Key
developments since May 2000: Landmine Monitor has continued to receive
disturbing reports that indicate a strong possibility of use of antipersonnel
mines by Ugandan forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo in June 2000.
Landmine Monitor believes that these serious and credible allegations merit the
urgent attention of States Parties, who should consult with the Ugandan
government and other relevant actors in order to seek clarification, establish
the facts, and resolve these questions regarding compliance with the Mine Ban
Treaty. The Ugandan government denies that it used antipersonnel mines in the
DRC.
There continue to be new mine casualties in northern Uganda. The Mines
Advisory Group completed the first assessment of the mine situation in Uganda in
May 2001.
Uganda signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 3 December
1997 and ratified it on 25 February 1999. The treaty entered into force for
Uganda on 1 August 1999. A Foreign Ministry official said that national
legislation has not been enacted yet due to bureaucratic
delays.[1] Apparently, an
implementation law has been drafted and distributed to relevant
departments.[2]
Uganda did not
participate in the Second Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty in
Geneva in September 2000, nor the meetings of the intersessional Standing
Committees in December 2000. It did, however, participate in the Standing
Committee meetings in May 2001. It also attended both the Horn of Africa/Gulf
of Aden conference on landmines in Djibouti in November 2000 and the Bamako,
Mali Seminar on Universalization and Implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty in
Africa held in February 2001. Uganda voted in favor of the November 2000 UN
General Assembly resolution in support of the Mine Ban Treaty.
Uganda has not
submitted its initial Article 7 transparency report that was due on 28 January
2000 or the annual update due on 30 April 2001. A Ugandan representative said
in May 2001 that the Article 7 report was in the last stages of preparation, and
should be ready in two or three
months.[3]
While Uganda is a
party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons, it has not ratified Amended
Protocol II. Uganda did not attend the Second Annual Conference of States
Parties to Amended Protocol II in December 2000 in Geneva.
Production
Landmine Monitor has received new allegations
regarding on-going production of antipersonnel mines in Uganda at the
government-owned National Enterprise Corporation (NEC) factory at Nakasongora.
Four sources, including three Ugandan military personnel, independently told
Landmine Monitor that production of antipersonnel mines
continues.[4] However, Landmine
Monitor is not in a position to confirm or deny these allegations. An
independent inspection of the facility has not been made.
Last year’s
Landmine Monitor Report 2000 noted a November 1999 report from the US
State Department stating: “Uganda claims it stopped production of
landmines in 1995, but reports persist that the factory still produces them and
provides them to consumers in the Central Africa/Great Lakes
region.”[5] A Ugandan
official dismissed this US report as
unsubstantiated.[6]
In the
past, Ugandan officials told Landmine Monitor that Uganda stopped production of
antipersonnel mines at the NEC in 1995, and converted the production line into
production of dry cell
batteries.[7] According to a UPDF
Major, the factory had produced two types of antipersonnel mines, the PMD-6 and
a plastic mine.[8]
When asked
about the new allegations regarding production, Captain Kagoro A. Asingura of
the UPDF (serving as the Ugandan representative at the Mine Ban Treaty
intersessional meetings in Geneva), said that the factory had never produced
antipersonnel mines, noting that he had been to the factory himself. He said
that plans to produce mines collapsed due to insufficient funding, and the plant
can only produce bullets and refurbish
guns.[9]
Stockpiling and Transfer
In the past, military officials told Landmine
Monitor that a large quantity of antipersonnel mines and unexploded ordnance had
been gathered from different army units around the country and transferred to
Jinja Army Depot for storage pending
destruction.[10] In January 2000,
it was reported that an unidentified Ugandan official said that there are 50,000
antipersonnel mines stockpiled and that their destruction has
begun.[11]
In May 2001,
Captain Asingura of the UPDF told Landmine Monitor that stockpiles of
antipersonnel mines were inherited from the governments in power prior to the
National Resistance Army in 1986. He indicated that stocks were held in two
locations, Gulu and Masindi barracks, and that all those kept at Gulu had been
destroyed. He said some of the mines at Masindi were slated for destruction,
but had to be done in an environmentally correct method. He said that the IGME
(Inspector General of Military Equipment) had a small stockpile of antipersonnel
mines for training
purposes.[12]
Uganda’s
Article 7 report, which was due on 28 January 2000, should have the first
detailed information on Ugandan stockpiles and destruction plans.
