ReliefWeb

Dyan Mazurana, Anastasia Marshak and Teddy Atim

Full summary

Few large-scale, structured surveys have been conducted on the prevalence of alleged war crimes or crimes against humanity committed by warring parties against civilians. Fewer still investigate how experiences of alleged war crimes or crimes against humanity relate to victims’ disability and how these experiences affect food security, wealth and access to basic services, including their access to basic and therapeutic healthcare over time.

Using data from a panel survey carried out in 2013, 2015 and 2018 that is representative of all of Acholi and Lango sub-regions in northern Uganda, this working paper reports the prevalence of alleged war crimes or crimes against humanity for individuals and households, their association with disability; and the resulting effects over time on people’s lives in terms of food security, wealth, access to basic services and healthcare.

The study contributes to: an understanding of people who have experienced alleged war crimes or crimes against humanity that affect them physically and psychologically; the relationship between experience of these alleged crimes and their experience of disability; the effects of these crimes on their wealth, food security and access to livelihood and social protection services; the effects of these crimes on their access to basic and therapeutic healthcare; and a better understanding of the key obstacles faced by victims of these alleged crimes when they are unable to receive basic and therapeutic healthcare.

Key findings

13% of all individuals and 42% of all households reported having experienced at least one alleged war crime or crime against humanity at the hands of parties to the conflict (recall period 1986-2012)

Roughly 15% of respondents who experienced an alleged war crime or crime against humanity reported a related physical or psychological injury.

The greater the number of alleged crimes experienced, the greater the likelihood that the respondent was left disabled.

Households that had experienced an alleged war crime or crime against humanity were significantly less likely to have access to healthcare over time, despite their greater burden of disability.