Violence, Reconciliation and Identity

This report analyzes the abduction and reintegration of child soldiers in Northern Uganda, specifically those forced into the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). It details the extreme violence and sexual exploitation faced by children, the role of psychosocial centres in Gulu, and the use of traditional Acholi cleansing rituals to facilitate reconciliation. The authors argue that the focus on child soldiers often masks deeper political and economic marginalization of the Acholi people by the Ugandan government.

• The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) utilized child abduction as a strategic tool to bolster its ranks and terrorize the Acholi community. By the end of 2000, it is estimated that over 15,500 children were abducted, with fewer than 6,000 escaping or being liberated.
• Abducted girls in the LRA faced systematic sexual violence and exploitation. A report by the UN Secretary General indicated that at least 85% of girls arriving at the Gulu trauma centre had contracted sexually transmitted diseases during their captivity.
• The LRA is characterized as a warlord-led militia rather than a political insurgency. It lacks a coherent political agenda, instead relying on the charisma of Joseph Kony and a spiritual ideology based on the biblical Ten Commandments to maintain control through fear and brutalization.
• Psychosocial rehabilitation centres, such as GUSCO and World Vision in Gulu, provide critical support for returnees. These centres focus on re-establishing normative routines, providing counselling to reduce nightmares, and offering skills training to facilitate economic independence.
• The Acholi community employs traditional spiritual rituals to reintegrate former abductees and cleanse them of 'bad cen' (evil spirits). These include 'the breaking of eggs' to mark the return to the family and 'yubo kom' (cleansing the body) facilitated by a local healer (adjoc).
• Reintegration is complicated by the total collapse of social and economic infrastructure in Northern Uganda. Most of the population is internally displaced in IDP camps, and traditional agricultural practices have been destroyed, leaving returnees to reintegrate into a 'socially bankrupt' environment.
• The Ugandan government's 'Operation Iron Fist' failed to rescue abducted children and instead led to increased civilian casualties. The UPDF has been accused of killing children during combat, justifying it by claiming the children had been 'militarised' and 'indoctrinated'.
• The authors suggest that the international and local focus on the tragedy of child soldiers may be used as a 'smokescreen' to avoid addressing the political disenfranchisement and economic under-development of the Acholi region.

APA

Veale, A., & Stavrou, A. (n.d.). Violence, Reconciliation and Identity. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/Mono92.pdf

Chicago

Veale, Angela, and Aki Stavrou. Violence, Reconciliation and Identity. Institute for Security Studies, n.d. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/Mono92.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Veale |first1=Angela |last2=Stavrou |first2=Aki |title=Violence, Reconciliation and Identity |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/Mono92.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{vealendviolence, author = {Veale, Angela and Stavrou, Aki}, title = {{Violence, Reconciliation and Identity}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/Mono92.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }