Karamoja no-longer needs to be waited for to develop
“We shall not wait for Karamoja to develop” — Apollo Milton Obote, 1963
“Why on earth are you going to Karamoja?
“Aren’t there indigenous groups that reside nearer (Kampala)?”
These are the questions that I enlisted from friends when they found out the area of study for my final year research paper. Others suggested that I get a different topic altogether. The above questions reflect the attitude many Ugandans attach to Karamoja; a place of abject poverty, stuck in a pocket of time a century back with backward people. Whenever one wants to refer to underdevelopment in Uganda, the constant example is Karamoja. These perceptions are not unfounded though and the demographics year after year only serve to corroborate these attitudes. In a 2017 National Household Survey, the Uganda Bureau of Statistics reported that 61% of the population in Karamoja sub-region lives below the poverty line as compared to the national average of 27%. 5 years earlier (2012), a staggering 75% of the population was reported to be below the poverty line as compared to the national average of 19.7%.
The phrase “we shall not wait for Karamoja to develop” coined by Uganda’s first Prime Minister, Dr. Milton Obote, is used ever so often in common Ugandan speak when one wants to say they shall not wait for others that are taking their time or being slow. Karamoja’s underdevelopment is attributed to various reasons. Firstly, for putting up resistance to the penetration of the British colonialists into their territory, Karamoja became the neglected ‘step-child’ when it was eventually subdued and co-opted into what became modern day Uganda. Secondly, natural factors like its semi- arid nature enhance the region’s vulnerability to food insecurity and poverty. To make it worse, the region has until recently been plagued by insecurity perpetuated by armed cattle rustlers who terrorized neighbouring communities. efforts by the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) to disarm the Karimojong continue to-date.
As compared to past governments, the current regime has taken deliberate steps to extend much needed social services and infrastructure to the region, starting with the above mentioned disarmament and then affirmative action measures like the creation of a special ministry to cater for the region. These actions have opened up the region to investment, led to an inflow of capital or what can sometimes be referred to as development aggression albeit amidst new emerging concerns. One of these concerns is the non recognition of the Karimojong as an indigenous group and the non-consideration of all the accompanying rights that flow to such peoples.
The African Commission on Human and People’s Rights in its landmark decision in the Endorois case has provided guidance that any group of people that seeks to be regarded as indigenous persons must demonstrate any of these four characteristics; the occupation and use of a specific territory, voluntary perpetuation of cultural distinctiveness, self-identification as a distinct collectivity, as well as recognition by other groups and an experience of subjugation, marginalisation, dispossession, exclusion or discrimination.[1] Indigenous communities also demonstrate a strong, often spiritual connection with their lands which they treat as sacred to the extent that the land is critical to the survival of a tribe or a community especially when it is used for economic, cultural, social and religious activities.[2] Using the above criteria, the Karimojong without a doubt qualify to be considered an indigenous group.
For my research paper, I chose to carry out a study that sought to appraise the observance of the right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) in the extractive industry in Uganda. I drew inspiration to focus on indigenous peoples and the extractive industry from a summer school I attended last year at the University of Zurich. As part of the summer school, I had the immense honour of participating in a moot court which was held at the UN Headquarters in Geneva. As part of a team of three, we were required to examine Canada’s observance of the rights of indigenous peoples especially in the context of business and human rights.
I got particularly interested in the impact of mining activities on indigenous peoples worldwide and was excited about the possibility of holding multi- national mining companies accountable for human rights violations that take place outside the countries where they are domiciled. One of the sticking examples is the actions taken by Canada to hold Barrick Gold, a Canadian company and one of the biggest producers of gold in the world, accountable for human rights violations it has perpetrated in Chile’s Porgera mine. In today’s harsh reality where some governments are more eager to protect the interests of investors rather than the rights of their own citizens, I thought this might be a useful tool.
When I thought of indigenous groups in Uganda, only one group (although there are more) came to mind: the Karimojong. In addition, I was aware that the Karamoja sub- region was slowly becoming home to a nascent extractive industry facilitated by a return of peace after the disarmament of the warriors and the cattle rustlers. Karamoja is well endowed in terms of natural resources with substantial deposits of gold, limestone and marble among others and mining companies worldwide seem to have been alerted, if the exploration and mining licences already issued by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development are anything to go by.
The right to FPIC is generally associated with indigenous peoples and it is a creature of international law. Under our domestic law, the right to FPIC is still an alien concept. This is despite the fact that the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) has been in force since 2007. Regrettably, the 1995 Constitution of Uganda seems to conflate the definition of indigenous peoples and classifies all groups of people that resided in Uganda by 1926, for instance the Baganda, Acholi and Basoga, as indigenous.
As indigenous peoples, the Karimojong have a right to FPIC. The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Persons prescribes that FPIC should be the basis upon which all development matters affecting the Karimojong are initiated and implemented. Article 10 of the UNDRIP further prohibits the forceful removal of indigenous peoples from their lands or territories, and provides that no relocation shall take place without the free, prior and informed consent of the indigenous peoples concerned and after agreement on just and fair compensation and, where possible, with the option of return.
However, the reality on the ground is different. Mining companies, egged on by the complicity of the government have entered Karamoja and acted in complete disregard of the right to FPIC.[3] In areas where there has been something akin to FPIC, it has been belated or obtained through coercion. Furthermore, the disparity in power relations between the local Karimojong and the powerful mining companies accentuates their vulnerability to violations of their right to FPIC. Moreover, many companies seem to believe that Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities like scholarships, building bridges and boreholes are a substitute for corporate accountability.
If nothing changes, the region faces the risk of suffering the proverbial resource curse that has plagued African countries like DRC and Sudan which are richly endowed with natural resources. Ideally, Karamoja need not be waited for to develop. In the right environment and with adequate regulatory safeguards, the region has enough resources to pull itself out of poverty. However, any development that is pursued must be done keeping in mind their own understanding of development and with their free, prior and informed consent.
[1] Centre for Minority Rights Development (Kenya) and Minority Rights Group International on behalf of Endorois Welfare Council v. Kenya, Communication №276/03, (African Commission on Human and People’s Rights, 2009), Also see, African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights v. Republic of Kenya, Communication №006/2012 (African Court on Human and People’s Rights, 2017).
[2] Case of the Saramaka People v. Suriname, Preliminary Objections, Merits, Reparations and Costs, Judgment №172 (Inter- American Court of Human Rights, 2007).
[3] Human Rights Watch, How can we Survive Here?” The Impact of Mining on Human Rights in Karamoja, Uganda, Washington, D.C: Human Rights Watch, 2014, accessed at: https://www.hrw.org/report/2014/02/03/how-can-we-survive-here/impact-mining-human rights karamoja-uganda
