Swedish Red Cross
Report gender/IHL
2015-12-23
Hornsgatan 54, PO Box 17563, Sweden
IHL and Gender – Lessons Learned from a
Field Study in Uganda
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Swedish Red Cross
Report gender/IHL
2015-12-23
Hornsgatan 54, PO Box 17563, Sweden
In this report gender refers to the socially
constructed roles/differences between persons
based on legally assigned sex, perceived or
actual sexual orientation, gender identity and
gender expression. The legal sex assigned to a
person does not have to correlate to the selfidentified sex. Gender, although deeply rooted
in every culture, is not fixed over time and is
different both within and between cultures.
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Report gender/IHL
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Hornsgatan 54, PO Box 17563, Sweden
Table of Content
1. Introduction ............................................................................................................. 5
1.1 Field Study in Uganda ................................................................................................................... 8
1.2 International Humanitarian Law.................................................................................................. 11
2. Key-issues of Concern .......................................................................................... 14
2.1 IDP-Camps .................................................................................................................................. 15
2.2 Armed Group Violence Against Civilians................................................................................... 21
2.3 Violence Among Civilians .......................................................................................................... 24
2.4 Sexual Violence and Exploitation ............................................................................................... 27
2.5 National Implementation of IHL and Accountability .................................................................. 32
3. Gendered Themes in the Study Findings .............................................................. 35
3.1 A Gendered Perception of Human Beings – Fulfilment of Obligations Without
Discrimination? ................................................................................................................................. 36
3.2 Civilians in IDP-camps................................................................................................................ 38
3.3 Violence Among Civilians in an Armed Conflict Setting ........................................................... 40
4. Concluding Remarks ............................................................................................. 45
5. Bibliography .......................................................................................................... 48
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Swedish Red Cross
Report gender/IHL
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Hornsgatan 54, PO Box 17563, Sweden
Abbreviations
AP
Additional Protocol
GC
Geneva Convention
GBV
Gender based violence
IHL
International Humanitarian Law
ICD
International Crimes Division
ICRC
International Committee of the Red Cross
SGBV
Sexual and gender based violence
SRC
Swedish Red Cross Society
URCS
Ugandan Red Cross Society
ULRC
Ugandan Law Reform Commission
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Report gender/IHL
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1. Introduction
Experience and research shows that women and men, including girls and boys, are
affected by armed conflict in fundamentally different ways. Dependent upon the
social, economic, cultural and political position of an individual, conflict is
experienced and coped with differently. Consequently, when addressing the plights
faced by civilians during armed conflict an analysis of these factors in the given
context are central.
Given the important role international humanitarian law (IHL) plays in providing
protection and justice to the victims of armed conflict, a gender perspective on IHL is
not only of theoretical interest, but of practical concern. Our interest lies in
understanding to what extent the different effects of armed conflict on men and
women are due to either IHL in its self being insufficient, or if this is about a lack of
proper implementation of the law, and to what extent gender plays a part in the
identified vulnerabilities.
Provisions under IHL are rather comprehensive, mainly “gender neutral”, and include
a non-discrimination principle. Identifying and addressing both the diverging effects
armed conflict has on individuals, and the different status, needs and capacities of
individuals before, during and after armed conflict, are critical in order to ensure that
those who benefit from the protection of IHL are granted its protection without
discrimination. The inclusion of a gender perspective when applying IHL therefore
enhances the operational effects and strengthens the protection of individuals in times
of armed conflicts.
Giving attention to the importance of understanding the contextual setting of an armed
conflict, and on the positive outcome of the inclusion of information on gender and
other aspects of diversity when planning, performing and evaluating actions under the
law are part of the efforts taken to ensure compliance with the law. Important work
has already been undertaken in the field, in particular the study by the International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), ‘Women facing War’. However, this study and
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Report gender/IHL
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Hornsgatan 54, PO Box 17563, Sweden
much of the academic writings have focused on women and are not inclusive of all
genders.1
At the International Conference of Red Cross Red Crescent in 2011, Sweden and the
Swedish Red Cross pledged to promote and encourage work and studies to further
develop and understand a gender perspective on IHL (Pledge 1124). The pledge also
stated that the integration of a gender perspective is a necessity to reach all parts of
the population and to ensure sustainable response initiatives.
As a result, a joint working group was established in Sweden undertaking several
different studies to deepen the understanding of the importance of gender in the field
of IHL. Among the tasks undertaken, a field study on the protection of civilians in
armed conflict with IHL and a gender perspective as a starting point, was performed
in Uganda in 2014. The field study was the outcome of joint efforts of the Swedish
Government, Swedish Red Cross (SRC) and Ugandan Red Cross Society (URCS).
Uganda was chosen as a field study country for several reasons. One being the close
cooperation that the SRC and URCS have developed over time, including a bilateral
Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2013.
The Swedish Red Cross and the Ugandan Red Cross Society started work on the field
study in the spring of 2014. Support was also given by the International Committee of
the Red Cross (ICRC). The SRC and the ICRC have a strategic partnership that
specifically includes SRC working on IHL to strengthen movement response and
capacities. Beside the general support from the ICRC to the project, the ICRC assisted
early on in the field study with comments to the project Terms of Reference and also
provided practical support in the field.
Utilising a gender lens, the field study focused upon two main questions. First, to
what extent does the current IHL manage to address the most common humanitarian
effects that armed conflicts today cause for civilians? Second, to what extent are the
1
See also United Nations Women, Rehn, Elisabeth., Johnson Sirleaf, Ellen,. (2002) Women, War and
Peace - The Independent Expert’s Assessment on the Impact of Armed Conflict on Women and
Women’s Role in Peace building.
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obligations under the law in practice fulfilled in relation to all protected persons
without discrimination?
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1.1 Field Study in Uganda
This report is an account of the voices the research team had the privilege of listening
to while conducting the field study in Uganda. It is focused on the issues experienced
by the civilian population in the wake of the armed conflict in northern Uganda.
Although the voices recounted stories of grave humanitarian concerns, it is important
to acknowledge that under the brute circumstances of war solidarity, resilience,
compassion and friendship were undoubtedly also present. The concluding remarks
and recommendations from this study are entirely built upon these voices and
therefore do not attempt to establish a singular ‘truth’.
The armed conflict in northern Uganda
Uganda won independence from the British rule in 1962. Soon after independence,
violence and disruption spread in the country and since then a number of totalitarian
rulers have succeeded each other using military means. The civilian population has
suffered the consequences of decades of sectarian violence, where the armed
hostilities have moved from region to region in the country.
The conflict in focus for this field study was located in northern Uganda, also known
as Acholi land, where hostilities between warring parties have been ongoing from
1986. In 2006, a cease fire agreement was signed between the Lord’s Resistance
Army (LRA) and the Government of Uganda. Today, northern Uganda is progressing
towards peace and the humanitarian needs have decreased.2 The armed conflict was
perceived by informants to have a sectarian background where the northern region
was oppressed and discriminated against by the ruling powers and resistance towards
this resulted in armed conflict. The reasons for the continued conflict were many and
were not necessarily connected to the initial said cause. The major armed groups
active in the area have been the LRA and the government troops, Uganda People
Defence Force (UPDF). The LRA has not yet surrendered as its leader Joseph Kony
failed to sign the permanent cease-fire agreement in 2008 and is believed to be
currently operating outside of Uganda.
2
International Committee of the Red Cross (2013). Annual Report, p. 212.
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The interviews
In August 2014 a research team consisting of project manager and Elin Lilijenbladh
and project assistant Tatiana Melissa Zepeda, travelled to Uganda and stayed for one
month to conduct interviews in Kampala and the northern districts of Gulu, Kitgum
and Pader. These districts were chosen as they were the most affected by the conflict
and where humanitarian needs were the greatest. 3 For the interviews, the research
team met four categories of persons.4 These were; Red Cross volunteers that worked
during the armed conflict; national and international non-governmental organisations
(NGOs) working with civilians affected by armed conflict; government officials
working with legal conflict and post conflict issues; and first-hand informants, that is
civilians with personal experience of the armed conflict. 5 The research team did not
interview any persons who had directly participated in the hostilities. To gather
information as close as possible to the civilians under a short period of time and to
avoid the risks of re-traumatisation, the majority of the informants were NGO
representatives.
The research team attempted to gather an even representation of all genders and
requested for this in the contacts with interviewees. Importantly, the answers on the
issues civilian faced did not differ significantly depending on the self-identified
gender of the interviewee. Previous research indicated civilian women faced more
challenges during armed conflict making it relevant to speak to women in
particular. To accommodate the children’s and persons with disabilities perspectives
the research team interviewed representatives from NGOs working specifically with
children and land mine survivors. Further questions on children were included in all
interviews.
3
International Committee of the Red Cross (2005). Annual Report, p. 120.
These districts were deemed to be the worst affected during the conflict and in need of most
humanitarian aid. International Committee of the Red Cross (2005). Annual Report, p. 120.
5
The questions to the first hand informants were not related to personal experiences of violence but to
issues of a general character such as access to food and shelter.
4
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Interviews
NGO
Representatives
Government
Officials
First-hand
Informants
Red Cross
Volunteers
Total
Male
4
Female
9
Total
13
0
3
3
2
2
4
3
3
6
9
17
26
The interviewed NGOs and government officials were; URCS volunteers, senior legal
officers at the Ugandan Law Review Commission (ULRC), executive director for
Lemuel Community Based Initiatives Organisation also former prosecutor at the
International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), Project Officer of Legal Affairs
at Justice and Reconciliation Project (JRP), Chief Prosecutor for the Ugandan
International Crimes Division (ICD), executive director and founder for Uganda
Landmine Survivor’s Association (ULSA), project manager at Acholi Religious
Leaders Peace Initiative (ARLPI), program manager for Isis- Women’s International
Cross Cultural Exchange (ISIS-WICCE), director at Refugee Law Project (RLP),
project manager and volunteers for War Child Holland (WCH), GBV project officer
Laroo Peace Women Association (LAPEWA), and representatives of Greater North
Women Voices for Peace.
