Making Gender-Just Remedy and Reparation Possible

June 2013

Victims of serious violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law have a clearly established right to remedy and reparation. This right must be recognized without discrimination of any kind. Processes of remedy and reparation therefore must neither enable nor support discrimination of any kind against victims. Because—as previous research has shown—female victims often lack access to and encounter discrimination in transitional justice processes, these requirements have significant implications for ensuring that female victims are treated without discrimination in remedy and reparation processes and outcomes. The goal of this research was to shape an understanding of what is needed for gender-just reparation based on the experiences and perspectives of women, girls, their families and communities who have suffered serious crimes during the armed conflict between the Government of Uganda and the Lord’s Resistance Army in the Greater North of Uganda.

This report is grounded in data from in-depth interviews with over 640 victims of serious crimes and their families from the sub-regions of Acholi, Lango, Teso and West Nile in the Greater North of Uganda, conducted by the authors between 2010–2012. The research documents and analyses how the serious crimes suffered during the conflict continue to affect the lives of female victims, their families and communities and how, in some cases, the violations have led to subsequent abuses, violations and harms. Building on this knowledge, the research develops and deepens an understanding of the principles, processes and forms of remedy and reparation (both individual and collective) needed to ensure gender-just processes and outcomes for female victims. Overall, the report seeks to inform and add depth to the current debates surrounding victims’ rights to remedy and reparation in Uganda and internationally. This report is part of a series of reports by the Feinstein International Center on victims’ views on accountability, remedy and reparation in northern Uganda.

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Modern Challenges to Traditional Justice

June 2013

This report is part of a series by Feinstein International Center that examines the impact of armed conflict on civilian populations in northern Uganda and struggles for redress and remedy. Transitional justice mechanisms, including truth telling, reparation and prosecutions, are important processes that can help address past human rights violations and abuses, and can play a role in rebuilding the lives of the affected population and helping a country to move forward. To address the effects of the over two decades of armed conflict between the Government of Uganda (GoU) and Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebel group, the Juba Peace Accords envisioned traditional justice mechanisms as instruments that could help address serious crimes and resulting harms suffered by civilians. However, after detailing the historical evolution of the traditional justice systems and the impact of the war on these systems, this study finds that traditional justice mechanisms are currently unable to fulfill these roles and are not being used to repair victims from harms suffered due to serious crimes committed by parties to the conflict. The report identifies and analyzes efforts by Langi traditional justice mechanisms to address serious crimes and violations committed during the conflict and their result¬ing harms and the reasons why they are unable to offer remedy. The report offers insights into implications for efforts to ensure victims’ rights to remedy and redress are upheld. This report is based on field work conducted with conflicted affected populations in Lango sub region, northern Uganda between the years 2009 – 2011. The Lango sub-region is home to approximately 2.13 million people and is among the sub regions most affected by the GoU and LRA war. We hope the findings of the study will contribute to inform larger transitional justice processes underway in Uganda, in part through addressing the realities and priorities of the affected population.

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Standing Wealth

June 2013

The report highlights the importance of pastoralist livestock production for the country’s economy, and outlines ways in which pastoralism can be supported in the future, to benefit livelihoods and the economy of Sudan. The economic value of pastoral livestock production is largely hidden, both in the official statistics, and in relation to the domestic market and subsistence economy (e.g. milk). The report argues for an informed, effective and equitable integration of pastoral systems within national policy and legal frameworks, in order to legitimate this form of land use and to underpin a more constructive approach to modernization of the livestock sector. The findings indicate that unleashing the potential of the livestock sector in Sudan requires securing the conditions for livestock mobility, so that livestock can access pastures selectively, when the nutritional value of plants is at their peak. This requires the return of security in pastoral areas and along livestock routes, and a tailored regulation of markets in land (in pastoral areas), water for livestock, and crop residues.

Authored by Saverio Krätli, Omer Hassan el Dirani and Helen Young, with Samira Mohammed Ahmed, Osman Mohammed Babiker, Musa Adam Ismail, Abdelazeem Hassan, Azharia El Bushra. This report is based on extensive fieldwork carried out in North Kordofan, with three case studies on sheep, cattle and camel production systems. Additional visits were made to West Darfur State, Gadarif andand Omdurman during 2012.

The report and policy briefing paper can be found on http://www.unep.org/sudan and Tufts websites.

