Roco Wat I Acoli: Restoring Relationships in Acholi-land: Traditional Approaches to Justice and Reintegration
Justice and Reconciliation Project
Erin Baines (Liu Faculty, UBC)
September 15, 2005
The Liu Institute for Global Issues and the Gulu District NGO Forum, with the support of Ker Kwaro Acholi, is pleased to announce the launch of the report Roco Wat I Acoli/ Restoring Relationships in Acholi-land: Traditional Approaches to Justice and Reintegration (September 2005).
When the Chief Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced its intention to investigate the LRA in 2004, many local leaders in northern Uganda were opposed to the initiative. Traditional, religious and civil society leaders have argued that the ICC places ‘their’ children at greater risk, and threatens to further damage their cultural identity and beliefs. Traditional justice, based on restorative principles, is widely supported as a preferable option to the punitive approach of the Court. A number of advocates, therefore, argue the Court should cease its current investigation until local approaches are given an opportunity to work, or until peace is realized in the region. Despite this, very little is known about traditional justice in Acholi beyond its normative dimensions.
This report, Roco Wat I Acoli, provides a much needed analysis of what traditional justice in northern Uganda is, how it is currently practiced and what value it could add. In a seven month study, it documented existing practices of traditional justice in 16 internally displaced persons (IDP) camps. It further examines how some of these rituals have been adapted to promote the reintegration of former rebels. It does so in order to provide an initial assessment of whether or not traditional rituals and ceremonies could be further adapted in the context of the enduring 19-year old conflict. Recommendations to local, national and international actors are made in the conclusion of the report.