Methodology
The interviews were done using a semi-structured interview method.6 This method
was chosen to gain descriptive understandings of the indirect and direct consequences
6
This is a qualitative method, it allows researchers to gain access, uncover, and explore sensitive
information and experiences from informants that would otherwise be difficult to collect using more
standardized quantitative research methods. Qualitative research emphasizes the importance of
describing and comprehending the subjective meanings of the informant. Dawson, Dr. Catherine
(2009). Introductions to Research Methods: A Practical Guide for anyone undertaking a research
project, 4th ed, Spring Hill House, Oxford, United Kingdom. p.14.
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of the armed conflict. The interviews was based on a fixed set of questions in order to
facilitate comparison and cross reference. The interview schedules were settled in
dialogue with the URCS headquarters.
The context specific issues on gender in Uganda will be explained and developed
where it is relevant to the analysis. A gender sensitive analysis is essential in order to
reveal the perspectives and locations of women, men, boys and girls within the social,
economic, cultural and political structures.7
1.2 International Humanitarian Law
The field study in Uganda focused on the protection of civilians in armed conflict
from an IHL and gender perspective. This entails looking at the law, both in theory
and in practise, through a gendered lens. In other words, how is the protection IHL
offers affected by the different social, economic, cultural and political structures and
hierarchies within a given society?
IHL (sometimes referred to as the ‘Law of War’) is a set of rules that seek to limit the
effects of armed conflict. It protects people who are not or are no longer participating
in hostilities and restricts the means (weapons) and methods of warfare. In relation to
this field study the focus was on certain areas of IHL that related specifically to the
protection of civilians. Our interest was in understanding to what extent existing IHL
manages to address the most common humanitarian effects that armed conflicts today
cause for civilians, and to explore if men, women, boys and girls are given the same
protection under the law in practice. In the following some of the key components of
IHL with relevance to the field study are briefly described.
Core principles of international humanitarian law
IHL is based on treaties, in particular the Geneva Conventions and their Additional
Protocols, and a series of other conventions and protocols on specific topics. There is
7
In order to maintain consistency, we produced an interview schedule utilized in each interview. Openended questions provide broad parameters within which the participant may formulate responses in
their own words concerning questions of particular interest to the study. DeVault, Majorie. L. (1996).
‘Talking Back to Sociology: Distinctive Contributions of Feminist Methodology’, Annual Review of
Sociology, p.2, 32. Dawson, Catherine, (2009), p.29. McNeill, Patrick., Chapman, Steve (2005).
Research Methods, 3rd edition, Routledge, United Kingdom., p.57.
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also a substantial body of customary law that is binding on all States and parties to a
conflict. The substantive rules of IHL are built upon a set of core principles which are
also considered to be customary law and can be found in the 1949 Geneva
Conventions, it’s Additional Protocols and other instruments.

The principle of distinction prohibits targeting civilians or civilian objects.
The only legitimate objective during armed conflict is to weaken the military
capacities of the enemy.

The principle of proportionality means that the concrete and direct military
advantage of an attack must be proportionate to the risk to civilians and
civilian property.

The principle of precaution entails that the conflicting groups must choose
methods and means to reduce the risk of civilians and civilian objects.

The principle of non-discrimination requires that IHL must be applied in a
non-discriminatory way where someone cannot be treated less favourably on
grounds of race, religion, sex, creed and the like.8

The Martens-clause states that even if a specific situation in an armed conflict
is not regulated by international public law, the general demand of humanity
needs to be taken into account.
Special protection
While civilians are protected in IHL without discrimination, certain groups are singled
out for special protection. Examples of these are women and children, the elderly,
persons with disabilities and the infirm as well as medical, religious and humanitarian
relief personnel and journalists. Experience shows that women, children, the elderly,
and persons with disabilities are highly vulnerable during armed conflict, as well as
those who flee their homes and become internally displaced or refugees.9
8
This means that no adverse distinction can be made. All does not have to be treated exactly the same,
albeit equal, depending on the preconditions of the individual.
9
International Committee of the Red Cross, ‘Civilians protected under international humanitarian law’,
available at https://www.icrc.org/eng/war-and-law/protected-persons/civilians/overview-civiliansprotected.htm last accessed at October 15, 2014.
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IHL recognises that women face specific difficulties in armed conflict, such as sexual
violence, risks to their health and as nursing mothers.10
IDPs
Of specific interest for this report was the situation of internally displaced persons
(IDPs) in Uganda. There is no universal treaty specifically addressing the plight of
IDPs, but in 1998 the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement was presented to
the UN Commission on Human Rights, restating and compiling human rights and
humanitarian law relevant to internally displaced persons. While these Guiding
Principles do not constitute a binding instrument, they have received large support
from the international community. More recently, in 2009, the African Union adopted
the Kampala Convention on IDPs. This regional instrument is an important step
forward in the protection of and assistance to IDPs in one of the continent’s most
affected by displacement.
IHL contains some provisions concerning the prevention of displacement and the
protection of IDPs - mainly in Geneva Convention IV (GC IV) and Additional
Protocols I and II (AP I and AP II), as well as in customary international law.11
IDPs are of course provided a general protection from the hostilities under IHL as
civilians. Furthermore, the parties to a non-international armed conflict may not order
the displacement of the civilian population, in whole or in part, for reasons related to
the conflict, unless the security of the civilians involved or imperative military reasons
demand it.12 In case of displacement, all possible measures must be taken in order that
10
Geneva Conventions; Convention 1: Articles 3, 12, Convention Il: Articles 3, 12, Convention Ill:
Articles 3, 14, 16, 25/4, 29, 49, 88/2, 3, 97/4, 108/2, Convention IV: Articles 3, 14/1, 16, 17, 21, 22/1,
23/1, 27/2, 38/5, 5015, 76/4, 85/4, 89/5, 91/2, 97/4, 98/2, 119/2, 124/3, 127/3, 132/2. Additional
Protocols of 1977, Protocol I: 8a; ‘70/1; 75/1 and 5; 76, Protocol Il: 4/2,e; 5/2,a; 6/4. Compiled in Krill,
Françoise.,1989 ‘The Protection of Women in International Humanitarian Law, The International
Review of the Red Cross, No. 249, available at
https://www.icrc.org/eng/resources/documents/misc/57jmfj.html last accessed 2 October 2 2014.
11
See International Committee of the Red Cross, ICRC advisory service on international humanitarian
law, ‘Internally Displaced Persons and International Humanitarian Law’, available at
https://www.icrc.org/eng/assets/files/other/en-internally-displaced-persons.pdf last accessed at 18
October, 2014.
12
Customary rule of International Humanitarian Law, 129 b. View full list at
https://www.icrc.org/eng/resources/documents/misc/customary-law-rules-291008.htm
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the civilians concerned are received under satisfactory conditions of shelter, hygiene,
health, safety and nutrition and that members of the same family are not separated.
AP II art 4(3)(b) also requires that “all appropriate steps shall be taken to facilitate the
reunion of families temporarily separated”.
Effectiveness
In order for IHL to be effective, a range of efforts must be made by each party to the
conventions to implement the humanitarian law.13 All States have a clear obligation to
adopt and carry out measures implementing humanitarian law. These measures may
need to be taken by one or more government ministries, the legislature, the courts, the
armed forces, or other State bodies.
The term implementation covers all measures that must be taken to ensure that the
rules of IHL are fully respected. However, it is not sufficient merely to apply these
rules once fighting has begun but efforts must also be made in peacetime.
This includes measures to ensure that knowledge of the law is spread within both the
armed forces of a state, and to the general population. Holistic measures are necessary
to ensure that violations of humanitarian law are prevented and punished when they
do occur. 14 The issue of fighting impunity is important both to ensure future
compliance with IHL and for victims of breaches to find vindication.
2. Key-issues of Concern
The impacts of armed conflict upon the civilian population obtained in the field study
have been divided into five sections: IDP-camps; armed group violence; violence
among civilians, sexual violence and exploitation, and national implementation.
The division into these sections has been done to give a more comprehensible account
of the issues civilians faced, although they intersect and are interlinked both in causes
13
International Committee of the Red Cross, ‘National Implementation of IHL – legal fact scheet’
available at https://www.icrc.org/en/document/national-implementation-ihl-thematicdocumentation#.VN23tPmUfaA last accessed at 12 December 2014.
14
International Committee of the Red Cross, ‘National Implementation of IHL – legal fact scheet’
available at https://www.icrc.org/en/document/national-implementation-ihl-thematicdocumentation#.VN23tPmUfaA last accessed at 12 December 2014.
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and consequences. For example, the circumstances created by living in IDP-camps
such as lack of food, in turn, increased the risk of sexual exploitation. The sections
nevertheless present the main topics identified during the interviews with informants
and provides a foundation to discuss the gendered aspects of the armed conflict in the
field study in order to relate it to IHL.
The identified issues found in the sections on IDP-camps, armed group violence,
violence among civilians, and sexual violence and exploitation are today to a large
extent either partially or completely covered by IHL and/or human rights. Despite
this, the interviews disclosed information of humanitarian concern. Our interest was in
understanding to what extent this was a result of the law itself being insufficient or the
lack of proper implementation of the law, and to what extent gender played a part in
the identified vulnerabilities.15
Statements on events or facts in this report related to the conflict come from the
interviewed. In order to ensure confidentiality of the informants they are all
anonymised in this report.16 If statements are derived from other studies this will be
clearly stated. The concluding remarks and recommendations are derived from the
interviews, but are the words and reflections of the authors.