Use
Landmine Monitor Report 2000 cited serious
allegations that Ugandan forces had used antipersonnel mines during the fighting
around Kisangani in the Democratic Republic of Congo in June
2000.[13] Since that time, aid
workers in Kisangani and a UN assessment mission have confirmed the presence of
large numbers of mines and unexploded ordnance (UXO). In July 2000, a United
Nations official in Kisangani told Landmine Monitor that Uganda and Rwanda had
both used mines in the fighting over
Kisangani.[14] The RCD rebels
claimed that Ugandan and Rwandan troops left more than 4,000 landmines in the
town, and stated that they found most of the mines close to a former Ugandan
army base on the road to Bangoka
airport.[15]
Uganda denied
these allegations at the time of the release of the report. Uganda
People’s Defense Forces Army Commander, Major-General Jeje Odongo, said,
“That report [Landmine Monitor Report 2000] is not substantial. How
can you make such statements without doing sufficient research? The army has
never used antipersonnel mines in the Congo
war.”[16]
More recently,
on 8 May 2001, Captain Asingura, the Ugandan representative at the Mine Ban
Treaty intersessional meetings in Geneva, told Landmine Monitor that the UPDF
had not used antipersonnel mines in the DRC at any time. He indicated that mine
use was not part of Army doctrine or training, that Army engineers only knew how
to clear mines, and that UPDF forces in the DRC did not have any stocks of
antipersonnel mines.[17]
However, Captain Asingura also said that very few in the military, even high
ranking officers, were aware of the Mine Ban Treaty or Uganda’s
obligations. He said that given the shifting relations between formerly allied
forces from Uganda, Rwanda, and the rebel RCD, it was very difficult to
determine who had used mines in Kisangani. When asked by Landmine Monitor if it
were possible that Ugandan troops in Kisangani, unaware of the prohibition on
use of antipersonnel mines, could have helped to lay mines (provided perhaps by
rebels or Rwanda), he acknowledged that such a thing could occur, but stressed
that it would be contrary to government policy.
Captain Asingura said that
no specific investigation or inquiry into possible use of antipersonnel mines by
Ugandan forces had been carried out, although a general investigation of the
battle had been conducted, which resulted in the commander being withdrawn for
mismanagement of the
situation.[18]
Since
publication of last year’s report, Landmine Monitor has continued to
receive disturbing information regarding Ugandan use of antipersonnel mines in
the DRC in mid-2000. A United Nations assessment mission in August 2000 tasked
with assessing the damage to the civilian population of the fighting between
Uganda and Rwanda in Kisangani in June 2000 reported that: “Landmines and
unexploded ordnance are still a major impediment to the return of displaced
people to their homes and to the resumption of daily life in the city. Mines
were laid in strategic locations to prevent the advance of troops and to protect
retreating forces. Around 18 mines were placed on the Tshopo bridge, the major
link in the city. Reports indicated that some mines were laid after the
ceasefire.”[19]
Many
different sources reported to Landmine Monitor use of antipersonnel mines by
Ugandan forces around military camps and airports, in particular in Kisangani,
Beni, and Buta in June 2000.[20]These sources include demobilized Ugandan soldiers, non-governmental
humanitarian aid workers, medical professionals caring for mine victims, World
Food Program staff, RCD rebel officers, and people in local communities.
Notably, the area surrounding a former Ugandan military camp located 13
kilometers from Kisangani in an area called “La Forestière”
was extensively mined. At least seven mine accidents have been reported in the
area surrounding the camp. Landmine Monitor has been told the mines were laid in
a classic defensive pattern by Ugandan
forces.[21]
In its February
2001 human rights report on Uganda for the year 2000, the US State Department
said, “There were allegations of human rights violations during fighting
between UPDF and Rwandan army troops in Kisangani, DRC, in May and June, which
resulted in hundreds of civilian deaths.... There were reports that
both Ugandan and Rwandan forces used landmines during the fighting in
Kisangani.... Verification of these reports was extremely difficult,
particularly those emanating from remote areas and those affected by active
combat, primarily in eastern
DRC.” [22]
The
International Committee of the Red Cross launched an emergency information
campaign on local radio in Kisangani following the fighting between Ugandan and
Rwandan forces to inform civilians returning home of the dangers posed by mines
and UXO laid by parties to the conflict. The national army cleared mines and
UXO with the logistical support of the ICRC.
While Landmine Monitor has not
received any eyewitness accounts or direct admissions by those who actually used
the mines, the testimony of a significant number and range of knowledgeable
sources, coupled with practical evidence such as the location of the mines
around defensive Ugandan positions, indicates a strong possibility of use of
antipersonnel mines by Ugandan forces, or their allies.
Landmine Monitor
believes that these credible allegations of use of antipersonnel mines by
Ugandan forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo in mid-2000 must be taken
seriously. These allegations merit the urgent attention of States Parties, who
should consult with the Ugandan government and other relevant actors in order to
seek clarification, establish the facts, and resolve these questions regarding
compliance with the Mine Ban Treaty.
Landmine Monitor is not aware of
specific allegations of use of antipersonnel mines by Uganda in the DRC since
mid-2001. As part of the emerging peace process, in February 2001, Uganda
announced its intention to withdraw two battalions from the
DRC.[23] By June, it had
withdrawn almost five battalions and the withdrawal was continuing.
There
have been reports and allegations that landmines continued to be used by
unspecified forces, even into this disengagement phase. Congolese diplomats
have alleged that foreign forces and rebels have laid mines in Orientale
Province following the cessation of hostilities, in order to mark off areas of
occupation.[24]
The UN
Secretary General’s April 2001 report on the DRC stated, “During the
disengagement phase, MONUC [United Nations Organization Mission in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo] received information indicating the presence
of minefields laid by the belligerent forces to protect their front-line
positions.... In view of both the increased number of new defensive positions
and the danger of mines, MONUC has also confirmed the need to create additional
small coordination
centres....”[25] The UN
report language is not clear about when the mines were laid. Landmine Monitor
has not been able to confirm recent use, and does not know which
“belligerent forces” the United Nations report refers to, be it FAC,
rebels, Uganda, Rwanda, or others.
Assisting Mine Use
Even if allegations of use of antipersonnel mines
by Ugandan forces involved in the conflict in the DRC proved to be false,
Landmine Monitor is concerned that Uganda could be at risk of violating the Mine
Ban Treaty by virtue of close military cooperation, including joint combat
operations, with rebel armed forces that do use antipersonnel mines. Under
Article 1 of the Mine Ban Treaty, a State Party may not “under any
circumstance...assist, encourage or induce, in any way, anyone to engage in any
activity that is prohibited to a State Party under this
Convention.”
Use by Non-State Actors
In this reporting period, Landmine Monitor has
continued to receive reports of mine use by Ugandan rebels, though less
frequently than in the past. The US State Department reported: “The LRA
[Lord’s Resistance Army] and the ADF [Allied Democratic Forces] reportedly
used landmines. There were several incidents during the year in which
civilians were killed by landmines placed by rebels. For example, on
January 21, a landmine explosion killed a man at Opidi, Koch, west of Gulu Town;
the LRA allegedly planted the landmine. Several children also were killed
or injured after stepping on
landmines.”[26]
Northern Uganda, the area generally affected by armed non-state actors, was
inaccessible to Landmine Monitor due to the outbreak of the deadly Ebola disease
in the last quarter of 2000. The epidemic was wiped out by February 2001.
