The human rights atrocities in Uganda will be the focus of the first Transitional Justice Model Simulation to be held at Kansas City Kansas Community College this fall.
High schools from Wyandotte, Johnson, Leavenworth counties, Greater Kansas, and the surrounding area are invited to enter delegate teams in the simulation to be held at KCKCC Saturday, Sept. 22. The delegate teams will be made up of four to eight members and schools can enter more than one team.
The simulation is being organized by Dr. Ewa Unoke, an Associate Professor of Political Science and Pre-Law programs at KCKCC and former Biafran child soldier,, who last February took five KCKCC students to the 10th annual National Model African Union conflict simulation in Washington, D.C. where they represented the country of Comoros Islands in a simulation of the “Sudan vs. South Sudan conflict” attended by 49 colleges and universities nationwide.
“A truly unique experience, it enlarged my mind and the view of the world I live in,” said student Frank Dominguez. “Calming conflict and solving crises problems was definitely one of the hardest educational tasks ever set before me but also the most rewarding.”
At KCKCC, high school delegate teams will be assigned countries to represent how governments and societies deal with their unpleasant pasts and specifically how the Ugandan society is dealing with its historical injustices.
“Led by Joseph Kony, a rebel group by the name of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) began a guerilla campaign to overthrow the Ugandan government during the 1980s,” said Dr. Unoke. “In 1984, Kony began the mass abduction of children and youth and when the LRA troops grew thinner; he enslaved and enlisted more and more children as child soldiers and sex objects.
“An International Criminal Court opened an investigation into the human rights abuses committed by Kony and the LRA in 2003 and an arrest warrant was issued in 2005 for Kony and five of his commanders for their criminal acts including murder, sexual enslavement and the forced enlistment of children. However, Kony is still at large.”
During the KCKCC simulation, students will play the role of diplomats in resolving the
issues of human rights abuses, historical injustices and the cultures of impunity.
Each high school will have one to two representatives on each of the four committees of the model and will debate on whether or not alleged criminal offenders such as Kony and the LRA should be pardoned or punished – and if so, how? In addition, students will role-play in transitional justice models and adopt resolutions toward resolving global, regional or intrastate conflicts. The four model committees are:
Truth and Reconciliation Committee – Primary purposes include; reconciliation, truth-telling and the national recovery of Uganda.
International Criminal Tribunal Committee – Focus will be on the legal trial and punishment of Joseph Kony and the LRA in order to deter future perpetrators.
Peace Building Committee – The goal of this committee is the post-conflict reconstruction of the Ugandan society.
UN Millennium Development Committee – The exploration of the means of building a post-conflict Ugandan future which satisfies the UN millennial goals agenda set for 2015.
Dr. Unoke says the simulation will enable students to learn about human rights concerns and hopes of people in different regions of the world; how peoples’ lives worldwide can be improved by the UN-KCKCC Transitional Justice model; and skills and behavior which contribute to international cooperation, peace and security; leadership training and conflict resolution skills.
The fee for the simulation is $20 per student with advisors admitted without charge. To register or to seek further information, advisors can contact Dr. Unoke by phone at: 913-288-7119; by e-mail at: eunoke@kckcc.edu; or visit the website: www.globaltransitionjustice.org.