2.1 IDP-Camps
“Before coming into the IDP-camps the level of violence was low.
People were more social more hospitable, but when we came into the
IDP-camps the social fabrics were all broken down. Before we came
to the IDP-camps in the evening parents would sit by the fireplace
with their children and tell them stories. These stories are meant to
teach them […] but when we came to the IDP-camps […] what
children started learning was violence.”
15
The term vulnerable is used internationally to describe groups of persons more prone to be targeted
with violence. Thus the term does not adequately account for fact that these persons are not vulnerable
but in fact targeted. In this report exposed will be used as a synonym to vulnerable.
16
The identity of informants and their affiliation to NGOs is on confidential file with author.
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During the armed conflict in the north the government moved the majority of the
Acholi population to ‘protected villages’, or internally displaced people’s camps
(IDP-camps).17 The reason stated was to protect the civilian population from attacks
by the LRA. Several informants understood the actions of moving the population as
having lacked proper planning, leading to grave humanitarian implications for the
population.
Living conditions
When informants were asked to describe the general situation for the civilian
population during the armed conflict, they described life as alarming due to the many
uncertainties and insecurities within a single day, such as congestion, lack of food,
inadequate sanitation facilities, and different forms of violence. As expressed by one
informant, the IDP-camps were not conditioned for human beings to inhabit.
It was stated by all informants that the day to day work was done almost entirely by
women and girls, whereas men in general were said to be redundant, sitting around
the common areas in the camp consuming alcohol. Alcoholism amongst men and
some women was an issue in the camps as these individuals did not contribute to the
daily toils of camp life and were prone to be more violent.
Shelter
Upon reaching the IDP-camps it became the responsibility of civilians, as an
individual or a family, to fetch the necessary building materials outside the camps to
construct their homes.18 According to informants, the small grass thatched huts that
most persons lived in, measured roughly three meters by four meters and
accommodated anywhere from six to ten persons. 19 The huts were built in close
proximity and at times one hut catching fire, by accident or in attacks, could result in
17
Internally displaced persons (IDPs) have fled their homes but have not crossed an international
frontier.
18
Space was limited within the IDP-camps and so civilians had to construct much smaller huts than
those traditionally constructed in their homesteads. Others lived in tents that were very hot during the
day and very cold during the night.
19
Such persons within the home could include parents and their children, extended family and
orphaned children either once belonging to a relative or simply from within the camp.
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the burning of more than 150 households where people could lose their lives and/or
all belongings. 20 The elderly and persons with disabilities were aided by the
community in building their huts; although at the time of displacement a person living
with a disability was looked upon as a burden as they required more support than an
able-bodied person, an issue that has persisted in peace time.21 Most huts were poorly
constructed due to limited materials and space and so during the rainy seasons
problems arose as huts could easily collapse or flood, making movement difficult for
persons with disabilities.
Water, health and sanitation
Informants stated there was a lack of water in the IDP-camps, especially in the initial
stages of displacement. A first-hand informant thought the healthcare within the
camps to have been inadequate. According to Red Cross volunteers working with
sanitation and desensitisation on health issues, the congestion within the camps
together with poor sanitation resulted in the rife spreading of diseases, such as cholera
and malaria, diarrhoea, respiratory diseases, skin infections and dysentery.22
In the experience of a first-hand informant her children were not treated for malaria
and due to illness the informant lost one child in the camp. Malaria killed tens of
thousands of children yearly in Uganda, making the disease the primary cause of
death for minors.23
Located among the households and at peripheries of the camps, multiple families
shared more or less one latrine. Due to the scarcity of latrines and sanitation facilities,
human faeces would be scattered around the camp creating ideal conditions for
diseases to spread. According to personnel in the camps women and children were
particularly exposed to illnesses. Medical facilities and medication were lacking or
insufficient due to the intensity of the conflict: “even the health units a number of
20
According to the informants, huts could catch fire by an act of violence from the LRA or simply
from a kitchen fire. Huts were roughly one to two meters apart.
21
See Human Rights Watch, 2010, ‘As if We Weren’t Human – Discrimination and Violence against
Women with Disabilities in Northern Uganda’, New York.
22
This is supported by International Committee of the Red Cross (2005). Annual Report, p. 119.
23
International Committee of the Red Cross (2005). Annual Report, p. 121.
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them were not functioning the whole time […] they are open within a very specific
time […] because the medical personnel feared their own security.” Persons suffering
from curable diseases could at times only be offered pain killers and people with
chronic diseases, such as diabetes or high blood pressure, could not acquire
medication either because it was unavailable or economically unattainable.
Informants raised concerns of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) including HIV as
a growing problem for the civilian population where sexual abuse and exploitation,
particularly against young women in the IDP-camps, was pervasive. In regards to
treatment and medication of STIs, the lack of privacy when being tested and the lack
of participation by men in getting treatment exposed women to further health
complications.
Structure and security
In describing the structure of the IDP-camps, the majority of the informants stated the
government soldiers, UPDF, were located outside the camps in an effort to protect the
civilian population from attacks. Conversely two informants expressed government
soldiers were located within the centre of the camps and the civilian population served
as a shield against LRA attacks. Where UPDF soldiers were deployed around the
IDP-camps all informants expressed security in and around the camps to be
insufficient. The majority of the Acholi population, an estimated 1.5 to 1.9 million
persons, was displaced which resulted in many IDP-camps needing protection
followed by a shortage of deployed personnel. The camps were deemed so insecure
that children commuted long distances every night to sleep within the town centres.
Food
Informants stated that while residing in the IDP-camps the civilian population
depended wholly upon UN World Food Program (WPF). The distribution of food,
mainly maize, beans, posho and cooking oil, was deemed to be equal and fair to all
civilian as it was based on the number of household members, although inadequate in
quantity. The delivery of food could be delayed anywhere from one to several weeks.
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Therefore, some civilians kept small gardens outside of the camps as a food security
measure.24
According to the informants, the IDP-camps were not adequately equipped to sustain
the large populations living there resulting in civilians moving outside of the IDPcamps in search for food and water, firewood and other basic necessities. Prior to the
relocation to the IDP-camps, civilians provided for themselves and their families by
keeping animals and cultivating, weeding, and tending to gardens located near their
homesteads. However, once within the camps the movement of the civilian population
was restricted for security purposes. All the informants stated that women were
traditionally responsible for cooking for the families and tending to domestic tasks,
such as getting water and firewood. This resulted in women and girls moving more
frequently outside the camps and exposing them to attacks by armed groups,
landmines, and other forms of violence.
The general lack of food and limited access to water and firewood coupled with a one
sided diet resulted in people eating too little, and at times undercooked food, causing
malnutrition
and
illness
specifically amongst
children. Additionally,
most
organisations distributed food and non-food items to the women within a family as
they were deemed to be a more reliable receiver. However, according to informants,
this caused conflicts within the families as the men thought themselves entitled
receivers of such items. Persons with disabilities and child headed families were given
some larger rations as they could not acquire food from elsewhere. Informants have
unilaterally stated that the conditions within the camps were below “satisfactory
conditions”.25
Children and education
All informants stated that in the early stages of displacement schools were not in place
for the children, and once established the education that took place was inadequate.
24
Delays were often due to road conditions and their inaccessibility as well as general security issues.
Rottensteiner, Christa (1999). ‘The Denial of Humanitarian Assistance as a Crime under
International Law’, International Review of the Red Cross, Volume 81, Issue 835, pp 555-582.
25
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There was a general lack of facilities, teachers, and scholastic materials. At a single
time one teacher could be responsible for 200–400 children of different ages.26
As the displacement of civilians lasted for several years, the lack of child education
emerged as an important human rights issue. In contrast a first-hand informant stated
her children could attend school during the whole period of the insurgency, as she was
living in town and not in the camps.
Forced or harmful labour
When asked if forced child labour was present in the IDP-camps, many informants
could not fully state whether the work being done by children was indeed forced or
just harmful.
“Some children were doing forced labour, not because they were forced by
their parents but because of the living conditions. Sometimes you get that
your mother was amputated, your father perhaps died and the only eldest
person in the family is 15 years and you have to toil for the benefit of the
others.”
In contrast, one informant stated parents would send their children into towns to work
in brick making to acquire some money. It was said employers preferred to hire
children in order to pay them less. It was stated children did not move outside of the
IDP camp as much as women or men. A first-hand informant said she would leave her
children in the camp as the gardens were unsafe. Yet, in an attempt to protect children
from abductions in the gardens, the children who remained alone within the camps
were exposed to violence and risks, such as abduction or rape. According to one
informant, children living with disabilities would often be exploited by individuals
under the disguise of charity in order to obtain money.
26
Informants stated that even when children attended school they were often inattentive. Two reasons
given were: the child was hungry and therefore could not concentrate and the education provided was
mainly for primary students. Additionally the lack of scholastic materials discouraged children from
attending.
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2.2 Armed Group Violence Against Civilians
Violence against civilians in northern Uganda has been pervasive and civilians have
often been the direct target for warring parties. A report from 2001 had 93% of its
male respondents and 86% of its female respondents reporting they suffered some
type of torture. It further suggested that women were subjected to more severe types
torture by armed groups.27 In the following, an account for some of the most common
forms of violence that civilian men, women, boys and girls faced by the warring
parties will be given in short to demonstrate the impact of violence.
The informants spoke only of violence from the LRA and the UPDF, although there
have been other smaller armed groups operating in the area during the time from
1986. Some of the violence from the warring parties was specific to one of the armed
groups.
Lord’s Resistance Army
From the armed groups, civilians stated that they were the most fearful of the LRA.