Landmine Monitor visited the area in March. UPDF field commanders captured six
antipersonnel mines, 18 rifles and mortar bombs from fleeing LRA rebels in Gulu
and Kitgum districts.[27]
Mine Action Funding
There has been little international support for
mine action in Uganda during this reporting period. The Canada’s
Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade allocated US$16,333 to
Mines Advisory Group for an assessment mission to Uganda. UNICEF has provided
some $10-15,000 for mine awareness activities. The International Physicians for
the Prevention of Nuclear War provided $12,500 to AMHEC (IPPNW-Uganda) for
advocacy work, victim assistance (emergency care training) and documentation of
landmine casualties.
Survey and Assessment
The UK-based NGO Mines Advisory Group (MAG)
completed the first assessment mission to Uganda in May 2001. According to the
MAG report, “Areas of northern and western Uganda suffer from landmine and
limited UXO contamination as a result of recent and continuing conflicts. The
problem is not acute but is causing deaths and injuries in these areas....
There is little or no information on the location of landmines or suspected
areas and mines have been used only in very small minefields or in isolation.
At this stage, the priority for mine action is the extension and implementation
of the mine awareness program that has been developed by the Ministry of Health
and a partnership of local and international
NGOs.”[28]
Mine Clearance
The UPDF conducts all landmine clearance
activities. Clearance operations are only initiated “in response to
reports of suspicious items that have been found. They cannot undertake
significant pro-active clearance because of the small-scale, sporadic nature of
landmine use and the lack of information on where mines have been
laid.”[29]
The UPDF have
recovered the following antitank mines: PRB-M3, TM-46 and Type 72, and
antipersonnel mines: No. 4 (copy with booster), Type 69 and T-79. Between June
2000 and April 2001 in Gulu and Kitgum Districts, the UPDF found 10 antitank
mines, 141 antipersonnel mines and 117 anti-personnel fuses. Included within
these totals are 99 antipersonnel mines and 109 antipersonnel fuses found as a
stockpile in December
2000.[30]
Mine Awareness
A wide array of organizations and government
agencies came together in March 2000 for a workshop on mine action planning in
Gulu. The participants included “district leaders, UPDF, police, health
workers, the district mobilization officer, a range of NGOs and facilitators
from Injury Control Centre-Uganda, IPPNW-UCBL, AVSI, Ministry of Health
Disability Desk and the Institute of Public
Health.”[31]
A Training
of Trainers workshop was held in May 2000. Since then, aspects of the mine
awareness program have been halted due to a lack of funds. However, the
following mine action projects have occurred for the Kitgum and Gulu Districts:
a workshop for District leaders on the mine program and the proposed mine
awareness program; a Training of Trainers workshop with 13 participants from
Kitgum and 17 participants from Gulu; a survey of landmine victims and
healthcare; production and partial distribution of 5,000 mine awareness posters;
and production of 1,000 mine awareness booklets in English for District leaders
and authorities.[32]
A
handbook for mine awareness educators and a handbook for school children, funded
by the UNICEF country office, have been
produced.[33] Unfortunately, mine
awareness programs in Gulu and the neighboring districts were suspended in
October 2000 due to the Ebola outbreak in the area. Mine awareness activities
covering northern and western Uganda were resumed in April after the area was
declared free of the disease. In early June 2001, the handbooks were officially
launched in Kitgum and Gulu, Northern Uganda.
The mine awareness education
continues to be run by IPPNW-Uganda, Injury Control Center-Uganda, the Ministry
of Health, AVSI and UNACOH. In Western Uganda, the activities are mainly being
carried out by IPPNW-Uganda and UNACOH, with the support of local NGOs such as
Anti-Mine Network Rwenzori (AMNET) and others.
A mine awareness program has
been initiated in Western Uganda for Kasese, Kabarole and Bundibugyo. AMNET,
which operates in Kasese, has been working to address the landmine problem.