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They Were Just Thrown Away, and Now the World is Spoiled

March 2013

In the aftermath of violence, proper treatment of the dead provides a vital consolation for survivors and their communities. This recognition of the bonds that tie the living to the dead has become a key feature of international human rights, encapsulated in the United Nations’ Basic Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a Remedy and Reparation for Victims of Gross Violations of International Human Rights Law and Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law. But in the case of mass killings and mass graves, there may be no consensus on what “proper treatment” of the dead entails. Drawing on interviews conducted in 2011 with survivors and leaders from Barlonyo, Uganda – the site of a large-scale massacre perpetrated by the Lord’s Resistance Army in 2004 – this report analyzes how rapid cultural transformations have complicated what proper treatment of the dead entails, and, therefore, the right to satisfaction. By paying careful attention to how death and remembrance rituals have changed over time among the Langi, the report sets out to provide a set of recommendations based on community priorities for the treatment of those who have died as a result of mass violence; and, offer insights into the cultural context in which any future programming around the proper treatment and memorialization of those killed would be undertaken.

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The Use of Evidence in Humanitarian Decision Making

February 2013

This paper reports the results of a study undertaken during 2012 by Tufts University for the Assessment Capacities Project (ACAPS), as part of the latter’s “Operational Learning” strand of work. This study is designed to complement the work of ACAPS on strengthening needs assessment by addressing the question of how assessments and other sources of information and analysis are used by humanitarian decision makers. The study is based on a combination of literature review, case studies, and key informant interviews.

The pressure to demonstrate that responses and claims about impact are grounded in evidence has been growing over recent years. Humanitarian donors are increasingly under similar pressures to demonstrate effectiveness and account for impact. This is partly a matter of showing that their decisions regarding policies and programs are well-founded and evidence-based. But, humanitarian contexts are almost by definition ‘‘non-ideal” for gathering data. Decisions often have to be made quickly, sometimes with relatively little access to current information or accurate data. The question about informed decision making may therefore come down to what constitutes a “well enough” informed decision in the circumstances; or what constitutes “good enough” information and analysis on which to base a response. Whatever the quality of information, no assumption can be made that the increased availability of good information and analysis will in itself result in better informed decisions. In reviewing the way decisions are made in practice, the study considers the ways in which such information is used (or not) at different points in the process, which varies across different kinds of decisions in different contexts.

The study is based around three main questions. First, how do decision makers in the humanitarian sector currently use information and analysis? Second, what factors, other than information and analysis, are influential in making decisions? Third, what would enable better-informed response decisions? In order to address these overarching questions, the study looks first at some of the main processes of decision-making in the humanitarian sector and the factors that appear to have most influence on decisions of different kinds. It goes on to look at the way information and analysis is currently generated in the humanitarian sector—both through formal and informal means—and related questions of relevance and credibility. These two topics are then brought together in addressing the question of the use of information by decision makers, and what might enable more informed and evidence-based response decisions.

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Refugee Livelihoods in Urban Areas: Identifying Program Opportunities

February 2013

Refugees in urban areas face a specific set of livelihoods problems, and in recent years many aid agencies have begun to try to address these problems by supporting refugees through vocational training, microcredit and other services. So far, however, there has been little evidence about which humanitarian programs work, and where opportunities for programming interventions lie. This study, funded by the US State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, addresses this knowledge gap. Through case studies in Cairo, Tel Aviv and Quito, we analyzed the urban livelihoods context for refugees and identified programming opportunities and promising program initiatives. In each city, we sought to generate new ideas from related fields of inquiry, such as low-income urban development and youth employment,that could be adapted for refugees in countries of first asylum.

Our three case studies represent contrasting refugee policy contexts and livelihoods experience, and offer lessons for other host settings. Each case study begins with a review of existing livelihood programs in the country. This includes a mapping of commercial, humanitarian and governmental organizations that provide programming, advocacy or other resources that support the livelihoods of refugees, migrants and low-income citizens. We then interviewed asylum seekers and key informants to deepen our understanding of the livelihoods context in each country. Our main program recommendations, based on all three cases, are included as a stand-alone document.

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Refugee Livelihoods in Urban Areas: Case Study Egypt

February 2013

Refugees in urban areas face a specific set of livelihoods problems, and in recent years many aid agencies have begun to try to address these problems by supporting refugees through vocational training, microcredit and other services. So far, however, there has been little evidence about which humanitarian programs work, and where opportunities for programming interventions lie. This study, funded by the US State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, addresses this knowledge gap. Through case studies in Cairo, Tel Aviv and Quito, we analyzed the urban livelihoods context for refugees and identified programming opportunities and promising program initiatives. In each city, we sought to generate new ideas from related fields of inquiry, such as low-income urban development and youth employment,that could be adapted for refugees in countries of first asylum.

