Community Justice Center Inauguration Event

Monday, January 10, 2011

It is a pleasure to be here to launch Northern Uganda's first Community Justice Center.  I would like to thank the honored dignitaries who have joined us today from the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, the Justice Law and Order Sector (JLOS), the Office of the Chief Prosecutor, the Uganda Police Force, other regional and national government leaders, the donor and implementing partner representatives, and, of course, our kind hosts: Pader and Agago district representatives.

This Community Justice Center is one of three centers created by the United States'  Community Law and Order Project.  The main goals of this project are 1) to enhance the capacity of civilian government offices tasked with maintaining peace and security in Northern Uganda, and 2) to increase the visibility and capacity of the justice sector by providing more professional infrastructure in rural areas benefiting from Northern Uganda’s Peace, Recovery, and Development Plan (PRDP).

The philosophy behind community justice centers is that the three most key elements of the justice sector -- the courts, the police, and the prosecutors -- need to work hand-in-hand to deliver justice in the most efficient, economical, and skilled manner.  Without such coordination, true justice will not prevail.  

The Community Law and Order Project focuses on broad and deep development.  For example, within community justice centers, police infrastructure is modernized to meet national standards, so police officers in this region have the facilities they need to fight crime and arrest criminals.  Likewise, more modern court houses enable judges and prosecutors to research and adjudicate cases more efficiently.
If you put all of these stages of justice together, and if you put the new facilities near one another, justice can prevail.  This is the philosophy behind the creation of the community justice center in Patongo.

But the delivery of justice is not just about buildings. We must also rely on human resources -- most notably the expertise of the people who work every day on justice issues.  That is why this project also focuses on providing training and professional growth for the police force in Uganda. 

In partnership with the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Law and Narcotics (INL) and the Police Training Academy in Kabalye, Masindi District, professional training is currently in place for Community Policing, Hosting Community Forums, Criminal Investigations Training, and Domestic Violence and Child Abuse Investigations. By the end of 2011, over 300 police officers nationwide will complete their trainings. 

This police training component coupled with the creation of justice centers in Patongo and Pader, Otuke and Lira, and Kiryandongo and Masindi --comprise this $6.3 million community law and order project.  Such investment isn't only from the American People, however.  I am pleased to note the terrific work and efforts of the Ugandan Ministry of Justice, which coordinated the entire project through the JLOS Secretariat in Kampala, the Uganda Police Force, as well as other donors such as the Government and peoples of Ireland and the Netherlands.

Because this project was initiated as part of the Government of Uganda’s Peace, Recovery, and Development Plan (PRDP), I would like to take a moment  to speak briefly about conflict in Northern Uganda.  Since the cessation of hostilities between the UPDF and the LRA, the 2008 Juba Peace Process, the emptying of most IDP camps by residents of the north, and the subsequent return home of families who were so deeply affected by war and trauma, the entire world has witnessed the resilience and strength of the people of northern Uganda, who are working so hard to ward a normal life after the brutal civil war.

I wanted to let all of the communities in the North know we are humbled by your strength.  We know you continue to struggle, to pay your children’s school fees, to plant your crops when the land is over-run with brush.  We know that, although most of you have left the camps, life still remains hard.

As long as the peace continues in the north, so will progress and development.  More water sources will be created, more schools will be build, and more doctors and health clinics will be established in your communities in the north.

In conclusion, I would like to again thank today's the host, the Patongo Town Council.  And give a heartfelt thank you to all the partners -- including USAID and the Northern Uganda Transition Initiative (NUTI) program -- for supporting top quality, public service infrastructure renovations in the Acholi sub-region.  I stand here today to tell you with confidence that the American people will continue to partner with Uganda to strengthen this region  and to  seek opportunity and prosperity to all of the people of Uganda.

Thank you very much.