Civil Society Organizations and Local-Level Peace Building in Northern Uganda

Abstract

This paper examines the contribution of civil society, notably religious and faith-based groups, traditional institutions, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), human rights groups, and community-based self-help groups, in promoting local-level peacebuilding in northern Uganda. Civil society groups in northern Uganda provided alternative narratives of the conflict, exposed brutalities against civilians, and ideas of peacebuilding. They lobbied, facilitated negotiations, engaged in building cultures of peace, promoted reconciliation, sustained livelihoods at the local level, and influenced outside peacebuilding interventions. However, the national context constrained their activities. This article is based on research and consultancy materials, personal observation, official and unofficial documents from the government, international organizations, intergovernmental agencies, and NGOs, newspaper reports, and scholarly publications.