During northern Uganda's 20-year conflict between the Government of Uganda's (GoU) armed forces and the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), widespread human rights abuses were committed by both sides.

Amnesty International documented the LRA's abduction of thousands of children and adults, unlawful killing of thousands of civilians, the rape of thousands of women and beatings of men, women and children during the 1986-2006 conflict.

The organization also documented human rights violations committed by the government's Uganda Peoples' Defence Forces (UPDF). These included unlawful killings, rape and beatings of civilians. There was general impunity for soldiers who committed human rights violations against civilians.

The government of northern Uganda should establish an effective reparations programme for those victims of the conflict, according to a new Amnesty International report.

Left to their own devices examines the continued suffering of the victims of the hostilities and makes recommendations to the government on how to deal with the aftermath of the human rights violations that took place there.

Also documented as one of the most enduring effects of the conflict on civilians was, and remains, the massive displacement of about 1.8 million people from their homes into internally displaced persons' (IDPs) camps in which living conditions were often dire for IDPs in relation to shelter, hygiene, health and nutrition.

An Amnesty International delegation visited the northern Uganda districts of Gulu, Amuru, Kitgum, Pader and Lira in August 2008 and interviewed hundreds of victims of human rights violations suffered during the conflict. Amnesty International delegates also met with government officials and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) including victims' groups.

Victims expressed the urgent need for the government to put in place an action plan, in consultation with them, to provide reparations, which addresses their current suffering. Victims and survivors of human rights violations committed during the conflict include victims of sexual and gender-based violence, formerly abducted youth and adults, survivors of killings and torture and those who still don't know where their loved ones are. They still bear the scars of these violations, many years after they were committed. Little has been done to ensure that victims and survivors have access to full and effective reparations that address their continued suffering and help them to rebuild their lives.

The government's Peace Recovery and Development Plan (PRDP) for northern Uganda, launched in September 2007, while proposing government policy on post-conflict recovery and development, does not establish a program which addresses the reparation needs of victims.

In addition, the two Agreements signed between the GoU and the LRA (on Accountability and Reconciliation; and Disarmament Demobilization and Reintegration) under the auspices of the peace process attempt to lay a framework for reparations but contain significant flaws.

These Agreements do not ensure that the proposed framework for reparation will be informed by wide consultation with victims and survivors. Even with the PRDP and the two Agreements, it is not clear if, when, and what type of reparations will be granted to victims and survivors.

Amnesty International is calling on the government of Uganda to establish an effective reparations program which is victim focused, comprehensive, consultative with victims and the civil society and properly resourced. Such a program should provide for the five recognized forms of reparations: restitution, compensation, rehabilitation, satisfaction and guarantees of non-repetition.

The organization says that the program should deal with immediate challenges resulting from the conflict, including educational challenges/needs for children and youth; urgent medical treatment; medical psycho-social support and counselling on trauma and psychological effects of those affected by the conflict (including female victims); improved livelihoods to victims and survivors and an urgent inquiry into the whereabouts and fate of persons abducted by the LRA.

Amnesty International is also making recommendations to the international community, including the United Nations and key donors and the civil society to lobby for, support and participate in the establishment of a reparations program for victims and survivors of human rights violations committed during the conflict.

Amnesty International   

Jacque Diouf, the director general of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has said that climate change affects everyone but the poorest regions are its first victims.  He said that these countries’s situation is likely to worsen in the next decades and the worst hit will be hundreds of millions of people who are already vulnerable and food insecure, small-scale crop and animal producers, fishers and foresters. 

He also stated that climate change will affect availability of land, water and biodiversity.  Changes in temperatures and precipitation, as well as more frequent extreme weather patterns, are expected to result in agriculture production shortfalls with negative impacts on access to food.

This was contained in his message to mark World Food Day Message, on the theme "World food security: the challenges of climate change and bio-energy"..

According to him, climate change is likely to increase migration towards richer countries while rising sea levels may force many communities in low-lying coastal areas and river deltas to move to higher ground.  These risks, he added, need to be taken into account. And the analysis of food security needs to be placed in a completely new context.

The FAO boss added that during the last three years, due to the soaring food and energy prices, the number of hungry people has increased by another 75 million as at the end of 2007. 

"This crisis is due to decreasing investments in agriculture in the poorest countries during the last 30 years. The share of agriculture in public development aid declined from 17% in 1980 to 3% in 2006. Financial institutions drastically reduced their funds for agriculture.  We need to reverse this trend to come back to the previous level of investment.  We also need to create food enabling frameworks for substantial increase of direct foreign investments for agriculture in low-income, food-deficit countries," he urged.

He then observed that equitable partnerships between countries which have land, water and labour supply and countries which have financial resources, management facilities and markets would constitute a solid base for sustainable agriculture.  He added that agriculture has to be able to double global good production by 2050, when the current population of the globe, which now stands at 6 billion, will reach 9 billion. He noted that this is the only way to mobilise the needed funds for a renewal of agriculture which are estimated at US$ 30 billion per year by the special high-level task force on the global food crisis.

He then called on all and sundry to promote the declaration of the high-level conference on world food security, mobilising all stakeholders, national governments, international institutions, agricultural professional organisations, civil society and the private sector. 

