The Uganda Conflict Action Network today releases its first working policy paper, titled "Seizing the Ripe Moment for Peace in Northern Uganda." The working policy paper identifies developments that have led to new opportunities for peace, and outlines policy recommendations for the United States government to see that these opportunities are seized.

"The release of this paper is a significant step forward for the Uganda-CAN campaign's work to advocate for a more active and visible role by the United States in achieving peace in northern Uganda," said Alison Jones, Uganda-CAN legislative analyst.

Click below to read the full paper.

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Catholic News Service (CNS) today published an article on Uganda-CAN's efforts to involve the international community in advancing peace in northern Uganda. The article notes Uganda-CAN's connections to Notre Dame as well as their partnership with religious leaders in Uganda.

Uganda Conflict Action Network Circulates Petition for Peace

WASHINGTON – The Uganda Conflict Action Network has formally begun circulation of a petition calling upon the Bush Administration and U.S. Congress to play a more active role in supporting a peaceful resolution to the 19-year old war in northern Uganda. The petition calls, among other things, for President Bush to allocate finances and appoint a high-profile envoy to support Ugandan efforts to initiate peace talks.

“Today we face a ripe moment for peace with new opportunities that must be seized,” said Michael Poffenberger, co-director of Uganda-CAN. “Yet without support and assistance from the U.S. government, such an opportunity may be lost.”

The petition, a joint campaign of Uganda-CAN and the Philadelphia Inquirer’s All Join Hands Campaign, calls upon the Bush Administration to use diplomacy to strengthen protection mechanisms for children in northern Uganda. More than 20,000 children have been abducted as a result of this war, forced into soldiering and sexual slavery.

Despite the severity of this situation, the war in northern Uganda has received little attention from the international community. Peter Quaranto, co-director of Uganda-CAN said, “The conflict in northern Uganda is uniquely horrifying not only in the targeting of children, but in that these children have been forgotten for nearly two decades.”

The Uganda Conflict Action Network, a new grassroots transcontinental advocacy group, is working with partners like the Philadelphia Inquirer to change that. Uganda-CAN is working both in the United States and Uganda to advocate and support initiatives for a peaceful resolution to the conflict and reconciliation throughout the region.

“For too long, policy debates on this issue have remained on the elite level, ignoring so many important voices,” says Poffenberger. “We are launching this petition as a way to elevate cries for peace here in the United States and especially from the millions that have suffered so long in northern Uganda.”

The cries of children on the ground abound. “The fear of being kidnapped is every kid’s worst nightmare, and in northern Uganda, it is happening every night,” says Quaranto. “Through this petition, we are calling upon the U.S. government to make ending such nightmares a priority.”

Sign the petition now online.

Uganda-CAN's latest partner is World Vision, an organization that has been on the front lines of the fight for peace in northern Uganda over recent years. Visit World Vision's advocacy page on northern Uganda to see the important work they do.

Uganda-CAN is now officially partnering with the Philadelphia Inquirer's All Join Hands Campaign. Learn more at their website about the pioneering and prophetic work of Carolyn Davis, a columnist at the Inquirer, to raise awareness and mobilize for action to support peace in northern Uganda. Uganda-CAN and the All Join Hands Campaign will be launching a petition for peace in the coming days.

Uganda Conflict Action Network would like to formally welcome Jacqueline Burgess to the team. Jackie is a student at George Washington University and will be working to formulate our relief plans, especially in the water and sanitation sector. Welcome aboard Jackie, we have much work ahead of us.

Recently we were featured in a blog called Sudan: The Passion of the Present (if you're the type who reads our blog, there's a good chance you're familiar with theirs, as well). Of course our (currently) low-traffic Web site needs all the exposure it can get, so, as U-CAN's Web publicity & marketing volunteer dude, I am very pleased that they took the time to read about us and post on us.

I am also pleased that they took the time to offer some constructive criticism, which was indeed constructive. Some of it I agreed with, and some of it I disagreed with; the following are my thoughts. (I felt a need to respond because I think these issues are quite important.)

From their blog:

We do have one bit of constructive criticism of the Uganda-CAN site--it has almost no blogroll links from the site out into the world.