Despite a lack of funding, the group has been organizing community groups and
delivers a weekly radio program that highlights the dangers of
landmines.[34]
Landmine Casualties
From 1991 to March 2001, there were 602 mine
victims, including injuries from antitank mines, in Uganda. This figure, taken
from a UCBL report on the findings of a survey of health personnel, contains
both military and civilian
casualties.[35] A recent survey
by Landmine Monitor in northern Uganda revealed that for the period December
2000 to April 2001: 18 landmine casualties were admitted in St. Mary's Lacor
Hospital, Gulu district; one landmine casualty was admitted in Kitgum Hospital,
Kitgum district in January 2001; and one (a child from Sudan) in St. Joseph's
Hospital, also in Kitgum District in April 2001. One person died of a landmine
blast in January 2001 in Kasese District, Western
Uganda.[36]
A review of
hospital records and interviews with health care workers from the mine-affected
areas of Kabalore and Bundibugyo, as well as West Nile districts of Arua, Nebi
and Adjumani revealed no new landmine casualties during the period May
2000-February 2001. Records in northern Uganda, however, showed that fourteen
landmine casualties were admitted in St. Mary’s hospital in Lacor, between
May and 5 December 2000, and three landmine casualties were admitted to Gulu
military hospital between May and 5 October
2000.[37]
According to Joshua
Mugenyi, the chairperson of Kasese District Union of Persons with Disabilities,
about 40,000 people (10% of Kasese population) are disabled and up to 128
(0.32%) of these were disabled by landmines planted by the ADF since the war
started in the district in 1996. He reported that disability has increased in
Kasese due to injuries caused by landmines, bullets and also malnutrition caused
by poor incomes.[38]
Survivor Assistance
The Italian NGO AVSI (Associazione Volontari per il
Servizio Internazionale) is carrying out a three-year program which started in
July 1998, providing medical rehabilitation for war victims in northern Uganda,
covering the districts of Gulu, Kitgum, Apac, Lira, Adjumani, Arua, Moyo and
Nebbi. Partners of AVSI are the Ministry of Health’s rehabilitation
section, Lacor Hospital, district and missionary hospitals, the District
Director of Health Services, and the Persons With Disability Association. Lacor
Hospital, located a few kilometers outside of Gulu, has the surgery facilities
to provide a high level of care immediately following a landmine accident; as a
result, it takes the majority of landmine victims for initial surgery and
treatment.[39]
The
objective was medical rehabilitation assistance to 250 amputee war victims. The
program’s achievements from July 1998 to December 2000 were:
identification of 765 amputees; provision of artificial limbs and functional
training for 252 amputees; follow-up and social reintegration of the patients
fitted with prostheses; return to school of 15 child victims of war;
strengthening of collaboration with local counterparts; organization of training
for community health worker in Kitgum, Lira and Apac; sponsorship of one month
training for three orthopedic technologists from Gulu orthopedic workshop;
production and distribution of 5,000 posters on mine awareness in Gulu and
Kitgum.[40]
In addition to what
was reported in the previous Landmine Monitor reports, physiotherapy is also
provided by orthopedic clinical officers, orthopedic assistants or nurses in
some hospitals.[41] For
psychosocial support, only the districts of Nebbi, Adjumani and to some extent
Gulu have some support
centers.[42] In Nebbi this is done
by five trained psychiatric nurses for hospitals with outreach units assisted by
CUAMM, an Italian NGO. In Adjumani, this is carried out by two NGOs,
Trans-cultural Organization (TPO) also an Italian NGO and COMBRA, which does
psychosocial counseling. In Kitgum district, community-based psychosocial
support programs are being carried out by
AVSI,[43] albeit in a smaller
scale than in Gulu by the Canadian Physicians for Aid Relief (CPAR).