"More than ever before, the future of this planet depends on our capacity to sustain the development of agriculture in the poorest countries," he noted.

World Food Security conference

It could be recalled that the high level conference on World Food Security which brought together delegates from 181 countries, including 42 Heads of State and governments and over 100 ministers was recently concluded in Rome, Italy. Attended by over 5000 people, the conference brought the food crisis to the forefront of the global development agenda.  The conference reaffirmed the need to produce more and therefore to invest more in agriculture and the need to address the growing food demand due to increasing populations, economic progress in emerging countries and competition in the bio-energy sector when supply is affected by climate change and declining stocks.

An estimated 130,000 people in several countries in West Africa have been affected by severe flooding following several months of heavy rainfall, and are in need of continued assistance. Villages have been submerged and homes, crops and infrastructure destroyed.
Thousands of people have been exposed to water-borne diseases.

The most affected countries are Togo, Ghana, Niger, Benin, Mali, Burkina Faso and Senegal. Floods have also affected Liberia and Mauritania, though with less humanitarian impact. The floods have compounded the problem of high rates of malnutrition in some of the affected countries, such as Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Mauritania, Guinea and northern Ghana and Togo, which have also been suffering from the impact of the global food crisis.

Immediate requirements include maintaining high levels of alert to avert major disasters in the coming weeks, having equipment ready to redirect flood waters away from settlements as opposed to incurring costs relocating people, providing required health kits to prevent outbreaks of water-born diseases, including malaria, and delivering food aid to the most vulnerable.

“In spite of the tremendous challenges we face currently in our efforts to respond to all these weatherrelated emergencies around the world, we must strive to ensure that all those in need of humanitarian help receive it,” said United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes. “In West Africa, flooding has hit some of the most vulnerable people who have a limited ability to cope. The international community must not forget them,” he added.

A series of workshops on flood preparedness and management held by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in the affected countries ahead of the rainy season this year helped reduce the adverse impact of the flooding compared to 2007. Some 800,000 people were affected by floods last year compared to 130,000 this year. More than 200 people died as a result of flooding in 2007 compared to slightly over 30 this year.

Regionally, the Economic Commission of West African States (ECOWAS) deployed emergency teams to affected areas in Togo and made cash donations to help the government in its response effort.
ECOWAS, in partnership with OCHA, is also in the process of setting up a regional stockpile of non-food relief supplies in Mali as a disaster preparedness measure.

OCHA 

With support from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the Mali Red Cross is carrying out an aid operation for families affected by the flooding resulting from torrential rains that fell on the city of Gao at the end of August.

The flooding destroyed around 100 houses and left several dozen families without shelter. Those who lost their homes also lost all their food reserves and now rely mainly on the families that took them in. Because food prices are rising, the host families could be destabilized by their own generosity.

Mali Red Cross volunteers are distributing rice, oil, tarpaulins, sleeping mats, blankets, mosquito nets, soap and cooking utensils to almost 100 families. These items should tide them over until the next harvest in a month’s time.

The ICRC has been working in Mali since 1991. It has offices in Bamako and in Gao, where it cooperates closely with the Mali Red Cross. The aid operation currently under way ties in with the ICRC’s efforts to boost the National Society’s emergency response capacity.

International Committee of the Red Cross

Salifu K Jaiteh, an outstanding Gambian businessman and Managing Director of SK Jaiteh and Sons Enterprise Limited, yesterday donated 14 bales of second-hand clothing to the flood victims in the Western Region (WR). The donated items is said to have worth over sixty three thousand dalasis.

Speaking at the presentation ceremony Mr Jaiteh said the donation was geared towards complementing Government’s efforts.

He noted that Government alone could not assist victims of natural disasters. He therefore called on businesspeople to make their own contributions.

He pointed out that for the past twenty years he had been supporting the needy in the country and would continue to support whenever the need arose.

Receiving the donated items on behalf of the beneficiaries, the Governor of Western Region Lamin Sanneh hailed SK Jaiteh for the timely donation.

He added that the items would greatly relieve the flood victims in his region, as it would go a long way towards addressing the needs of the victims.

Governor Sanneh called on others to emulate Mr Jaiteh’s gesture in complementing government’s efforts and urged them to collaborate in situations like these.

He finally assured him that the donated items would reach the beneficiaries.

Action Aid Kudang office recently donated 50 bags of rice to the victims of the windstorm at Sotokoi, Mamut Fana and Bamba Kolong in Niamina East district in Central River Region South. The relief assistance is worth about D45,000.

Presenting the donated items on behalf of the development area manager, the programme officer, Mr. Raymond Jatta, expressed sympathy to the victims about the damages caused by the storm. He pointed out that the assistance will not only help restore conditions in the affected areas but also reverse some of the damage caused by the windstorm.

For his part, the Head Chief, Alh. Kebba Touray, commended Action Aid for their kind gesture in giving humanitarian aid to the needy. According to him, the donated items will not only improve conditions but will go a long way in complimenting government efforts in assisting the needy.

The APEX treasurer, Mr. Saikuba Ceesay, thanked Action Aid for the benevolent support and assured them that the donated items will be put to good use.