UNITED NATIONS - The U.N. Development Program has halted a voluntary disarmament program in Uganda's troubled northeast amid new reports of rights abuses by government troops in the region, a spokesman said Wednesday.
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The $1 million U.N. Development Program project awarded people in the Karamoja region food, building materials or cash in exchange for their weapons. Less than $300,000 had been spent so far, UNDP spokesman William Orme said.
It was meant to complement a Ugandan plan announced last year to bring peace to the region after failed government attempts at disarmament, both voluntary and by force. That program originated in response to international concerns about earlier reports of abuses.
But UNDP field workers report that the attacks continue and the area has become too dangerous, Orme said.
"Our operations in the region have halted due to a continuing difficult security situation and concerns about Ugandan military operations in the area," Orme said.
Karamoja is an impoverished, drought-ridden area along Uganda's northeast border with Kenya. It has been a trafficking point for small arms, many of which went to cattle rustlers who carried out raids in neighboring villages.
For several years, President Yoweri Museveni's government has been carrying out an aggressive campaign to disarm the Karamojong, but those efforts have only increased tensions.
In a letter to the Ugandan government dated Monday and obtained by The Associated Press, the UNDP expressed concerns among groups working in the area about recent reports of "killings, beatings, arbitrary detention, intimidation and harassment" by groups including the security forces.
It asked the government to clarify its policy toward Karamoja in light of army operations that seem to contradict the government's announced intention to foster development there.
"This has raised questions amongst development partners on the timeliness and usefulness of their own efforts," the letter said.
The decision comes after the U.N. human rights office had indicated it would boost its presence in Karamoja in response to the reports of lawlessness.
In a strategy report released earlier this month, Louise Arbour, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, said the government has essentially lost control of Karamoja and a system of traditional justice "based on reprisals and revenge" has arisen in its place.
In response, Arbour said her office planned to send human rights officers to the region and would try to draw more attention to the situation there through an office it opened in Uganda in 2005.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060629...qNEN88AMAJvaA8F;_ylu=X3oDMTA0cDJlYmhvBHNlYwM-
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The $1 million U.N. Development Program project awarded people in the Karamoja region food, building materials or cash in exchange for their weapons. Less than $300,000 had been spent so far, UNDP spokesman William Orme said.
It was meant to complement a Ugandan plan announced last year to bring peace to the region after failed government attempts at disarmament, both voluntary and by force. That program originated in response to international concerns about earlier reports of abuses.
But UNDP field workers report that the attacks continue and the area has become too dangerous, Orme said.
"Our operations in the region have halted due to a continuing difficult security situation and concerns about Ugandan military operations in the area," Orme said.
Karamoja is an impoverished, drought-ridden area along Uganda's northeast border with Kenya. It has been a trafficking point for small arms, many of which went to cattle rustlers who carried out raids in neighboring villages.
For several years, President Yoweri Museveni's government has been carrying out an aggressive campaign to disarm the Karamojong, but those efforts have only increased tensions.
In a letter to the Ugandan government dated Monday and obtained by The Associated Press, the UNDP expressed concerns among groups working in the area about recent reports of "killings, beatings, arbitrary detention, intimidation and harassment" by groups including the security forces.
It asked the government to clarify its policy toward Karamoja in light of army operations that seem to contradict the government's announced intention to foster development there.
"This has raised questions amongst development partners on the timeliness and usefulness of their own efforts," the letter said.
The decision comes after the U.N. human rights office had indicated it would boost its presence in Karamoja in response to the reports of lawlessness.
In a strategy report released earlier this month, Louise Arbour, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, said the government has essentially lost control of Karamoja and a system of traditional justice "based on reprisals and revenge" has arisen in its place.
In response, Arbour said her office planned to send human rights officers to the region and would try to draw more attention to the situation there through an office it opened in Uganda in 2005.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060629...qNEN88AMAJvaA8F;_ylu=X3oDMTA0cDJlYmhvBHNlYwM-