In
addition, the Ministry of Health, in conjunction with Ministry of Gender, Labor
and Social Affairs, provides some counseling to patients while they are still in
hospitals and also to their family members to have a positive attitude toward
the survivors.[44]
Disability Policy and Practice
A disability policy was put in place in the year
2000. In this policy, there is a workman’s compensation act, with several
provisions on disability issues; for example, it provides for a medical
arbitration board, a member of which must have knowledge of disability
issues.[45] An employment bill is
due to be debated in Parliament and the National Union of Disabled Persons of
Uganda (NUDIPU) has submitted proposals for inclusion in the
bill.[46] The five-year National
Health Sector Strategic Plan and Uganda National Health Policy has provisions
for persons with disability; for example, the Ministry of Health is to put in
place structures to address the needs of persons with disabilities and the kind
of rehabilitative health personnel needed. Uganda also subscribes to Vision 2020
which is an international program spearheaded by the World Health Organization.
Its mission is sight for all by the year 2020 and aims at eradicating all
avoidable blindness.[47]
A
workshop to draw up a five-year work plan on the prevention and control of
injury in Uganda was organized by the Ministry of Health for relevant agencies
and organizations on 30-31 October 2000. A draft report is under discussion.
[1] Interviews with Kisenyi
Irungu, Foreign Service Officer, Legal Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
Kampala, 27 December 2000 and 15 February
2001.
[2] Landmine
Monitor/Human Rights Watch interview with Captain Kagoro A. Asingura, UPDF
General Headquarters, at Mine Ban Treaty intersessional Standing Committee
meetings, Geneva, 8 May 2001. He said the draft law would have to be approved
by the Army High Command and the Army Counsel, then pass through
Parliament.
[3] Landmine
Monitor/Human Rights Watch interview with Captain Kagoro A. Asingura, UPDF
General Headquarters, at Mine Ban Treaty intersessional Standing Committee
meetings, Geneva, 8 May
2001.
[4] Interviews by
Landmine Monitor researcher for the Democratic Republic of Congo, in Kampala, 30
March and 2 April 2001.
[5]
“Arms Flows to Central Africa/Great Lakes,” Fact Sheet released by
the Bureau of Intelligence and Research, US Department of State, November
1999.
[6] Interview with Lt.
Katsigazi, Director of Operations, Internal Security Organization (ISO), 12
October 2000. See, Landmine Monitor Report 2000, p.
114.
[7] Interview with Brig.
Ivan Koreta, Director General, International Security Organization (ISO), and
Lt. Katsigazi, Kampala, 23 December 1999. To date, the batteries have not been
introduced into the market nor is their brand name
known.
[8] See Landmine
Monitor Report 1999, p. 91: interview with Major S. Muruli, UPDF, Kempton
Park, South Africa, 20 May 1997. NEC’s Managing Director Major Fred
Mwesigyi assured Landmine Monitor production of antipersonnel mines had stopped
and “all the mines and grenades we produced have since been kept in
stores.”
[9] Landmine
Monitor/Human Rights Watch interview with Captain Kagoro A. Asingura, UPDF
General Headquarters, at Mine Ban Treaty intersessional Standing Committee
meetings, Geneva, 8 May 2001.
[10] Interview with Brig. Ivan
Koreta and Lt. Katsigazi, Kampala, 23 December
1999.
[11]The East
African, 19 January
2000.
[12] Landmine
Monitor/Human Rights Watch interview with Captain Kagoro A. Asingura, Geneva, 8
May 2001.
[13]Landmine
Monitor Report 2000, p.
115.
[14] Landmine
Monitor/Human Rights Watch telephone interview with UN official in Kisangani, 28
July 2000. The official said that mines were planted around Bangoka
International airport and on a section of the Kisangani-Buta road known as Km
31, and that a number of areas had been declared off-limits because of
landmines. Another source indicated mines were laid at Simi Simi and Bunia
airport and Ikela. Landmine Monitor/Human Rights Watch Interview with BRZ
International Ltd., Johannesburg, June 2000. BRZ is a South African mine
clearance firm which conducted a survey in DRC in 2000 and described it as
“badly
contaminated.”
[15]
“Rebels say more than 4,000 Mines Left in Kisangani,” Agence
France Presse (Kisangani), 21 July 2000, in
FBIS. [16]The New
Vision (daily newspaper), Kampala, 14 September 2000, p.
2.