Our three case studies represent contrasting refugee policy contexts and livelihoods experience, and offer lessons for other host settings. Each case study begins with a review of existing livelihood programs in the country. This includes a mapping of commercial, humanitarian and governmental organizations that provide programming, advocacy or other resources that support the livelihoods of refugees, migrants and low-income citizens. We then interviewed asylum seekers and key informants to deepen our understanding of the livelihoods context in each country. Our main program recommendations, based on all three cases, are included as a stand-alone document.

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Refugee Livelihoods in Urban Areas: Case Study Ecuador

February 2013

Refugees in urban areas face a specific set of livelihoods problems, and in recent years many aid agencies have begun to try to address these problems by supporting refugees through vocational training, microcredit and other services. So far, however, there has been little evidence about which humanitarian programs work, and where opportunities for programming interventions lie. This study, funded by the US State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, addresses this knowledge gap. Through case studies in Cairo, Tel Aviv and Quito, we analyzed the urban livelihoods context for refugees and identified programming opportunities and promising program initiatives. In each city, we sought to generate new ideas from related fields of inquiry, such as low-income urban development and youth employment,that could be adapted for refugees in countries of first asylum.

Our three case studies represent contrasting refugee policy contexts and livelihoods experience, and offer lessons for other host settings. Each case study begins with a review of existing livelihood programs in the country. This includes a mapping of commercial, humanitarian and governmental organizations that provide programming, advocacy or other resources that support the livelihoods of refugees, migrants and low-income citizens. We then interviewed asylum seekers and key informants to deepen our understanding of the livelihoods context in each country. Our main program recommendations, based on all three cases, are included as a stand-alone document.

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Refugee Livelihoods in Urban Areas: Case Study Israel

February 2013

Refugees in urban areas face a specific set of livelihoods problems, and in recent years many aid agencies have begun to try to address these problems by supporting refugees through vocational training, microcredit and other services. So far, however, there has been little evidence about which humanitarian programs work, and where opportunities for programming interventions lie. This study, funded by the US State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, addresses this knowledge gap. Through case studies in Cairo, Tel Aviv and Quito, we analyzed the urban livelihoods context for refugees and identified programming opportunities and promising program initiatives. In each city, we sought to generate new ideas from related fields of inquiry, such as low-income urban development and youth employment,that could be adapted for refugees in countries of first asylum.

Our three case studies represent contrasting refugee policy contexts and livelihoods experience, and offer lessons for other host settings. Each case study begins with a review of existing livelihood programs in the country. This includes a mapping of commercial, humanitarian and governmental organizations that provide programming, advocacy or other resources that support the livelihoods of refugees, migrants and low-income citizens. We then interviewed asylum seekers and key informants to deepen our understanding of the livelihoods context in each country. Our main program recommendations, based on all three cases, are included as a stand-alone document.

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Food by Prescription

December 2012

Great strides have been made over the last 20 years in the long-term management of HIV infection in developing countries, resulting in improved immune function, reduced mortality, and prolonged survival. However, underlying malnutrition continues to impede positive health outcomes, and HIV infection in turn worsens malnutrition. The Ethiopia Food by Prescription (FBP) program, implemented by Save the Children US (SC US), USAID/Ethiopia, and the Ethiopian Ministry of Health since 2010, provides therapeutic food along with nutritional assessment and counseling to malnourished HIV+ individuals. The Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy was contracted by SC US to research the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of this intervention, in order to contribute much needed evidence to guide programming and policy, both in Ethiopia and worldwide.

Patients who received food were significantly more likely to recover from malnutrition than those who did not receive food, and treatment with supplementary food was much more successful, and more cost-effective, when malnourished individuals were identified and treated early. Additionally, patients who recovered through the addition of supplementary food experienced long-lasting positive effects on their health and nutrition status. While the marginal cost per patient recovered in the FBP program was high, the marginal cost of improving nutritional status by at least one BMI point was much lower—an important finding considering the link between weight loss and increased risk of mortality. In addition, our hypothetical costing models show that a focus on improving supply (health service delivery) and demand (client adherence, participation, compliance) would further strengthen the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of this strategy, and this study makes several recommendations as to how this might be done. In light of these results, the authors recommend that nutritional assessment counseling and support remains an integral component of ART programs in Ethiopia. The current (2008) version of the National Nutrition Program in Ethiopia supports the implementation of nutrition support for pre-ART/ART HIV/AIDS patients, and this should remain a priority in the 2012/13 version being developed by the Ministry of Health now.

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