Ebony and ivory: Restorative Justice and the ICC orchestrated in pursuit of sustainable peace for Uganda

Abstract

The conflict in Uganda is one of the biggest humanitarian issues of our time due the campaigns of terror imposed by the rebels and the army itself against the Ugandan population, including killings, torture, maiming, displacement of civilians, destruction of their houses, kidnapping of children, rape and looting of crops and animals. It is estimated that thousands of Ugandans have died because of the conflict and nearly two million are refugees in the last twenty years. The solutions proposed to address this serious problem - the granting of amnesty and prosecution by the ICC - are insufficient. They might promise justice, but they do not ensure peace, which permeates sensitive issues such as the reintegration of combatants and the restoration of life in society. The use of a local restorative practice - the “mato oput” - would be effective for this purpose as well as to solve other structural problems underlying the conflict in order to prevent a return to violence, respecting the historical, social and cultural peculiarities in the country. The association of traditional methods of dispute resolution such as ICC with a traditional way to do it will balance the needs of accountability and conflict resolution with justice and peace to Uganda.