Post-War Stigma, Violence and ‘Kony Children’: The Responsibility to Protect Children Born in Lord’s Resistance Army Captivity in Northern Uganda

Abstract

The R2P framework underscores the responsibility to protect populations caught up in the maelstrom of war and armed conflict, and as such, holds relevance for children born of conflict-related sexual violence. This paper explores the role and framework of R2P in relation to children born of conflict-related sexual violence in northern Uganda, a population largely overlooked in the post-war period. Drawing upon the direct experiences and perspectives of a sample of 60 children born in Lord’s Resistance Army (lra) captivity, the paper highlights the significant stigma and violence that these children continue to face in the post-war context. The post-war lives of these children not only demonstrate the multiple hardships they face as a result of the fallout of war, but also highlight the situation of these children as secondary and intergenerational victims of war that would benefit from the protection of the R2P framework and subsequent support.