The violence the LRA inflicted on the civilians was in short: burning of huts, looting
of property including food and cattle, killings, maiming, abductions of women, men,
boys and girls into the bush, forced labour, systematic rapes of women and girls,
torture, forced recruitment of adults and children as soldiers, forced marriage and
forced pregnancies of adults and children, as well as coercion to kill family members
or others.
According to informants, women, girls and boys were more prone for abductions.
As adult men were believed harder to indoctrinate, male adults were more often killed
rather than abducted. Abducted persons were forced to carry heavy loads of looted
goods for long distances. Abducted women and girls were allocated to LRA soldiers
as ‘wives’ meaning they would be forced to do domestic and agricultural work and
have a sexual relationship with the outspoken aim of producing children. Some of the
27
In the study ‘torture’ by other civilians were not included. Isis-WICCE (2001). Medical
Interventional Study of War Affected Gulu District, Uganda, p. 27, 35.
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women and girls were also carrying arms.28 There was no available healthcare within
the LRA camps and studies suggest persons abducted by the LRA experienced
significantly higher levels of violence than other civilians.29
Informants stated they knew of more women and girls being maimed by the LRA
when moving outside the camps into the gardens than men. The maiming was said to
be done both for revenge and a way to stall and keep civilians from reporting to the
UPDF the whereabouts of the LRA.
Uganda People’s Defence Force
Human Rights Watch claim to have documented serious abuses by the UPDF.
In addition, the ICRC also conducted regular visits to IDP-camps in Acholi land and
documented allegations of IHL violations by government soldiers and conveyed its
concerns to the UPDF regarding the alleged abuses.30 The incidences of violence from
the government forces have been reported by our informants to have occurred both in
and outside of IDP-camps. Before and after moving the population, the UPDF was
said to have engaged in violence against civilians by looting, or at times slashing
civilian gardens. The reason was said to have been both for the UPDF’s own
consumption and to keep these things from falling into the hands of the LRA or other
armed groups.
Several informants stated civilians moving outside the IDP-camps after the stipulated
curfew or near the military barracks would be suspected, actual or ostensible, of
collaborating with the LRA and faced possible arrest, detention, beatings, torture, or
28
Turshen, Meredeth, ‘The Political Economy of Violence Against Women During Armed Conflict in
Uganda’, (2000), Social Research: An International Quarterly, Volume 67, No. 3, pp. 803-824. Annan,
Jeannie., Brier, Moriah (2010). ‘The risk of Return – Intimate Partner violence in the Northern
Uganda’, Social science and medicine, Vol. 70, pp. 152-159.
29
Annan et al. (2010). pp. 152-159.
30
International Committee of the Red Cross (2005). Annual Report, p. 122. Human Rights Watch,
‘What is known about Ugandan army abuses?’ available at http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/03/21/qajoseph-kony-and-lords-resistance-army#4 last accessed at18 October, 2014.
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killings by the UPDF. 31 Other instances of torture have been recorded by local
organisations, such as the Justice and Reconciliation Project (JRP). Mentioned
incidences made civilians fearful of the UPDF soldiers. Non-sexualised brutalisation
faced by civilians moving outside and within the camps affected men and women,
boys and girls, whereas sexualised violence mainly affected women and girls,
according to informants.
Violence resulting in disabilities
Due to the division of work between women and men, informants stated that
landmines especially affected women and girls as they were strategically placed in
homesteads, near water sources or in firewood storages. An informant working with
land mine survivors recounted the following story.
“The rebels came at night and raided the village near to their home. So the
father he had goats decided that chances are they [rebels] are going to come
back. So he took his goats deep in the bush and tied them, so that in case the
rebels come they would not steal his goats.
Now unknown to them [the family], the rebels were actually nearer where
he took the goats. So while they [the family] were in the bush they
temporarily abandoned their home. The rebels came in that home and they
remove the ash in the fireplace and they put a mine there and covered it.
So in the morning the family would come back from where they had hidden
to check the homesteads. The husband said ‘okay let me go and bring the
goats back.’ When he went to get the goats the rebels had already
discovered the goats and taken them away, but they had left one goat, and
where they had left that goat there was a mine. So he decided okay let me
untied this goat so he was blown into pieces including the goat. The family
found him and they could not distinguish which was the flesh of the father
and the goat. So they just carried all the meat. The hairy parts they would be
put aside assuming it were a goat part and then they buried [the father].
Now the mother, the mourners have gathered. In the process of trying to
make fire to prepare something and [she] unearth the mine. She was also
blown into pieces the same day.”
It was explained that in traditional thinking a person who had been injured by a
landmine was thought to be ill-omened or to have done something wrong in the past
and so the resulting injury was a consequence of any such action. As the omen was
31
The detention of civilians without trial is suggested to have been widespread, Human Rights Watch
(2005). ‘Uprooted and forgotten – Impunity and human rights abuses in northern Uganda’. Vol 17, No.
12(A), p.8. The stipulated curfews were described by the informants as arbitrary.
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thought to be transmittable to others, persons injured by landmines became socially
isolated as a consequence of their injury. In general, men who were injured by
landmines did not face the same social isolation as women, but continued to be
eligible for marriage and a social life primarily due to their legal and customary right
to own land.
Violence, children and youth
Armed conflict exposes children to a number of specific issues as children and youth
are primarily dependent on adults for their security and survival. They are regarded as
easier targets of violence and exploitation from warring parties and the experience and
consequences they face are specific to the group.
In northern Uganda the youth were considered to be one of the most targeted groups
by attacks from the LRA. Boys were abducted and indoctrinated to join the LRA and
girls were abducted, used for sexual slavery and forced labour. The following quote
gives an account of the circumstances children faced;
“Children started seeing abductions of other children to the bush. Our
children were seeing, rebels coming burning huts, burning houses, shooting
people with a gun. Then, from the road these vehicles are blown up by
landmines, by grenades, by bombs. This is violence that we did not see
before coming to the camps.”
2.3 Violence Among Civilians
In this report, violence among civilians refers to physical, emotional/psychological,
sexual violence or neglect, coercion and discrimination including harassment between
civilians that has a direct or indirect link to the armed conflict.32 This also includes
exacerbated discrimination that has its foundation in the culture and socioeconomic
structures and attitudes prevalent in the society of northern Uganda. One example of
the latter is women not being eligible to inherit land, leaving them landless and
32
The definition is linked to the International Federation of the Red Cross (2011). Strategy Report on
Violence Prevention, Mitigation and Response 2011-2020.
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without means to support themselves when their husbands or fathers either die, are
killed, disappear, abandon or disown them.
Intimate partner violence
When asked about violence among civilians the informants immediately related it to
intimate partner violence, where women and girls were subjected to violence from a
male partner. The issue of women being violent towards men was deemed to be
marginal. The issue of parents and other adults being violent towards children and
youth, as well as neighbours quarrelling, were acknowledged as minor issues.
Intimate partner violence was explained as an outcome of men’s disempowerment and
considered to be “normal”. Several informants mentioned that prior to the conflict
men were the traditional breadwinners. However, during the insurgency both food and
non-food items were channelled through women and as a result tensions between men
and women around resources exacerbated the feeling of disempowerment amongst
men.
“[…] the communities were mainly surviving on relief food from
World Food Program so men were not providing the traditional role
[…] being the head of the family and providing. And in a way
women assumed those roles. […] Men felt disempowered and you
find those shift in gender roles […] So mainly you find the man will
end up being angry in terms of dealing with the situation and wants
to prove he’s a man he ends up beating the wife.”
Studies suggest the issue of alcohol abuse in relation to intimate partner violence is
tightly linked that and alcohol abuse increased during the conflict.33 According to a
first-hand informant this was an issue mainly between spouses. It was said some men
would sell the food provided by WFP and utilize the money to buy alcohol which led
to some men beating women. It was stated by all informants that the absolute majority
of men abused alcohol and remained redundant in the camps, whereas it was
uncommon for women to behave in the same manner.34
33
Annan et al. (2010). pp. 152-159.
It was explained women did not have the time to drink as they were busy fending for the family.
34
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“[…] He wake early in the morning he go in a drinking place comes
back asking for food not leaving you with anything to cook or money
to buy for food […] If you are a woman you say, ‘no today there is
no food because you left me without money’, that automatically he
may beat you.”
In connection to armed conflict, the issues of intimate partner violence tend to
increase and the effects remain in the aftermath of armed conflicts. A study on the
prevalence and predictors of partner violence against women in the aftermath of war
amongst couples in northern Uganda indicated that on-going partner violence is
associated with conflict exposure where 52% of women in IDP-camps in northern
Uganda experienced physical partner violence compared to 15% in the peaceful
south-western part of Uganda. 35 According to informants, violence against women
continues to be perpetrated by local people, including men, who have “learned the
lifestyle” of the LRA;
“Somehow they adopt the same pattern. These are the civilians who
suffered and civilians they now turn and the women bear the brunt of
it really and children. […] you go to the north men are doing nothing.
Women are doing everything all the work everything [they] struggle,
[and] on top of that you are beaten you’re abused […] intimate
partner violence leading to the death the woman actually ends up
dying, or a child is killed.”
Further, intimate partner violence has been linked to women’s efforts to exercise
choice over sex in their relationships. The levels of violence were chronically high
and that IDPs confronted numerous challenges to their safety, most of which are
rooted directly in the wider context of armed conflict and displacement. This is further
supported by other studies where male partners were said to be the most common
35
This study considers both physical and sexual violence as well as emotional, economical abuse as and
strategic social isolation of persons returning to their communities after living in IDP-camps. The study
found that 86 % of the women survivors of at least one abusive behaviour experience where 71 %
reported physical abuse, 23 % of rape or attempted rape and 52 % experienced isolation. Saile, Regina.,
Neuner, Frank., Ertl, Verena., Cantani, Claudia (2013). ‘Prevalence and predictors of partner violence
against women in the aftermath of war: A survey among couples in Northern Uganda’, Social Science
& Medicine, No. 86, pp. 17-25.
