In Uganda, the period between 1986 and 2008 was marred by violent attacks perpetrated by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) on the people of Northern Uganda, resulting in the internal displacement of approximately 1.8 million people into IDP camps. Described as Uganda’s largest displacement crisis, it came to an end in 2008 following the signing of a ceasefire agreement between the government of Uganda and the LRA rebel group. However, in subsequent years the country witnessed a number of new displacement events. While only very limited assistance and protection was afforded to the affected populations, these events were also underreported by the media and poorly documented by the government. As a result, reliable and updated data on internal displacement in Uganda since 2008 is scarce. By providing a thorough review of key displacement events that occurred in the country during the period between 2008 and 2020, this paper therefore seeks to bridge a critical information gap.
Beginning with a brief historic overview of the issue of internal displacement in Uganda, the paper demonstrates the multifactorial character of the issue as conflict-induced, disaster-induced and development-induced. Additionally, it further points to the fact that political violence may have become an increasingly significant driver of internal displacement in the country. Accordingly, it underscores both the importance and the absence of reliable disaggregated data on internal displacement in the country. Hence, highlighting that the issue remains a reality in Uganda, the paper argues that the government has failed to provide sufficient assistance to IDPs in order to achieve durable solutions, despite earlier promising and progressive efforts in addressing internal displacement caused by the LRA wars in Northern Uganda. It thus emphasizes the need for more research and data on post-LRA internal displacement events in the country, particularly on development-induced displacement and urban IDPs, and accordingly makes a few recommendations in this regard.
Noah Ssempijja is a young researcher from Uganda. He is an MA graduate in Refugee Protection and Forced Migration Studies from the University of London. Currently, he is working with Opportunity International as a Consortium Lead for the Refugee Financial Inclusion Program in Uganda. Besides working with Opportunity, Noah is a Rotary International Peace Fellow, working on a research paper exploring the role of positive peace in promoting peaceful co-existence between refugees and host communities. His research interests are at the intersection of forced displacement and local integration.
This paper was written by the author during his Summer Fellowship on Internal Displacement at the Internal Displacement Research Programme (IDRP) at the Refugee Law Initiative. The Fellowship was supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, on behalf of the UKRI Global Challenge Research Fund, as part of the funded project “Interdisciplinary Network on Internal Displacement, Conflict and Protection” (AH/T005351/1).
