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Uganda: Complex Emergency Situation Report #3 (FY 2006)

Attachments

U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
BUREAU FOR DEMOCRACY, CONFLICT, AND HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE (DCHA)
OFFICE OF U.S. FOREIGN DISASTER ASSISTANCE (OFDA)

Note: The last situation report was dated April 26, 2006.

BACKGROUND

Since 1986, the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), led by Joseph Kony, has waged an insurgency in northern Uganda, using camps in southern Sudan and eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) as a base for attacks on civilians and government forces. According to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), LRA attacks and Government of Uganda (GOU) counter-insurgency measures have resulted in the displacement of nearly 95 percent of the ethnic Acholi population in Gulu, Kitgum, and Pader districts. LRA tactics against civilians include murder, looting, burning houses, torture, mutilation, and abduction of children for the purposes of forced conscription, labor, and sexual servitude. In addition, the crisis has forced the relocation of rural communities and limited freedom of movement. Throughout 2006, the disruption of LRA bases in southern Sudan and the launch of regionally mediated peace talks have significantly improved security.

OCHA estimates the conflict has displaced 2 million Ugandans, 80 percent of whom are women and children. An estimated 1.7 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) live in more than 200 camps without adequate food, protection, water, sanitation facilities, and health care, while an estimated 300,000 live in other areas of Uganda. Since 2004, an estimated 700,000 IDPs have moved to new sites closer to their homes and additional movement is expected in the future, according to the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF) estimates that the LRA has abducted at least 25,000 children since the conflict began. In recent months, however, OCHA has reported a steady and substantial decline in the number of night commuters, children who travel each evening from their homes in vulnerable rural communities to spend the night in the relative safety of urban centers.

NUMBERS AT A GLANCE
SOURCE
IDPs
2 million
OCHA, May 2006
Night Commuters
9,076
UNICEF, June 2006
Abducted Children
25,000(1)
UNICEF, October 2005
Refugees in Uganda
257,256
UNHCR, June 2006
Ugandan Refugees
34,170
UNHCR, June 2006

Total FY 2006 USAID/OFDA Assistance to Uganda: $12,058,856
Total FY 2006 USG Humanitarian Assistance to Uganda: $60,361,442

CURRENT SITUATION

GOU-LRA peace talks progress. On July 14, the GOU and the LRA began peace talks mediated by the Government of Southern Sudan (GOSS). Following a truce signed on August 26, the LRA and GOU officially ceased hostilities on August 29. Under the terms of the truce, the LRA have begun to leave their bases in Sudan and DRC and gather at designated assembly points under the protection of the GOSS. As of September 15, the GOU and the LRA continued to discuss details of a comprehensive peace agreement.

Overall improved security. The U.N. has reported a substantial decrease in LRA incidents in recent months. In 2006, the number of civilians killed by LRA forces decreased from 88 in January to 1 in June, according to the U.N. USAID/OFDA partners in the region reported that escorts by the Uganda People's Defense Force (UPDF) are no longer needed in many parts of northern Uganda, including Lango Sub-Region and areas of Acholiland. Additionally, the UPDF and U.N. agencies are now recommending military escorts for humanitarian travel to only 20 percent of IDP camps, compared to 100 percent in November 2005. The UPDF has suspended military operations against the LRA in accordance with the August 26 truce permitting safe passage for LRA fighters to assembly points in Southern Sudan.

IDP Movement. IDPs continue to return home in Lira District; UNHCR reports that more than 130,000 have returned to date. In Gulu, Kitgum, and Pader districts, UNHCR reports that approximately 100,000 IDPs have returned closer to their homes and farmlands in new sites protected by UPDF forces. UNHCR attributes rising return rates to the desire of IDPs to cultivate their farmlands following a decrease in LRA attacks and an expanded UPDF presence.

From July 31 to August 12, a USAID/OFDA Regional Advisor and USAID/OFDA Northern Uganda Program Officer visited Gulu and Pader districts to assess humanitarian conditions. The USAID team observed greater agricultural production in the region with the potential to increase food security, and improved water and sanitation services in the larger camps, resulting from recent humanitarian interventions and reduced IDP populations. The USAID team reported no evidence of displaced families being forced to resettle by UPDF forces.