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perpetrator of SGBV.36 One study suggests that two thirds of rapes were by intimate
partners and about five percent by civilian strangers. 37 (Section 2.4 on Sexual
Violence and Exploitation further highlights this issue)
Theft
It was also reported that crime within the camps rose due to the lack of food and other
basic necessities; “people started to steal from each other […] there’s very little so if
there’s little you try to get from someone else.” This was a source of quarrels amongst
civilians, which according to informants, did not end in physical violence.
Youth and children
The social disintegration resulting from the frustration over the conditions in which
civilians lived coupled with violence from armed groups and the overall insecurity led
some children and youth to face violence, including sexual violence, both from other
children and adults. According to one informant, children or youth who had more war
experiences were said to exercise more violence and simple misunderstandings in
families or amongst peers could result in death. All informants stated some young
men and boys used sexual violence against young women and girls. This was often
attributed to the brutalization and sexual violence that youth and children witnessed.
Girls were not deemed to exercise violence against other girls or boys to the same
degree with the explanation that they were occupied with domestic tasks.
2.4 Sexual Violence and Exploitation
Sexual violence has been pervasive in the conflict of northern Uganda with long term
implications for survivors. The perpetrators of this violence are found within all
sections of society: both armed groups and civilians, in the IDP-camps, in the
36
Akumu, Christine Okot, Amony, Isabella., Otim, Gerald (2005). Suffering in Silence – A Study of
Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) In Pabbo Camp, Gulu District, Northern Uganda., p. 6.
Annan et al. (2010), p. 152-159.
37
Porter, Holly E. (2013). After Rape Justice and Social Harmony in Northern Uganda. The London
School of Economics and Political Science, London, p. 92
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homesteads and the cities. Although the consequences vary for each survivor, there
are some patterns to be acknowledged.
Sexual violence against men
The absolute majority of informants stated men and boys were not subjected to sexual
violence. Yet, a few informants stated sexual violence against men was perpetuated as
a tactic of war resulting in issues of social marginalization and stigmatisation.
For example, male survivors of sexual violence were said to face spousal
abandonment; “The men will say I don’t want to be with a prostitute and the women
will say I don’t want to be with a homosexual […] in terms of self-harm very high
levels of suicide amongst men.” A silent culture surrounding sexual violence in
Uganda generally inhibits men from disclosing their experiences and seeking medical,
as well as psychological support for fear of being regarded as weak or less of a ‘man’.
Sexual violence against women
According to a number of informants and supported by a previous study, women and
girls were at a greater risk of sexual violence than men and most commonly in the
form of rape.38 Throughout the interviews the perception of women being raped was
said to be different than that of men. Informants stated that the targeting of women for
sexual violence exacerbated women’s vulnerability because of the social and cultural
ideologies related to women’s “cleanliness” and virtue. Perpetrators were identified as
being both from the warring parties and civilian men. A study indicated the
prevalence of sexual gender based violence was pervasive where 60% of women
raped were by an intimate partner. 39 Studies suggest that the physical and mental
consequences of sexual violence were grave and long lasting, impairing women’s
ability to work. The limited access to healthcare exacerbated the effects of sexual
violence denying survivors dignity and disempowering them from participating in
their communities.40
38
Okello, Moses Chrispus., Hovil, Lucy (2007). ‘Confronting the Reality of Gender-based Violence in
Northern Uganda.’, The International Journal of Transitional Justice, Vol. 1, pp. 433–443.
39
Porter (2013). p. 92f.
40
Isis-WICCE (2010). ‘Raising Hope – Reclaiming Lives in Lira District A Report’, Kampala., p. 3, 7.
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Informants stated returning women with children from the LRA faced stigma because
of the notion that the children were ‘bush children’ and the mothers ‘LRA prostitutes’.
Children are viewed as belonging to the man’s family. Widows, women disowned by
their husbands or families, and former abductees with children cannot inherit or
access land, since in customary law land can only be owned and inherited by men.
This was described by one informant as “[a] death sentence in our communities.”
A study put forward women returning from abduction needed to remarry fast to secure
an income and a respected place in the community, otherwise they would face further
abuse. 41 The informants also expressed that civilian men took advantage of the
difficult social situation the returning women faced.
Sexual violence against children and youth
No informants knew of boys being sexually abused during the armed conflict, and no
one knew of boys being raped by women or men. It was expressed that younger men
would be “lured” into sexual relationships by older women, providing them with basic
necessities such as food, non-food items or money. This was not considered rape but
rather exploitation, although not as prostitution. The interviews provided no
information on women sexually abusing girls or women.
Child marriages and child pregnancies were said to be major issues during the armed
conflict.42 Girls in child headed households would marry at a young age and become
pregnant with children they could not sustain. If a young girl’s family was alive, child
marriages increased as the family could obtain a dowry, a sort of gift or
compensation, for their daughter and as a result provide for the family.43 Girls who
night commuted to town centres for fear of their safety were said to often be targeted
with sexual violence by civilian men.
41
Annan et al. (2010). p. 152-159.
It was stated that some parents gave their daughters away in early marriage so the girl would not get
misled and the family miss out on the dowry. Additionally it was said some parents exchanged their
daughters for extra food supplies.
43
Girls are particularly susceptible to forced marriage globally in armed conflict. Committee on the
Elimination of Discrimination against Women, (2013), General Recommendation no. 30 on women in
conflict prevention, conflict and post conflict situations, New York., p. 17.
42
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More women and girls than men and boys are HIV positive in Uganda.44 During the
conflict, children whose HIV status was known were sometimes discriminated and
isolated by both their peers and teachers, resulting in the children dropping out of
school. According to most informants, school attendance for girls began to decrease
when they reached puberty due to the stigmatisation surrounding menstruation and
early pregnancies. For example, the lack of or limited access to menstruation pads for
girls resulted in peers and teachers bullying them. One informant shared that girls
were sexually harassed by teachers, and regrettably parents and other teachers would
blame the girls. Three informants, one working as a headmistress and the others as
teachers, shared that in general girls and young women had less education than boys
and young men due to the mentioned issues.45
Child mothers were at times disowned and chased from home, while others were
denied support for school fees. An option for young mothers was to move into towns,
where they often became involved in prostitution which further exposed them to risks
of violence and exploitation. It was also expressed that children who were born out of
rape struggled due to the mere fact that they could not claim their paternal lineage,
irrespective of if the rapist was a soldier or a civilian.
Sexual violence against women with disabilities
In regards to persons with disabilities, either as result of the conflict or for other
reasons, informants stated women were particularly vulnerable to sexual violence.
An informant explained that at the time of displacement, women and girls with
disabilities who were left behind could later be discovered to be pregnant. According
to the informant, it was difficult to know which armed group or other person was
sexually abusing the women. It was stated that women with disabilities were not
exchanging sex for basic necessities, but rather relying on assistance from
44
Uganda Bureau of Statistics (publ.) Uganda Demographic and Health Survey 2011, Kampala,
August 2012.
45
It was also expressed that young girls dropped out in order to help support the members of the family
and tend to the domestic chores of the home.
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organizations.. Conversely, another informant stated women with disabilities were
taken advantage of by able-bodied men.
Sexual exploitation
This section explores sexual exploitation, sex in exchange for basic goods or money.46
According to a first-hand informant, the military barracks within her IDP-camp were
known as a place where young women and girls exchanged sex for food, money or
other necessities. Further, it was stated that UPDF soldiers as well as some civilian
men would demand sex in exchange for food, shelter and protection. 47 It was also
noted by an informant that local people distributing WFP food would at times demand
money from men and sex from women. Based on the interviews women were not
known to buy sex, and men were not known to buy sex from boys or men.
Reporting abuse
The Ugandan legal framework does not recognise men as victims of rape. One
informant also stated social services could not properly respond to male survivors, and
that these two factors combined prevented men and boys from disclosing, reporting,
and seeking assistance. The stigma of being raped, the social pressure and continued
violations of one’s dignity during investigation and trial may deter women and men
from pressing charges. In addition to coping with damaged community structures,
interviewees noted that survivors face a lack of support services in the aftermath of
sexual violence. The camps provided inadequate access to healthcare, psycho-social
and legal services. Up to date, mechanisms for reporting incidents remain insufficient
or, at worst, unavailable. Additionally, families tend to blame survivors in an attempt
to preserve “family honour” or as a result of the security concerns and stigma
associated with gender based violence. 48 In a social climate as this, there is little
reason to disclose sexual abuse or seek help for medical issues arising from the
violence and thereby granting the offenders impunity.
46
The term sexual exploitation is chosen as the civilian girls and women offering sex did so out of need
and got food and limited amounts of money to sustain themselves. Thus, it is an issue of outright
exploitation rather than voluntary prostitution.
47
Akumu et al. (2005).
48
Okello et al. (2007). pp. 433.
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Sexual and reproductive health
At the initial stages within the IDP-camps, it was stated that contraceptives were not
available. The distribution of condoms was said to have come at a later stage of
displacement. It was stated that the use of contraceptives was understood culturally as
potentially inhibiting a woman from producing a healthy child later on. Further, the
use of condoms was rendered immoral and promiscuous. The issue of lack of
information on STIs and lack of contraceptives and condoms was a pressing issue
during the camp days as the social issues arising developed into more complicated
matters as a result of congestion. STIs, unwanted pregnancies and sexual violence
occurred to a higher extent during this time making it important to have methods of
protection against unwanted pregnancies and information on testing for STIs and
medication.
Contraceptive pills were not available for girls or women, rendering them unable to
control pregnancies. Further, abortions are illegal in Uganda. All informants knew of
girls and women dying from clandestine abortions or complications during delivery.