In fact our blogroll is quite small. I deliberately only included blogs in it that are extremely relevant to our topic (i.e., the conflict in northern Uganda). If we included more blogs that were mostly but not completely relevant to this (e.g., blogs related to the Darfur crisis or to Africa issues in general), we could have had 100+ links in our blogroll.

We didn't. To me, this is a design and usability issue. If you look at this page, you will see that the left sidebar extends approximately 6000 pixels below the fold. Realistically, most users are not going to scroll down that far, thus rendering the possibility of a clickthrough (the whole point of a link) highly unlikely. Further, in my own opinion (not to step on anyone's toes) this looks "messy"--and visitors are less likely to return to a messy site.

From their blog:

Having worked on the Dean campaign, we note that many subsequent sites tried to copy our fundraising tactics but few copied our link and blogroll policy. But it was the radically open link policy that best expressed our philosophy and, I believe, was key to our growth.

Some notes on our linking policy

Believe me, I understand the importance of linking. We share the sentiment that an open link policy helps, not hinders, growth. That's why we link to appropriate sources and helpful links in every single blog post we make. We also maintain a resources page with tons of links to other helpful sites which we think our visitors may find useful. (Note on the resources page: although it's already large, we plan to greatly expand it in the coming week.)

Another bit of constructive criticism for Sudan: The Passion of the Present

I would have liked to add all of this as a comment on their Web site. Unfortunately the comments were not working. To me, the comments (and thus, the ensuing dialogue) are one of the strongest advantages of a blog over a "standard" Web site.

The power of networks

From their blog:

We would like the site better if it aggressively linked to the authors' favorite other sites, linked to sites linking to them, and if it actively surveyed and highlighted other voices of relevance to its topic. We think the most powerful sites are those that convey their point of view by highlighting and dialoguing with a wider community, and acting as a service for a wider community.

There is definite wisdom in this. The power of community or networks is huge on the Web, if you are able to harness it. This is something we would like to do (indeed we need to do it). We also plan to continue aggressively linking out and doing what we can to promote community and connectedness among those in the blogosphere who may care about our specifical goals (and our much broader goals, which encompasses much larger movements).

In any case I welcome any and all comments, complaints and reactions to the above :-)

Co-Director Peter Quaranto's editorial, titled "Global Action Needed to End LRA War," is now included on the Reuters AlertNet Web site, a testament to the growth of Uganda-CAN.

Uganda-CAN, in collaboration with OxFam and World Vision, has advised Senator Sam Brownback's office on legislation to support the peace process and protection mechanisms in northern Uganda. We are calling for more support for the peace process, human rights monitoring, psycho-social care and reporting on the Ugandan military. There is potential for such an agenda to be included in an attachment to an appropriations bill, and also to be included in the new Darfur Peace and Accountability Act. We will keep you posted on the success of this legislative opportunity.

Thanks to the hard work and commitment of Uganda-CAN volunteer Geoffrey Ogwal, five camp leaders in internally-displaced peoples' (IDP) camps in Lira and Apac districts of northern Uganda have issued statements of support for the work of the Uganda Conflict Action Network. These five camps are Starch Factory IDP camp, Culture Centre IDP camp, Ayami IDP camp, Pentacostal Assembly of God IDP camp and Erute IDP camp. With the leadership and guidance of these camp leaders, Uganda-CAN continues to grow and work for peace.

From Starch Factory IDP Camp: "On behalf of the entire community of Starch Factory IDP camp, I would like to express our support to Uganda-CAN for coming up to respond to the complex emergencies facing the people of northern Uganda. We look forward to seeing you among us."

From Ayami IDP camp: "Unanimously we believe that through your effort and the efforts rendered by other partner organizations, the people of northern Uganda at large will be in a position to return and resume our normal lives."

From PAG IDP camp: "We greatly believe that one day we shall see our homes again. We further believe that Uganda-CAN's commitment to bring peace in the region will go a long way to help in the region's reconstruction and reconciliation."

In the coming weeks, Uganda-CAN hopes to garner the support and collaboration of IDP camps throughout northern Uganda as a way to establish, empower and embolden our solidarity to raise our voices together - even if divided by thousands of miles - for peace.

Seizing the Ripe Moment for Peace in Northern Uganda - July 2005
Uganda Conflict Action Network – www.UgandaCAN.org

Thanks to John Prendergast, Joyce Neu, Zachary Lomo and others for their guidance in the formation of this working policy paper.

