Gender and access to justice in Uganda’s refugee settlements: The experiences of South Sudanese refugees (original) (raw)

2022, REFUGEE LAW PROJECT WORKING PAPER

This paper explores the gendered nature of access to justice among South Sudanese refugees in Uganda's settlements. It draws on qualitative research conducted in the three refugee hosting districts of Lamwo, Adjumani and Kiryandongo, between July and September 2021, including 73 individual interviews and groups discussions with a range of officials and refugees. The objectives of the paper are threefold. First, to map the institutions and authorities that govern the resolution of disputes in the settlements, as well as their accessibility and availability to refugees. Second, to understand the gendered nature of the disputes and crimes that are most prevalent in the settlements. Third, to assess how gender norms and power dynamics shape the engagement of refugees with different authorities in the settlements and the responses of different institutions to conflicts. A dynamic blend of institutions is involved in maintaining order and governing the settlements. These include the Refugee Welfare Councils (RWCs), initiated by the Ugandan government in order to manage settlements and administer refugee populations, a range of "customary" authorities and "cultural" or "ethnic" leaders and associations, representing and responding to the needs of specific refugee groups, various community volunteers and paralegals, guided and trained by humanitarian agencies, as well as the Uganda Police Force, representing the entry-point into Uganda's formal justice system. There is considerable space for forum shopping and competition, but equally, for complementarity, constructive argumentation, and interdependency. Justice processes and norms are constantly being negotiated and contested and are characterised by hybridity and open-endedness.