Informants univocally stated that girls and young women known to have been
sexually abused were stigmatized by the community and by their families.
2.5 National Implementation of IHL and Accountability
This study is not directed at exploring ways of accountability through criminal law
and it does not take a stance on the alleged breaches against IHL, but looks at how
IHL can be strengthened and implemented from a gender perspective in order to
ensure equal protection for all genders during armed conflict. The following section
on the Ugandan national implementation of IHL is meant to illustrate how the specific
national context impacted IHL and how structural issues relating to gender can
impede the realisation of accountability for grave breaches against IHL.
National implementation of the Geneva Conventions and the Additional protocols
Uganda is in legal terms a dualistic state, meaning that besides accession and
ratification legal instruments must also be implemented into national legislation.
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The 1949 Geneva Conventions were domesticated in 1964 in Uganda through the
Geneva Conventions Act. The Additional Protocols were signed and ratified in 1991
but have not yet been domesticated. The Geneva Conventions as such are applicable
to international armed conflicts and common article three to both international and
non-international armed conflicts. The Ugandan Geneva Conventions Act prescribes
penalties for grave breaches in article 147, fourth Geneva Convention on protection of
civilians.49 This provision is not applicable to non-international armed conflicts and
common article three is not connected to any penalty in national law and thus cannot
be used in a criminal trial.50
Practical and procedural issues on accountability for grave breaches
Interviewees expressed that domestic courts could not effectively address the crimes
committed during the conflict due to several issues. First, IHL specific penal
legislation was not applicable to non-international armed conflicts. Second, there was
a lack of procedural legislation, including witness protection and a general lack of
knowledge within the judiciary on IHL. Third, the state courts cannot award
reparations in a criminal case and the expenses for a civil proceeding for damages are
high. These factors especially impact women as they are generally poorer and less
educated than men. In addition, the practical difficulties in investigations of crimes
committed during the conflict were considered major obstacles to accountability.
Amnesty Act 2000
49
There have been critiques against that rape and other forms of sexual violence as they are not
mentioned explicitly as a grave breach against the 1949 Geneva Conventions as it appears to give it a
lesser status within the strict hierarchy of war crimes. Herrmann, Irène., Palmieri, Daniel (2010).
‘Between Amazons and Sabines: a historical approach to women and war, International Review of the
Red Cross, Volume 92, Issue 877, p. 35.
50
Uganda has domesticated the Rome Statute in International Criminal Court Act of 2010; the act can
only be used in Uganda for crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes committed
after 25th of June 2010 making it obsolete for the conflict in northern Uganda. So far, only one
commander from the LRA have been indicted for grave breaches in Uganda, Thomas Kwoyelo, and
that is based on the fourth Geneva Convention and other penal legislation including murder and
kidnapping. It is debated within Uganda if the conflict was international or non-international and hence
if the Geneva Conventions Act can be used at all for the atrocities committed in the north. Thomas
Kwoyelo has applied for amnesty in accordance to the Amnesty Act. See also International Committee
of the Red Cross, Advisory services on international humanitarian law, ‘Obligations in terms of penal
repression’, available at https://www.icrc.org/en/document/obligations-terms-penal-repressionfactsheet#.VJFgnlIVvIU accessed at 12 November 2014
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Another factor impacting the relevance of IHL was the Uganda Amnesty Act from
2000. This law is a blanket provision, meaning that persons of all ranks responsible
for any atrocity may be granted amnesty 51
“(I)t doesn’t make sense if first somebody violated my rights and then the
government forgives that person on my behalf it just doesn’t. I guess [that
is] why the Geneva Conventions advocate for amnesty it’s looking at the
amnesty […] crimes against states […] and not these crimes against
civilians, per say.”
The majority of persons engaged in armed conflict from the LRA have already
benefitted from amnesty, including high commanders. Many of the former male and a
few female LRA soldiers have been incorporated into the regular armed forces where
they can earn a salary. Informants have stated that this has been regarded as unfair to
the victims of the armed conflict as they cannot get compensation while the
perpetrators are being employed by the government. Further, this means that there are
very few perpetrators left that can be tried from the LRA. All informants who stated
that the rationale for bringing about the amnesty to create peace was well intended
were also critical towards the act being in force for far too long and that it was
blanket. Informants were unified in that the issue of grave breaches against civilians
should have never been amnestied, which was also the stance that the NGO Women’s
Voices of the Greater North held during the Juba peace talks.
The peacetime legislation was also critiqued by interviewees, as the legislation on
sexual violence is deeply problematic. For one, the standard of evidence required to
prove a rape case stems from antiquated thinking creating many ‘loopholes’ for
perpetrators, further it does not recognise men as being potential victims of rape.
“There’s been this notion that, well say rape that kind of thing is, you know
the norm during war so there’s no reason to report. So you don’t have that
evidence that is expected in say within our national set up. For instance
you’re sexually molested you immediately run to a police station to report
you won’t have a medical report.”
51
Amnesty Act, 2000, available at https://www.icrc.org/applic/ihl/ihlnat.nsf/0/7d2430f8f3cc16b6c125767e00493668/$FILE/Ugandan+Amnesty+Act+2000.pdf last
accessed at 24 September 24, 2014
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One informant stated men have access to platforms to complain about the type of
violence they faced during the conflict, whilst survivors of sexual violence, which are
mainly women and girls, do not. The informants stated that justice could be sought
through other means, such as the traditional justice system, truth and reconciliation
talks, compensation for damages, or official apologies. However, the traditional
justice system provisions and rituals are based on gender inequality as they do not
allow women to speak or address the specific violence they faced during the armed
conflict. The transitional justice mechanisms which are introduced into the generally
unequal, patriarchal and heteronormative societies have serious implications for the
extent to which all survivors of violence can have their human rights fulfilled,
promoted and protected in a post conflict setting.52 The issue of the comprehensive
implementation of IHL (including procedural requirements), with these issues in
mind, is of vital importance to bring accountability for grave breaches.
3. Gendered Themes in the Study Findings
Globally, a number of recent conflicts are characterized by a blatant disrespect for
fundamental rules of IHL and human rights. Today, most conflicts are complex and
protracted non-international armed conflicts. The tolls on civilians in these conflicts
are high and have long term and cascading effects. We have also witnessed conflicts
in which civilians are deliberately targeted. This scenario was very much the evident
in northern Uganda. Today, the effects and remnants of war continue to impact the
lives of civilians.
Against the backdrop of the former conflict in Uganda, this reports deals with two
questions from a gender perspective. First, to what extent does the current IHL
manage to address the most common humanitarian effects that armed conflicts today
cause for civilians? Second, to what extent are the obligations under the law in
practice fulfilled in relation to all protected persons without discrimination?
52
Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (2011). Concept note, General
Discussion on the Protection of Women’s Human Rights in Conflict and Post-conflict Contexts, New
York., p. 19.
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Through the field study in Uganda some gendered themes impacting protection under
IHL became clear. Such as how gendered perceptions of human beings impact the
protection civilians are to be granted under IHL. The other is the fact that IHL lacks
detailed regulations for IDP-camps and for violence among civilians during armed
conflict. Below we analyse and discuss these themes, and explore what measures
within IHL can be taken to address these issues.
3.1 A Gendered Perception of Human Beings – Fulfilment of
Obligations Without Discrimination?
Historically men have had higher death rates in armed conflicts, partly due to armed
groups mainly having consisted of men, but also as a consequence of deliberate
targeting of men and boys by armed groups. Examples such as the gendered massacre
in 1995 of boys and men in Srebrenica, Bosnia, highlights how the gendered
perception of human beings diminish the protection IHL is to afford. Gender based
violence is inflicted upon men and boys because of normative perceptions of
masculinity. Most importantly in the Ugandan context, the perceptions of men and
boys being fighters and therefore legitimate targets of violence from armed groups
notwithstanding their protected status as civilians. Boys are especially susceptible to
this violence which also violates their rights as children. Gender stereotyping
routinely denies persons their individuality.53
This gendered perception of men is also present in cases of humanitarian evacuation
of civilians, which often focuses on only evacuating women and children. This was
for example the case in the humanitarian evacuations in Homs, Syria in 2014.
The gendered perception of human beings, where boys and men are categorised as
soldiers and women as procreators, care takers and domestic workers was in general
decisive in what type of violence and coercion civilians would face as abductees in
Uganda. Men were claimed to be killed more often or used as porters and boys
forcefully recruited as soldiers, whereas women were more likely to be mutilated or
53
See Isis-WICCE (2001). This local NGO report from 2001 claims there was an absence of men was
due to deaths, abductions, emigration and departure for military service.
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kept for forced labour, and sexual slavery. In general, during the conflict women and
girls were more likely to face sexual violence than men and boys.
Another example of armed group violence having gendered effects is the deliberate
placement of mines where civilians could encounter them in their day-to-day activities
in their homesteads, such as in the fire pits and firewood stacks. As the division of
labour was gendered, civilian girls and women would be injured or killed by the
premeditated locations of the landmines more commonly than men and boys.
Gendered themes in relation to risks and vulnerabilities during the conflict were also
found beyond the risks of direct attacks from fighting parties to the conflict.
The inadequate amount of necessary items such as food, water, or clothes was given
as reasons for why women and girls exchanged sex in return for such items.
Interviewees stated that had such items been provided in adequate amounts this
practice would not have taken place. The inadequate access to humanitarian relief thus
made women more vulnerable to abuse, resulted in unwanted pregnancies and STIs as
well as social stigma. Soldiers and civilian men took advantage of the state of
emergency women and girls found themselves in. According to informants, the
women and girls most commonly exchanging sex for supplies were girls from child
headed households, single mothers and persons isolated from the community.
