As part of its commitment and support to peace and development in Karamoja, one of the poorest and most insecure areas in Uganda, UNDP has launched a project, “Building Sustainable Peace and Development in Karamoja”, whose main focus is on strengthening the role of the local government, traditional leadership and the community in peace building and in establishing sustainable livelihoods.
Commissioning the project alongside the Prime Minister, Prof. Apollo Nsibambi, immediately after the launch of the Government’s Karamoja Integrated Disarmament and Development Programme, in Moroto town, 18 April, UNDP Resident Representative, Mr. Theophane Nikyema, called it “a partnership between UNDP and the people of Karamoja”.
As initial support for the three-year project, supported through the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), UNDP handed over to the OPM and the five districts of Karamoja (Abim, Kaabong, Kotido, Moroto and Nakapiripirit), six field vehicles and a total of USD 631,250 for labour-based community projects. The activities that UNDP is supporting in this initial phase are labour-intensive and will maximize participation of the local communities in Karamoja. The physical work will be done by the local residents within the community, which will enable them to earn an income while, at the same time, building ownership by empowering them to participate in the planning, implementation and monitoring of such projects.
Other activities will include supporting and strengthening: traditional mediation, reconciliation and conflict resolution mechanisms; peace building dialogues in rival ethnic groups in Karamoja to promote longer-term reconciliation; and traditional forms of justice and reconciliation between warring ethnic groups. UNDP will also support district local governments to undertake cross-border peace initiatives and development projects to promote peace building. In addition, UNDP will work in close partnership with security agencies in Karamoja, including the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF), Police and Prisons, to review conflict transformation and peace building strategies, as well as in supporting the justice, law and order sector.
Karamoja region lags behind the rest of the country in almost all development and humanitarian indicators. Armed violence is rampant, resulting from a combination of factors including cultural and historic aspects, lack of a formal security and justice system, competition amongst tribes for natural resources, prevalence of illegal weapons, government-local grievances, and militarization – all these with severe ramifications on neighbouring districts.
UNDP recognises the strong relationship between peace and livelihoods, and accords livelihood enhancement a central place in development and peace building. Thus, the organisation accords as much importance to the livelihood component of the Karamoja project as to the peace building aspect.
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