After holding consultative meetings last month, nearly 100 civil society organizations in northern Uganda have released a joint declaration on agenda item #3 of the Juba peace talks. This remarkable consensus document was signed by organizations covering the regions of Acholi, Lango, Teso and West Nile. The organizations call for the establishment of a Special Court for the prosecution of those most responsible for human rights violations in northern Uganda. Meanwhile, they appeal to the Ugandan parliament to "expeditiously domesticate the ICC bill in line with national and traditional justice mechanisms." They urge the Ugandan government to request the UN Security Council to defer the ICC arrest warrants for a period of 12 months. For those prosecuted, they recommend penalties such as "deprivation from heading public offices, deprivation from working with children and deprivation of liberty through serving prison sentences."

The declaration also reads, "Forced encampment and displacement should be recognized and acknowledged as a crime against humanity and the circumstances investigated and the persons responsible for such occurrences brought to book...Furthermore, any return program should be in line with the IDP policy and most importantly, there should be no forced return. Return should be voluntary." The organizations then call for the development of a reparations program for northern Uganda beginning now before the outcome of peace talks. They write that reparations could include schools, hospitals, monuments and memorial centers. "Furthermore, a national day of mourning should be established to commemorate the suffering and lives lost in the conflict." These groups also advocate a National Truth and Reconciliation Commission with a tenure of four years for truth-telling and reconciliation.

This declaration is a unique moment in history with northern Uganda civil society - across its regions - speaking with one voice. Now we must act to make sure that policymakers cannot ignore it.