Today we are faced with a ripe moment to press for an end to the 19-year old war in northern Uganda. There are new opportunities for peace, which if employed intentionally, can resolve the conflict. The Congress of the United States, which committed itself to working towards a peaceful resolution of this conflict in passing the Northern Uganda Crisis Response Act of 2004, must seize this moment to bring peace, reconciliation and security to the region.

Over recent months, a number of developments have given rise to this ripe moment. First, Betty Bigombe and her team have established the first peace process in nearly a decade that has the trust of both sides. Second, representatives of the Government of Uganda have met with the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) rebels, showing government commitment to peace. Third, many LRA commanders have accepted the current amnesty law and surrendered. Fourth, the war, forgotten for nearly two decades, has begun to receive attention from the international community. Finally and most importantly, the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in Sudan has depleted LRA resources and stability.

In the Northern Uganda Crisis Response Act of 2004 (S.2264), the Congress of the United States declared in Section 3, Article 1 that the United States should “work vigorously to support ongoing efforts to explore the prospects for a peaceful resolution of the conflict in northern and eastern Uganda.” In this ripe moment, it is critical that the Congress use S.2264 as a framework to call for more resources and diplomacy for protection and peacebuilding in Uganda.

The most critical actor in determining the future of northern Uganda is Joseph Kony, the rebel commander of the LRA, but it would be irresponsible to leave the future of war and peace solely in the hands of Kony. The United States government, as a strong ally and friend of the Ugandan people, has an opportunity to support and facilitate actions to resolve this conflict.

The following actions by the United States government are critical to ensure that the current ripe moment is not spoiled.

• Appointment of a special envoy to raise the visibility of the Bigombe peace process and hold President Museveni accountable to the process. The envoy would work also directly with President Museveni as a partner for strategy and support in the process.
• Provide much-needed financial support to Betty Bigombe and the peace process, along with public statements of support for the process to build trust.
• Exert greater pressure on the Sudanese government to play a more aggressive role in arresting Kony and expelling the LRA from southern Sudan if they continue to stall negotiations.
• Provide international monitors for the ceasefire and human rights situation as a trust-building mechanism.
• Tie non-lethal military aid to Uganda to stipulations of professionalism of the military and an improvement in the military’s respect for human rights in the warzone.
• Provide greater financial and support resources to help with protection, mental health services, child rehabilitation, dialogue and development.
• Fund in part or whole the UN World Food Program’s projected shortages of approximately $100 million to ensure that the 1.6 million internally-displaced people continue to be fed.

The new Uganda Conflict Action Network was founded to raise awareness about this forgotten war of Africa and mobilize citizens to work in support of peaceful resolution and reconciliation in northern Uganda. Uganda-CAN is working in collaboration with a number of Ugandan organizations and faith leaders on the ground, along with in partnership with numerous policy, activist and faith-based organizations in the United States. Together, we will use our financial, democratic and human resources to work for the dignity and life of Ugandans affected by this war.

The Petoskey News-Review has run an article on Nathan Bauer, Uganda-CAN's spunky assistant director. The article begins, "Nathan Bauer may have left Africa, but Africa has not left him." It then talks about Nate's experiences in Uganda that led him to be part of the founding of the Uganda Conflict Action Network. Read this inspiring article at the Petoskey News-Review website.

The Joplin Independent, a local Oklahoma newspaper, includes a story today on the launch of the Uganda Conflict Action Network. Read the article at the newspaper's website.

Uganda-CAN is excited to announce that it will host a benefit concert in Nairobi, Kenya on August 6th! The concert, organized by Uganda-CAN Kenyan correspondent James Neuhaus, will be called "Expose It" and will feature numerous young East African musicians. The concert will be held on the Rooftop of Westlands, and all proceeds will go to the work of Uganda-CAN both for advocacy and direct support of peacebuilding initiatives on the ground.

Today, Worldview, Chicago Public Radio's international news analysis program, interviewed Uganda-CAN co-director Peter Quaranto for a story on the current state of politics and conflict in Uganda. The audio from the show will be available soon on the Worldview website.

National Public Radio plans to run a feature next week on the future of Uganda, which will include interviews of the Uganda Conflict Action Network. The feature will discuss both the recent dynamics of the conflict in the north and the tenuous political situation. More news on this exciting development to come.