Disarmament Abuse in Uganda Leads UN Agency to Suspend Its Work and Spending

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee, Senior Reporter

June 27, 2006 -- Abuses by the Ugandan government's "cordon and search" disarmament program in the Karamojo region have resulted in a suspension of United Nations Development Programme spending and activities in northeast Uganda, a UNDP spokesman acknowledged in writing on Tuesday.

   In a third email to Inner City Press, the spokesman states that "UNDP does not support the recent operations of the Ugandan military [the Ugandan People's Defense Force, UPDF]  in 'cordon and search' in any manner and has warned that such approaches undermine the possibility of achieving lasting peace and development for the region. UNDP has joined with other development partners in Uganda to voice concern about this exercise to Ugandan authorities." The spokesman confirmed that UNDP's program directed at the Karamojong pastoralists was budgeted at $1 million in UN funds, to include "voluntary" disarmament program, but that the program has been suspended after spending $293,000. The spokesman added that "the UPDF neither informs nor coordinates with the UN nor requests support from the UN in its actions. UNDP and other donors strongly urge these operations to cease and to return to agreed strategies."

            It is still unclear what these "agreed strategies" were, and who agreed to them.

UPDF & UNDP (cordon & search not shown)

  Beginning eight days ago on June 19, Inner City Press asked UNDP to respond to the following:

"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."

            Eight days after Inner City Press raised these issues to UNDP, the agency's spokesman has responded in writing that  " Regarding your query as to specific reports of human rights abuses and other incidents in the region: UNDP, as stressed in our previous conversations, does not have the mandate or capacity to carry out investigations of human rights abuses. UNDP has no staff working in the villages cited in your question and no direct knowledge therefore of these particular incidents. However, UNDP is aware of these reports, takes them seriously, and, as noted above, has conveyed its concerns about UPDF actions in the Karamoja region to Ugandan national authorities and suspended work its own work in the region."

            What is new in Tuesday response is the final phrase, "suspended... its own work in the region." It is unclear why UNDP's chief for External Communications would unable to confirm such action, or suspension, for more than a week, and did not provide financial information until Tuesday's message.  The day previous, Inner City Press received a communication naming the $1 million figure, and blaming the "failure" of the program in Karamojo on UNDP itself.  There is much on which to follow up. The UNDP Spokesman's third email to Inner City Press is below:

From: William.Orme [at] undp.org

To: Matthew.Lee [at] InnerCityPress.com

Cc: [2 in OSSG, 2 in UNDP]

Sent: Tue, 27 Jun 2006 14:40:03 -0400

Subject: RE: NE Uganda and UNDP

   Matthew, I'm sorry I missed you yesterday...Your main line of questioning has to do with the Ugandan military's operation in the area over which UNDP and the UN generally has no connection or control... We can inform you about our own operations, though. You can use all of this on the record if you wish... A summary:

UNDP in no way supports “involuntary” or “forceful” disarmament in eastern Uganda. UNDP advocates voluntary disarmament linked to the strengthening of human security as the best way forward. UNDP supports peacebuilding and development in Karamoja and has encouraged voluntary weapons collection processes, as outlined in the Government’s Poverty Eradication and Action Plan, that first take into consideration and address the root causes of insecurity and work together with local communities towards finding sustainable solutions. 

UNDP does not support the recent operations of the Ugandan military (UPDF) in “cordon and search” in any manner and has warned that such approaches undermine the possibility of achieving lasting peace and development for the region. UNDP has joined with other development partners in Uganda to voice concern about this exercise to Ugandan authorities. 

There is no and has never been any UNDP or UN funding of or involvement with UPDF disarmament activities, contrary to published assertions to the contrary. The UPDF neither informs nor coordinates with the UN nor requests support from the UN in its actions. UNDP and other donors strongly urge these operations to cease and to return to agreed strategies. 

In 2006 UNDP began work on an independent community development and human security project in the Karamoja region, one component of which was the encouragement of voluntary disarmament. The project was budgeted initially for $1 million, to be financed from UNDP’s Uganda country office [Due to a misunderstanding on my part I erroneously identified to you in our conversation Tuesday the government of Denmark as a funder of this project.] Only $293,000 has been spent to date and all UNDP activities in the region are now halted, given that they are unworkable at this time, for the reasons noted.

Regarding your query as to specific reports of human rights abuses and other incidents in the region: UNDP, as stressed in our previous conversations, does not have the mandate or capacity to carry out investigations of human rights abuses. UNDP has no staff working in the villages cited in your question and no direct knowledge therefore of these particular incidents. However, UNDP is aware of these reports, takes them seriously, and, as noted above, has conveyed its concerns about UPDF actions in the Karamoja region to Ugandan national authorities and suspended work its own work in the region.

 There is extensive information about UNDP’s DDRR work and the funding of such on our website: www.undp.org/bcpr/whats_new/publications.shtml. Please bear in mind however that our (now suspended) work in NE Uganda is not a DDRR program, which typically take place in post-conflict situations with international involvement and oversight, usually in the context of the presence of a peacekeeping force. As we have discussed, none of this is the case in northeastern Uganda.

 William Orme

 Chief, External Communications

 United Nations Development Programme

            Again, there is much on which to follow up. Developing...

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