PRESS CONFERENCE BY SPECIAL ENVOY FOR AREAS AFFECTED BY LORD’S RESISTANCE ARMY

ON PEACE TALKS BETWEEN UGANDAN GOVERNMENT, REBEL GROUP

 

Achieving an alternative form of justice rather than submitting to the International Criminal Court process was a “delicate but not impossible” prospect in negotiations to end 20 years of conflict between the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and the Government of Uganda, Joaquim Alberto Chissano, Special Envoy for LRA-affected areas said at Headquarters this afternoon.

Speaking at a press conference where he provided an update on the latest round of talks in neighbouring Sudan, Mr. Chissano said “alternative” justice could take the form of new legislation that would consider local customs emphasizing forgiveness and reconciliation over more traditional juridical systems and international standards.  The aim of the negotiations was to bring about a permanent peace, reconciliation and unity for Ugandans, while addressing the causes of repeated violence in their country.

With LRA now involved in both Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the specific aim of the negotiations was an agreement on maintaining a suspension of hostilities and on the modalities for implementing the principles of accountability and reconciliation.  The International Criminal Court handed down indictments against four members of the LRA leadership in 2003, but the rebel leaders said they would not submit to the Court, partly because, they maintained, atrocities and other crimes had been committed by both parties to the conflict.

That went to the heart of what justice was, including as seen by the victims, said Mr. Chissano, a former President of Mozambique.  While the Ugandan Government wanted stability more than it wanted to punish four people, outsiders might see a negotiated alternative form of justice as the installation of a culture of impunity.  But ultimately what mattered was what the Ugandan people wanted.  LRA leaders were currently visiting 10 affected districts to build confidence and gain the trust of the people, including victims.  The emerging effect was that most people preferred peace over vengeance or continued violence.

Asked for background information on the conflict, the Special Envoy said the Court had issued the indictments requested by the Ugandan Government but lacked the means to arrest the suspects.  It had asked the Government to arrest the LRA leaders and hand them over, an outcome that the Government had been unable to achieve.  Negotiations had now led to an agreement on reconciliation and the remaining question was how to achieve justice.  That was where the cultural element had to enter into the negotiations on the basis of the victims’ desire to forgive in the interest of peace.  That was the “alternative” form of justice being negotiated as a way towards permanent peace.  An assessment of the process, planned for January, would include a consultation with the Security Council.

In response to a question as to whether the conflict was primarily ethnic-based as had been the case in Rwanda, he said it would be an oversimplification to see it in that light.  There were some elements common to both situations, such as conflict over the distribution of labour and the inequitable distribution of wealth.  Many groups were involved in the differences between the Government and LRA, and relations between Uganda and its neighbours were also an influence.  That came back to the culturally-based pattern of tradition with regard to conflict and reconciliation, where “punishment” was not meted out in terms of a prison sentence, but rather in the form of compensation, as in the payment of a bride to seal the end of hostilities, which not only made up for the lost lives but also created a kinship bond between the former combatants.

Asked about current rumours concerning the relationship between the top two LRA leaders, Joseph Kony and Vincent Otti, Mr. Chissano said there was no point in speculating.  If Mr. Otti had died or indeed been killed, the possible effect would merely be a weakening of the LRA negotiating position.

In response to a further question, he said a possible course of action in the event that an “alternative” form of justice was negotiated would be for the Government to go to The Hague and become more familiar with International Criminal Court process and then decide how to go forward.

He told another questioner that the situation in Southern Sudan would only affect the Ugandan negotiations if one side decided to capitalize on the situation of the other for its own purposes.

As to whether LRA leaders could be convinced to give themselves up to the Court and face the possibility of a prison that was at least safer than the bush, he said no rebel fighting for a cause had ever come out and said:  “I’m a criminal.  I’m guilty.  Take me to court.”

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For information media • not an official record