This is supported by other sources stating that the practice of sexual exploitation of
women is common in armed conflicts due to poverty specifically affecting the most
vulnerable women.54 Further, the issue of not being provided with firewood together
with the inadequate amount of food and the one sided diet and the gendered division
of labour led women to seek food outside of the IDP-camps, resulting in further
exposure of armed group violence.
All these illustrations taken out of their context could be said to be nothing but
examples. However, taken together they tell with a clear voice the story of how the
gendered perception of human beings decisively impacts the situation of the civilian
54
CEDAW (2013). p. 14.
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men and women respectively during the armed conflict in Uganda. The differences in
status, needs and capacities that stem from this gendered perception must be analysed
and addressed when planning, performing and evaluating actions under IHL.
Otherwise there is a great risk that the protection provided is not equal to all protected
persons, but instead influenced by gendered and often discriminatory perceptions.
3.2 Civilians in IDP-camps
The accounts of the conditions for the civilian population in the protracted
displacement in the IDP-camps of northern Uganda highlight some clear humanitarian
concerns. The Ugandan government’s motivation for the forced moving of the Acholi
population into the camps was to better ensure their safety. Despite this, and despite
that the Government of Uganda was responsible to take all possible measures to attain
satisfactory conditions of shelter, hygiene, health, safety and nutrition in accordance
with IHL, the conditions in the camps raise serious humanitarian and security
concerns.
Despite the rudimentary provisions for IDPs in IHL (for example the responsibility to
ensure access for humanitarian relief and relief personnel), interviewees stated
security was not ensured for the humanitarian relief of food and non-food items and
that it arrived at irregular intervals. Also, medical personnel found it impossible to
stay within the camps for longer periods, signalling that IHL was not fulfilled in this
respect.
Security concerns for women and children within IDP-camps were repeatedly raised
by the interviewees, and the risk of sexual violence from both armed groups and
civilians was a predominant feature in their stories. The conditions of the IDP-camps
in Uganda were stated by all informants to be unsatisfactory in relation to quantity
and quality of food, basic standards of hygiene and security. Furthermore, the death
rate from curable diseases in the IDP-camps was pervasive. 55 Informants working
55
International Committee of the Red Cross (2005). Annual report, p. 120, It has been suggested by
Human Rights Watch to be higher than deaths with direct links to the armed conflict, ‘How many
people have been affected by the long war with LRA?’ available at
http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/03/21/qa-joseph-kony-and-lords-resistance-army#4
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with health and sanitation declared women and children suffered to a higher extent
from these diseases, both due to the design of latrines and from taking care of the sick,
resulting in women contracting those contagious diseases.
Gendered concerns in IDP-camps also stemmed from the fact that women, in addition
to their traditional tasks, also assumed the full responsibility for the survival of the
family. This was partly related to the absence of men.56 However, despite the presence
of men in the Ugandan context women assumed this responsibility as many men
neglected to contribute to the family’s survival. As the only available work in the
camps was labelled as ‘feminine’, men in general did not contribute to the work in
order to keep intact a sense of manhood. This gendered division of labour led to a
higher exposure of violence for women. In addition, as men in IDP-camps no longer
fulfilled their role as providers, the lack of gender appropriate work led to redundancy
and many men instead consumed alcohol. The often mentioned issue of men selling
food or firewood to buy alcohol made women to be the more reliable party to address
relief to, as many agencies did. Informants stated that this damaged the selfperception of men as the head of the family and was much of the cause of intimate
partner violence as men tried to assert their self-entitled supremacy over women.57
Gendered themes in the vulnerabilities, needs and risk faced by civilians in IDPcamps were abundant and consistent.
In relation to all of these issues stemming from violence among civilians within the
camps, it is interesting to look at the regulations on detainees in IHL. Women and
men should be kept in different spaces when they are detained and women should
only be guarded by other women, this is stated in both treaty law and customary law.
The reason is that it is acknowledged that men specifically target women with
violence. Despite this, women and men are allowed to be together if they are family,
restated in the customary rule 131 on IDP-camps. From the interviews it was evident
56
International Committee of the Red Cross (1999). Violence against women, 55th Annual Session
of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, Agenda item 12-13, Statement by the ICRC.
57
Furthermore, a study found the non-addressed and changed gender relations stemming from the
conditions during the conflict might be a possible future conflict driver in northern Uganda. See
Advisory Consortium on Conflict Sensitivity (2013). p. 36.
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that women faced heightened incidences of violence from men within their family and
the displaced community during armed conflict, possibly higher than from armed
groups. The IHL deals with the ‘family’ as a good entity worth keeping together, as
noble a thought that might be, it must be analysed from a security perspective. Studies
suggest that two thirds of the sexual violence women faced was from a civilian
perpetrator, and over 50 % of women had suffered physical abuse from partners in
IDP-camps. In the light of this, how can the removal of women and girls into
‘protected villages’ be deemed a security measure? Perhaps IHL should impose a
clear responsibility to the warring party displacing civilians to protect them from all
sorts of violence, including violence from within the family and community.
Some of the most pressing humanitarian concerns found in IDP-camps are not
comprehensively regulated within IHL. Instead, fragmented regulation is found within
IHL, human rights and national legislation. Steps within the international community
to regulate key issues of concerns have been done through the UN Guiding Principles
on Internal Displacement which is a non-binding document, and through the regional
Kampala Convention. 58 However, there seems to be both room and need for more
detailed IHL provisions regulating the protection and rights of civilian IDPs.
3.3 Violence Among Civilians in an Armed Conflict Setting
One feature of the conflict in northern Uganda was the pervasive prevalence of
intimate partner violence both during and after the conflict, stated by informants and
supported by studies. 59 Men were deemed to face intimate partner violence to a
minimal degree in comparison to women. One study also suggested that for 60% of
the women raped during the conflict the perpetrator was the husband/boyfriend. 60
58
African Union, African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced
Persons in Africa, (Kampala Convention). UN Economic and Social Council, Guiding Principles on
Internal Displacement, 22 July 1998, E/CN.4/1998/53/Add.2. See also UN General Assembly,
Resolution 58/177 on Protection of and Assistance to Internally Displaced Persons, 12 March 2004,
(A/RES/58/177).
59
Annan et al. (2010). pp. 152-159.
60
Porter, (2013). p.92
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The heightened level of violence against women has been shown globally to persist
even after cessation of hostilities and often increases in the post conflict setting.61
Informants stated that women and girls were much more prone than men and boys to
be subjected to sexual violence from all groups of men; civilians, armed groups and
others in position of power. In general sexual violence in armed conflicts
disproportionately affects women and girls.62 During the interviews it was noticed that
the civilian men interviewed emphasized sexual violence against women from
members of armed groups and downplayed the issue of violence amongst civilians.
In contrast, women underlined the violence from civilian men as an issue within the
camps.
Moreover, the common consequences of violence and sexualised violence from the
armed conflict are a vast range of long term and cascading physical and psychological
effects. These consequences include increased risk of HIV infection and other STIs,
stigmatisation, risk of unwanted pregnancy, disownment by families and communities
and landlessness. The issue of landlessness was described by one informant as “[a]
death sentence in our communities.” These consequences also have deeply varying
impact on men, women, boys and girls respectively.
For example, in Uganda the issue of sexualised violence is considered a personal
matter that one should not discuss in public, whether a man or a woman.
One informant explained that the reasons why women did not speak about these issues
was as a result of men actively silencing them and women’s lack of empowerment.
Further, male rape is not recognized within the Ugandan legal system although it was
deemed to have occurred during the armed conflict by armed groups. During the
interviews, the stigma surrounding male rape often times related to femininity or
homosexuality, as one informant put it ‘he will make you into a woman’. The stigma
around female rape is instead related to the survivor being ‘unclean’ or promiscuous.
Thus, the notion of rape, whether the survivor is male or female, is framed within the
61
Violence against women is high throughout Uganda in present time. See Uganda Bureau of Statistics
(2013), Statistical Abstract 2013. CEDAW (2013). p. 9.
62
UN General Assembly, Security Council, Sixty-sixth session, prevention of armed conflict, report of
the secretary general, (A/66/657*-S/2012/33). p. 3.
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realm of femininity where men should not be feminine and women should be but in
the ‘proper’ way. The perceptions of gender provides for a foundation of
discrimination and stigmatisation, whilst not taking into account that the sexual acts
were coerced.
Aggravating factors in relation to sexual violence is the widespread impunity enjoyed
by perpetrators of sexualised violence no matter if the survivor is a man or a woman.63
The paths to accountability for these crimes are hindered by a multitude of factors in
Uganda, one being that laws are written in a discriminatory manner exacerbated by
discriminatory social, economic, cultural and political structures.
Further exacerbating these issues are customs such as bride price and wife
inheritance.64 These traditions positions women as belonging to the husband’s family,
as well as the children she produces, albeit she is not eligible for inheritance of land or
property. When a person is perceived as acquired or inherited property, they are
understood as a disposable commodity with little to no value and therefore
replaceable. These institutionalised practices legitimize discrimination and violence.65
This was reiterated in the interviews as making the issue of marital rape being
tolerated and even condoned as a husbands ‘right’ to ‘his’ wife.66 Further, other types
of violence to lecture the wife were culturally and socially tolerated to a certain
extent. Resistance in the form of attempting to flee a violent relationship could have
negative consequences socially. Several informants stated that men whose wives
abandoned them were entitled to collect the dowry from their wife’s family.
63
CEDAW (2011). See for instance the UN Security Council Resolution 1674 (S/RES/1674) (2006) on
Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, and Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action adopted at
the Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995 with “women and armed conflict” as one of the
critical areas of concern http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/beijing/platform/. See also ICC, Office
of the prosecutor, Policy paper on Sexual and Gender-Based Crimes, June 2014, http://www.icccpi.int/iccdocs/otp/OTP-Policy-Paper-on-Sexual-and-Gender-Based-Crimes--June-2014.pdf
64
Bride price is a gift or compensation that a man gives to the woman’s family when marrying her. If
she does not fulfill her obligations as a wife he has the right to demand the bride price back from the
wife’s family. Wife inheritance means that a widow will be inherited as a wife by the late husband’s
brothers.
