Abducted: The Lord's Resistance Army and Forced Conscription in Northern Uganda

TLDR: The Berkeley-Tulane Initiative on Vulnerable Populations launched The Database Project to better document abduction and help improve the capacity of 8 reception centers in the northern districts of Gulu, Kitgum, Pader, Apac, and Lira to collect and analyzes the overall incidence of abduction.

Abstract: Since the late 1980s, the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), a spiritualist rebel group with no clear political agenda, has abducted tens of thousands of children and adults to serve as porters and soldiers. Experience of forced conscription into the LRA is traumatic and varies in scope and intensity. Children and youth – some as young as 7 and 8 years old – have been forced to mutilate and kill civilians, including members of their own families and communities. In 1994, a group of parents of abducted children to establish the Gulu Support the Children Organization (GUSCO), a reception center in Gulu that provides medical care, counseling, and a number of other services. More than 20,000 children and youth have since passed through GUSCO and other reception centers throughout northern Uganda. In December 2005, the Berkeley-Tulane Initiative on Vulnerable Populations launched The Database Project to better document abduction and help improve the capacity of 8 reception centers in the northern districts of Gulu, Kitgum, Pader, Apac, and Lira to collect and analyze information about former LRA abductees. At the time, these centers were still providing housing and care to hundreds of children and youth. This report presents the findings of the project, which analyzes the overall incidence of abduction based on those data and provides recommendations aimed at improving the process of reintegrating former LRA abductees into their communities.

Figures

Table 2: Aggregated Database

Table 6: Abduction Figures from Multiple Sources

Figure 5: Map of Formerly Abducted People (FAP) by Subcounty of Origin

Figure 6: Formerly Abducted People (FAP) per 10,000 People by Subcounty of Origin

Figure 3: Length of Abduction Across Age and Gender (Average Number of Days)

Table 3: Factors Associated with Length of Abduction

Full text

UC Berkeley
Reports
Title
Abducted: The Lord's Resistance Army and Forced Conscription in Northern Uganda
Permalink
https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7963c61v
Authors
Pham, Phuong
Vinck, Patrick
Stover, Eric
Publication Date
2007-06-01
eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library
University of California

ABDUCTED
The Lord’s Resistance Army
and Forced Conscription
in Northern Uganda
JUNE 2007
Human Rights Center
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley-Tulane Initiative on Vulnerable Populations
Payson Center for International Development
Tulane University

Berkeley-Tulane Initiative on Vulnerable Populations
Human Rights Center
University of California, Berkeley
&
Payson Center for International Development
Tulane University
The Berkeley-Tulane Initiative on Vulnerable Populations conducts research in countries experiencing serious
violations of human rights and international humanitarian law. We use empirical research methods to give
voice to survivors of mass violence. We work to ensure that the needs of survivors are recognized and acted
on by governments, U.N. agencies, and nongovernmental organizations. We help improve the capacity of
local organizations to collect and analyze data about vulnerable populations so that their human rights can be
protected.
The Berkeley-Tulane Initiative has undertaken a range of projects. At present, the Initiative is
• assisting centers for former child soldiers in Northern Uganda improve their capacity to collect and analyze
data and provide follow-up services to returnees;
• helping the Victims and Witnesses Unit of the International Criminal Court develop questionnaires to improve
their services for witnesses;
• assisting Human Rights Watch improve its capacity to collect and analyze empirical data on violations of
human rights; and
• collaborating with the International Center for Transitional Justice to conduct research on transitional justice
mechanisms in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, and Uganda.
The Initiative provides fellowships to graduate students with empirical research skills at the University of
California, Berkeley and Tulane University to work with our partnering institutions.
The Initiative is supported through grants from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Omidyar
Network, and The Sandler Family Supporting Foundation.
Photographs by Thomas W. Morley, Exile Images, www.exileimages.co.uk.

Abducted
The Lord’s Resistance Army and Forced Conscription
in Northern Uganda
June 2007
Berkeley-Tulane Initiative on Vulnerable Populations
By
Phuong Pham
Patrick Vinck
Eric Stover

