Uganda
In Focus
In Uganda, the focus of the Country Office is to keep victims and affected communities well informed about the judicial proceedings in the Dominic Ongwen case.
The team tries to enhance involvement of victims and relevant stakeholders in the process, and manage their expectations through direct engagement with the Outreach staff.
Keeping victims and affected communities in Uganda informed about judicial proceedings in the Ongwen case continued to be the focus of the country office’s activities in 2022.
Using creative approaches, the country office set up video screening centres to live-stream the appeal hearings and decisions in various victim locations in northern Uganda, community radio stations provided live broadcasts in Acholi, and meetings of radio listening clubs were organized in 25 communities in northern Uganda within the four case locations – Abok, Pajule/Lapul, Odek and Lukodi – and Coorom, the birthplace of Dominic Ongwen. These initiatives allowed victims and affected communities to follow proceedings in the courtroom, share their reactions and discuss the next steps. The country office conducted 232 outreach-related activities, including special events to commemorate International Women’s Day, the twentieth anniversary of the Court and the Day of the African Child. These face-to-face activities reached 26,024 people across northern Uganda.
The outreach team also conducted joint field missions with the Victims Participation and Reparations Section to areas in which Acholi, Lango and Teso are spoken, and also jointly with the Office of Public Counsel for Victims to Pajule and Lapul.
Lastly, the team continued to engage with victim communities through its free SMS platform and weekly radio programmes, reaching up to 12,000 subscribers and 8 million people.