More than 50 new sites have been established to accommodate population movements in Kitgum, Pader, and Gulu districts, and additional sites are being planned. The greater availability of grass for home construction and food following the harvest are expected to encourage population movements. The U.N. World Food Program (WFP) anticipates that more than 300,000 IDPs will return to home areas in Kitgum, Pader, and Gulu districts in the coming months. Additionally, UNHCR estimates that as many as 110,000 more IDPs will return to Lira District, Lango Sub-Region, with the onset of the dry season in October.

USAID presence in Gulu. In August 2006, USAID/ Uganda established a temporary office in Gulu town to monitor USAID-funded programs and oversee coordination with partners and other stakeholders. The office is currently staffed with a USAID/OFDA Program Officer, and USAID/Uganda is scheduled to open a permanent office in Gulu in the near future.

Night commuters. UNICEF reported 3,664 night commuters per night in Gulu District during August 2006, down from 22,000 per night at the height of the conflict. The current total for the region is estimated at 9,000, according to UNICEF. Humanitarian agencies recommend that the future status determination of existing night commuter centers be deferred until a joint UNICEF-Caritas assessment is concluded. The assessment seeks to better identify the needs of at risk children in the north to determine whether night commuter shelters should be transformed to meet other protection needs of children in the area.

Sudanese repatriation. Since March 2006, when the GOU, the Sudanese Government of National Unity, and UNHCR signed a tripartite agreement concerning the repatriation of Sudanese refugees in Uganda, 4,300 refugees from Moyo and Arura districts have returned home. UNHCR estimates that 174,000 Sudanese refugees remain in Uganda, and the agency continues to facilitate returns through the provision of transport and food assistance.

Cholera outbreak. As of August 2006, a cholera outbreak in northern Uganda had resulted in 876 cases and 12 deaths, according to WFP. The outbreak, first reported in April 2006, remains a concern as new cases continue to be documented in Kitgum District. OCHA identified a lack of safe water and poor sanitation as the underlying causes of the outbreak. USAID/OFDA partners Associazione Volontari per il Servizio Internazionale (AVSI), the International Rescue Committee (IRC), and the International Medical Corps (IMC) have provided assistance through chlorination and health outreach teams, emergency treatment centers, and hygiene-related relief supply distributions.

USG HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE

On October 31, 2005, U.S. Chargé d'Affaires William Fitzgerald redeclared a disaster in response to the ongoing complex humanitarian emergency in northern Uganda. USAID/OFDA FY 2006 programs focused on water and sanitation, health, nutrition, income generation, food security and agriculture, and coordination. In FY 2006, USAID/OFDA provided more than $12 million for relief assistance to Uganda through 18 implementing partners, including U.N. agencies and non-governmental organizations.

In FY 2006, USAID's Office of Food for Peace (USAID/FFP) provided 68,380 metric tons (MT) of P.L. 480 Title II emergency food assistance valued at more than $41 million. Distributed through WFP, USAID/FFP assistance consists of cereals, corn soya blend, vegetable oil, and pulses. USAID/FFP contributions primarily target IDPs in northern and eastern districts, droughtaffected families in the Karamoja Sub-Region, and refugees countrywide.

In FY 2006, the U.S. Department of State's Bureau for Population, Refugees, and Migration (State/PRM) provided $5 million to UNHCR, and more then $2 million to multiple relief agencies to support the needs of refugees and victims of conflict in Uganda. In addition, State/PRM provided nearly $50 million in unearmarked funds to UNHCR and $32.7 million in unearmarked funds to the International Committee of the Red Cross in FY 2006, portions of which support programs in Uganda.

Footnote

(1) This figure represents the estimated number of children abducted between 1986 and 2005. An unknown number of abducted children have escaped or have been captured by UPDF forces during the conflict.

Map: FY 2006 USG emergency programs in Uganda (as of 15 Sep 2006)

(pdf* format - 123 KB)