wat were unveiled in the UN's
visitors' lobby, where they will remain on display until August 18. The opening
ceremony was graced by Cambodian dancers as well as a mobbed table loaded with
sushi. A heart-felt celebration of global culture.
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