[17] Landmine Monitor/Human
Rights Watch interview with Captain Kagoro A. Asingura, Geneva, 8 May 2001.
[18] Ibid.
[19] UN Security Council,
S/2000/1153, “Letter dated 4 December 2000 from the Secretary-General
addressed to the President of the Security Council,” and “Annex:
Report of the inter-agency assessment mission to Kisangani,” 4 December
2000, p. 9.
[20] Interviews
conducted by Landmine Monitor researchers for the DRC: interview with Ugandan
demobilized soldiers in Kampala, Uganda. 30 March 2001; interview with Congolese
rebels and displaced migrants in Kigali, Rwanda, 4 April 2001; telephone
interviews with NGO workers and World Food Program staff in Kigoma, Tanzania and
Kigali, Rwanda, 4 and 5 April 2001; interview with RCD officers; interviews with
local people in Kisangani, DRC, March-April
2001.
[21] Interviews conducted
by Landmine Monitor researchers for the DRC, Kisangani, DRC, March-April 2001.
[22] US Department of State,
2000 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Uganda, February
2001.
[23]Daily Nation
(newspaper), Nairobi, Kenya, 23 February 2001, p.
6.
[24] Interviews conducted by
Landmine Monitor researchers for the DRC: with DRC diplomats in Kampala,
Uganda, 2 April 2001, and in Dar-Es-Salaam, Tanzania, 9 April
2001.
[25] “Seventh
report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Organization Mission in
the Democratic Republic of the Congo,” UN Security Council, S/2001/373, 17
April 2001, p. 9.
[26] US
Department of State, 2000 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Uganda,
February 2001.
[27]New
Vision (newspaper), 5 April 2001, p. 3, quoting Hon. Basoga Nsadhu, Minister
of Information in the President’s office, who is also the government
spokesman.
[28] Mines Advisory
Group, “MAG Uganda Assessment,” June 2001, p.
2.
[29] Ibid, pp.
9-10.
[30]
Ibid.
[31] Ibid, p.
12.
[32] Ibid, p.
5.
[33] The handbook was
written by Dr. Alice Baingana Nganwa from the Ministry of Health, Disability and
Rehabilitation Department; Mrs. Lilliane Luwaga from the Ministry of Health,
Health Education Section; Mr. Gustavo Corti from the International Service
Volunteers Association (AVSI); Miss Margaret Arach from AVSI; and Dr. Eddie
Mworozi from IPPNW - Uganda/Uganda Campaign to Ban Landmines
(UCBL).
[34] Mines Advisory
Group, “MAG Uganda Assessment,” June 2001, p.
22.
[35] Ibid, p.
4.
[36] Hospital records of
Lacor Hospital and Gulu Regional
Hospital.
[37] Hospital records
of St. Mary’s Hospital Lacor, 5 December 2000 and Gulu Military Hospital,
5 October 2000.
[38] Statement
by Joshua Mugenyi at a function to mark the International day of the Disabled,
Bwera Kasese, 3 December
2000.
[39] Mines Advisory
Group, “MAG Uganda Assessment,” June 2001, p.
15.
[40] Email from Alberto
Repossi, Program Officer for Africa, AVSI, Milano, 22 February
2001.
[41] Interview with DDHS
and Medical Superintendents of Adjumani Hospital, 27 November 2000; Nebbi
Hospital, 24 November 2000; DDHS Gulu, 4 October 2000. See also Landmine
Monitor Report 2000, p. 120 and Landmine Monitor Report 1999, pp.
95-96.
[42] Interviews with
DDHS and Medical Superintendents of Adjumani Hospital, 27 November 2000; Nebbi
Hospital, 24 November 2000; DDHS, Gulu, October
2000.
[43] Interview with DDHS,
Kitgum district, 4 January
2001.
[44] Interview with Peter
Oyaro, Ministry of Labor and Social Development, Kampala, 7 December
2000.
[45] Interview with Benon
Ndaziboneye, program officer, NUDIPU, 8 December
2000.
[46]
Ibid.
[47] Ibid.