Table of Contents
Executive Summary................................................................................................................ 1
Introduction............................................................................................................................. 5
The Database Project.............................................................................................................. 7
Methodology.......................................................................................................................... 7
Data Source ........................................................................................................................ 7
Data Integration.................................................................................................................. 8
Limitations............................................................................................................................. 9
A Non-Probability Sampling of Former Abductees........................................................... 9
Missing Data ...................................................................................................................... 9
Duplication....................................................................................................................... 10
Findings.................................................................................................................................. 11
Demographics...................................................................................................................... 11
Length of Abduction............................................................................................................ 11
Period of Abduction............................................................................................................. 13
Geography of Abduction ..................................................................................................... 14
Experience of Abduction..................................................................................................... 18
Maternity and Abduction ................................................................................................. 18
Exposure to Violence ....................................................................................................... 18
Estimating the Total Number of Abductions....................................................................... 20
Counting the Abducted..................................................................................................... 20
Conclusions and Recommendations.................................................................................... 23
Annex 1: Center Information .............................................................................................. 26
Annex 2: Community Canvassing Database ...................................................................... 45
Annex 3: Authors and Acknowledgements ........................................................................ 46
Tables
Table 1: Reception Centers Databases...................................................................................... 8
Table 2: Aggregated Database.................................................................................................. 9
Table 3: Factors Associated with Length of Abduction ......................................................... 13
Table 4: Experience of Violence............................................................................................. 19
Table 5: Reasons for Torture and Killing in the LRA ............................................................ 19
Table 6: Abduction Figures from Multiple Sources ............................................................... 21
Figures
Figure 1: Age-Gender Distribution of Returned Abductees................................................... 11
Figure 2: Gender and Length of Abduction............................................................................ 12
Figure 3: Length of Abduction Across Age and Gender (Average Number of Days) ........... 13
Figure 4: Abduction, Escape, and Return Over Time............................................................. 14
Figure 5: Map of Formerly Abducted People (FAP) by Subcounty of Origin....................... 16
Figure 6: Formerly Abducted People (FAP) per 10,000 People by Subcounty of Origin...... 17
Figure 7: Year of Abduction among FAP at Caritas Gulu...................................................... 27
Figure 8: Abduction and Escape Registered at CPA Gulu ..................................................... 32

Frequently asked questions

Q1. What are the contributions in "Abducted: the lord's resistance army and forced conscription in northern uganda" ?

A survey conducted in 2005 in four districts of northern Uganda by UNICEF found that 31 percent of the parents had been abducted by the Lord 's Resistance Army ( LRA ), 23 percent had been mutilated, and 45 percent had witnessed the killing of a family member this paper. 

Q2. What were the objectives of the project?

The objectives of the project were:1. to improve the data-management capacity of all reception centers; 2. to digitize all reception center data; 3. to measure and analyze the overall incidence of abduction based on those data; 4. to assess characteristics associated with abduction; and 5. to provide recommendations aimed at improving the process of reintegrating former LRAabductees into their communities. 

Q3. How long did women stay with the LRA?

Fourteen percent of females who passed through a reception center in the district of Apac self-reported that they had been “given” to commanders and 10 percent reported giving birth while in captivity. 

Q4. What are the main activities of the camps?

Housed in separate units, boys and girls usually spend the day together undertaking a range of activities, including counseling, song and dance, sports, and vocational training. 

Q5. What is the purpose of the UPDF?

A special Child Protection Unit of the Ugandan People’s Army (UPDF) was established to routinely deliver to the reception centers children and youth who have been captured in gun battles or escaped from the LRA. 

Q6. How many children have been abducted by the LRA since the late 1980s?

32Abducted: The Lord’s Resistance Army and Forced Conscription in Northern Uganda- 1 -Since the late 1980s, the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), a spiritualist rebel group with no clear political agenda, has abducted tens of thousands of children and adults to serve as porters and soldiers. 

Q7. How many people have been abducted by the LRA?

Rebel commanders have forced girls, some as young as 12 years old, to serve as sexual and domestic servants1 and forced their fighters to inflict horrific injuries by cutting off the ears, noses, lips, and limbs of defenseless civilians. 

Q8. What is the main point of the article?

Rather than creating a set of general services for formerly abducted people (e.g. resettlement packages), emphasis should be placed on integrated, community-based programs that invest in youth and children in northern Uganda, including those who were never abducted. 

Q9. What are the main objectives of the report?

At the same time, a targeted response should address specific needs of subgroups of abducted people, including reintegration and psychological support services. 

Q10. How many former LRA abductees were staying at reception centers?

Abducted: The Lord’s Resistance Army and Forced Conscription in Northern Uganda- 2 -few, if any, former LRA abductees staying at reception centers as of April 2007. 

Q11. How long did the LRA abductees stay with the army?

Abducted: The Lord’s Resistance Army and Forced Conscription in Northern Uganda- 3 -• LRA abductees have suffered a wide range of abuses during their captivity.