The level of brutality and violence against children abducted and forcefully
conscripted by the Lord¿s Resistance Army (LRA) in northern Uganda
pricked the conscience of humanity. The suffering of the people in northern
Uganda was described by Jan Egeland, the former United Nations Under-
Secretary for Humanitarian Affairs, as ¿the biggest forgotten humanitarian
crisis in the world¿. This study is primarily concerned with the plight of child
soldiers in northern Uganda and how their effective reintegration and
rehabilitation (RR) could lead to successful peacebuilding. The study is
premised on the hypothesis that ¿the promotion of the RR of former child
soldiers by providing psychosocial support based on traditional and
indigenous resources may contribute to conditions of peace and stability in
northern Uganda.¿
The main contribution of this research is that it explores the relevance of
psychosocial support based on the traditional and indigenous resources to the
RR of child soldiers and peacebuilding of war-torn societies. Psychosocial
support based on traditional and indigenous resources as an element of
peacebuilding has been the neglected element of peacebuilding by the liberal
peacebuilding interventions in most war-torn societies. For example, while
traditional and indigenous resources in northern Uganda have been
instrumental in the RR of former child soldiers, most scholars and policy
makers have largely paid attention to the usual official government and
United Nations structured top-down interventions that emphasize Western
approaches of peacebuilding. More so, the official approaches have tended to
marginalize the plight of former child soldiers in the reconstruction and
peacebuilding of northern Uganda. Yet, failing to pay sufficient attention to
effective RR of child soldiers could undermine the peace dividends already
achieved in northern Uganda.
The study also analyses the limitations of psychosocial support based on
traditional and indigenous resources in the RR of former child soldiers. It
further examines why Western approaches of psychosocial support in the RR
of child soldiers have remained in use in spite of the criticisms levelled
against them. The study examines other peacebuilding interventions, both
official and unofficial, that have been implemented in northern Uganda.
In terms of key findings, the study establishes that traditional and indigenous
resources are still popular and have been widely used in northern Uganda in
the RR of child soldiers. Majority of former child soldiers who were
interviewed observed that they found traditional and indigenous resources
more helpful than the Western models of psychosocial support. However, it
was also established that there is a significant section of former child soldiers
who found Western models more relevant in their RR processes. Based on
these findings, the study recommends an integrative and holistic model of
psychosocial support that blends good elements from both traditional and
indigenous resources and Western approaches with greater emphasis on the
former. / Advocates Coalition for Development and Environment (ACODE)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BRADFORD/oai:bradscholars.brad.ac.uk:10454/5284 |
| Date | January 2010 |
| Creators | Bainomugisha, Arthur |
| Contributors | Francis, David J. |
| Publisher | University of Bradford, Department of Peace Studies |
| Source Sets | Bradford Scholars |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis, doctoral, PhD |
| Rights | <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" style="border-width:0" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc-nd/3.0/88x31.png" /></a><br />The University of Bradford theses are licenced under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Licence</a>. |
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