65
United Nations Human Rights Council (2011). Report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against
women, its causes and consequences, Rashida Manjoo, (HRC/17/26), p.12.
66
This is supported by a study in Pabbo camp suggesting that marital rape was not violence, see
Akumu et al., (2005), p. 7.
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As a result, women would be left landless and without rights to her children. This type
of gender ideology that allows for physical control is a form of structural violence,
therefore structural and interpersonal violence exists and reinforces one another
simultaneously and is exacerbated in times of armed conflict.67
In general, violence among civilians is linked to structural discrimination of women in
social, economic, cultural and political spheres. This discrimination leads to unequal
access to education, higher illiteracy rates for women, unequal access to income,
unequal access to property, poor reproductive health care, exclusion from decisionmaking processes, and male-dominated leadership structures.68 It is undisputed that
inequality and discrimination, including intersecting forms of discrimination, causes
violence against women.69 As such, poverty and issues of discrimination enforce one
another, exacerbating the vulnerable situation during armed conflict.
Issues of inequality and discrimination were prevalent in many situations. For
example, the existing health services were neither accessible nor adequate to respond
to the needs of abused women, girls or men. Women had no access to contraceptive
pills or abortions with scarce availability to reproductive healthcare. Abortion is
illegal in Uganda, further inhibiting the choices of women and especially placing girls
in danger of injuries or deaths. The absence of healthcare also results in preventable
deaths in relation to maternal mortality.70
Armed conflict can further aggravate the already existing discrimination in peacetime
for other vulnerable groups such as persons with disabilities and HIV positive
persons.71 This has most certainly been the case in Uganda. The consequences faced
by women land mine survivors were grave as they were no longer seen fit to perform
67
United Nations Human Rights Council (A/HRC/17/26), p.12.
The structural discrimination is not unique to Uganda but is a global issue for equality exacerbated in
and in the aftermath of armed conflict. CEDAW (2013). p.17. CEDAW (2011).The literacy rate for
women was 64,4% and 82,6% for men in 2012 Utrikespolitiska Institutet, available at
http://www.landguiden.se/Lander/Afrika/Uganda/Utbildning last accessed at 2014 February 25.
69
United Nations Human Rights Council (A/HRC/17/26), p.11.
70
United Nations Human Rights Council (A/HRC/17/26), p.17.
71
International Committee of the Red Cross (1999). Violence against women, 55th Annual Session
of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, Agenda item 12-13, Statement by the ICRC.
68
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the gendered roles of wives and mothers, resulting in abuse or spousal abandonment.
As such, this example illustrates both the diverting effects on women and men due to
placement of landmines and the ascribed roles of women and men in society. It
demonstrates how women are valued as workers and procreators, an issue exacerbated
as they cannot own land. The issue of disfigurement and common beliefs that mine
survivors were bad omens also affected women more than men. These multiple
problems experienced demands a multi-faceted response and a commitment to
implementing substantive equality in all areas of society. 72 The violence and
brutalization of armed conflict can influence behaviour in civilians through
experiences, definitions and meanings of manhood and womanhood, which can
create, maintain or exacerbate existing inequalities. Violence against women has been
described as a global epidemic and is further complicated when considering multiple
and intersecting forms of discrimination, such as HIV positive status, age,
displacement and functionality.73
The structures of inequality and division between the gendered roles that women and
men could assume are both a cause and an exacerbating factor in the hardships
especially damaging women and girls. The issues mentioned above stem from ideas of
gender which are socially constructed. As such, many of the issues faced by civilians
should not be understood as having its foundation in the armed conflict but in the
already existing societal inequalities, which took new and exacerbated forms in the
wake of war. To address these issues it is imperative to understand that gender based
violence is not dependent solely of the conflict but is constantly changing in intensity
and form.74
Armed conflict causes a general rise in violence among civilians. The link between
the two is acknowledged and strong. IHL is a set of rules that seek to limit the effects
of armed conflict. However, IHL takes a narrow perspective on what these effects are
and which effects it is intended to address and mitigate. The effects are in general
limited to those caused by bullets or bombs – i.e. those by armed groups causing
72
CEDAW (2013). p. 7.
United Nations Human Rights Council (A/HRC/17/26). p.1.
74
UN Secretary-General (A/66/657*–S/2012/33).
73
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immediate physical damage to buildings and bodies. These are certainly true and
painful consequences of war, but so are the more indirect and long-term consequences
of war. Yet, IHL is focused on the former, not the latter. Given the shift in armed
conflict during the almost 40 years that have passed since the adoption of the two
Additional Protocols to the Geneva Conventions the question could be raised to which
extent current IHL manages to address some of the most common humanitarian
consequences of armed conflict. The pain and horror endured by civilians in armed
conflict today is not only, or even primarily, caused by violence from armed groups. It
is also from violence among civilians and from the insecurity that internal
displacement causes and it is strongly linked to structural inequality and
discrimination of women. Conceivably, IHL must respond to these consequences in
order to stay true to its humanitarian quest to limit the effects of armed conflict.
Women and girls experiences of armed conflict have been pushed into the periphery
and in some regards, also in the periphery of IHL.
4. Concluding Remarks
From the themes addressed above it is clear that it is difficult, or even impossible, to
provide the prescribed non-discriminatory protection of IHL in practice without first
understanding how gender inequalities and gender stereotypes influence the situation
of individuals in a conflict setting. An understanding of the social, cultural, political
and economic structures and how status, needs and capacities differ due to gender is
essential in the application of IHL. Without collecting, assessing and using
information such compliance with IHL will not be adequate or effective, and as a
consequence the protection provided will not be equal to all. A gender neutral
legislation, as IHL is to a large extent, in an unequal setting is likely to have an
unequal effect. 75 If so, the law does not protect all civilians equally due to their
positions within society. The discussion on “adverse distinction” needs to be
commented; positive discrimination would be allowed, and even required, under
specific circumstances e.g. when treating wounded and sick.
75
A feminist critique against the system of formal equality within IHL are expected to deliver
substantively unequal outcomes due to the fundamentally diverse ways which armed conflict impacts
women and men, Herrmann and Palmieri (2010). p. 34.
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The above discussed themes have also highlighted that IHL does not comprehensively
address all of the most common humanitarian effects of armed conflict experienced
by civilians – the situation for civilians in IDP-camps and the consequences of
violence among civilians.
Violence among civilians is not adequately regulated within IHL. This is today seen as
a concern for human rights and national legislation. Violence among civilians,
including sexual and gender based violence, primarily affect women and girls and is
identified as one of our main humanitarian challenges. 76 The issues of violence
amongst the civilian population are to a large extent the same types of violence found
in peacetime, but at exacerbated levels (i.e. intimate partner violence, sexual violence
and exploitation from armed groups and civilian men). These heightened levels of
violence in armed conflict often remains in post-conflict settings with a risk of general
normalization, as has been the case in northern Uganda according to informants.77 The
negative consequences, both long term and short term, also have a foundation in the
discriminatory social, economic, cultural and political and legal structures. In these
structures women and girls more often than boys and men suffer negative
consequences. However, it is important to recognise the stereotypical male roles and
functions also create vulnerabilities and risks for men and boys.
The theoretical division in IHL between direct and indirect consequences of armed
conflict leads to violence between civilians being seen as indirect consequences of
armed conflict, hence not always within the realm of IHL. Despite the link between
violence among civilians and armed conflict being immediate and strong, core
humanitarian concerns during armed conflict affecting women in particular are not
addressed by IHL. The reasoning behind this can be questioned from a humanitarian
perspective.
In the same light of reasoning, this report has also contrasted the lack of detailed and
specific regulations of IDP-camps against the regulation on detention and prisoners of
war. It has illustrated that many of the negative effects stemming from the situation in
76
77
International Federation of the Red Cross (2011). Strategy Report.
CEDAW (2011). p. 18.
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the IDP-camps could be avoided or mitigated if an IHL treaty was to be developed.
Gendered themes in the vulnerabilities, needs and risk faced by civilians in IDPcamps were abundant and consistent, primarily with negative effects for women and
children. This report raises the question if it would not be meaningful to explore ways
for IHL to address these issues.
Recommendations
As it is the object and purpose of the International Humanitarian Law to broadly
protect civilians from harm four recommendations have been developed based on the
field study findings and concluding remarks.
Recommendation 1: To provide equal protection, information on and assessments of
the status, needs and capacities of men and women respectively must be considered in
planning, performing and evaluating fulfilment of obligations under IHL.
Recommendation 2: The discriminatory norms and structures of society that
maintain gender inequality must be acknowledged, addressed and eradicated in order
to ensure full protection of all civilians during armed conflict.
Recommendation 3: To encourage further studies in relation to possibly developing
an international binding convention on the responsibilities for the safety and humane
living conditions for internally displaced persons.
Recommendation 4: To further enhance the protection of civilians from violence
among civilians within the context of non-international armed conflicts in general,
and IDP-camps in particular.
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5. Bibliography
Literature
Dawson, Dr. Catherine (2009). Introductions to Research Methods: A Practical Guide
for anyone undertaking a research project, 4th ed, Spring Hill House, Oxford, United
Kingdom.
McNeill, Patrick., Chapman, Steve (2005). Research Methods, 3rd edition, Routledge,
United Kingdom.
Porter, Holly E. ( 2013). After Rape Justice and Social Harmony in Northern Uganda.
PhD thesis. London: The London School of Economics and Political Science.
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