Uganda-CAN director Peter Quaranto (that's me) spoke on Chicago Public Radio's Worldview program yesterday about the arrest of Rtd. Col. Kizza Besigye, riots in Kampala and the political climate in Uganda. Click here to listen to the audio.

Over the six months of our existence, Uganda-CAN has been able to gain large amounts of media coverage, allowing us to describe the situation in northern Uganda and advocate for action. Be sure to check out our Uganda-CAN In-the-News Web page, which is updated weekly.

Four months ago on August 1st, Carolyn Davis, an editorial writer for The Philadelphia Inquirer wrote an open letter to First Lady Laura Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, calling on them to visit northern Uganda witness the torture, kidnapping and rape that are all common in the 19-year-old war.

Concluding, she wrote, “Everyone who has seen this situation firsthand, especially the sight of thousands of children trudging at twilight to sleep in safer surroundings, comes away converted to the cause of helping these kids. You will, too, Madam Secretary and Mrs. Bush. You would, too, President Bush. I even will provide a target date: Most of these children are Christian. Give them the best imaginable Christmas gift: Push to end this war by Dec. 25.”

This holiday season, Uganda-CAN is taking Miss Davis’ call for action seriously. We are launching our Holiday Campaign today to tell policymakers and officials that it's time to give the children of northern Uganda the greatest gift possible: return to their families, a chance to go to school and long-awaited peace.

With the Uganda-CAN Holiday Campaign, there are three ways to get involved:

1.) Write a letter to the following, telling U.S. officials to catalyze and support the UN Security Council in addressing civilian protection in northern Uganda:
(Jendayi Frazer, Assistant Secretary of State for Africa, Department of State, 2201 C St., NW, Room 6234A, Washington, DC 20520) and (Ambassador John Bolton, United States Mission to the United Nations, 799 United Nations Plaza, 11th Fl., New York, NY 10017)

2.) On December 13, call in to targeted members of the U.S. Congress and tell them that northern Uganda is a forgotten crisis that demands their attention and action.

3.) Make a holiday contribution to the work of Uganda-CAN as we move into the next year and seek to continue our advocacy to end the war in northern Uganda. You can donate online or send checks to the above address.

Uganda-CAN has updated its website to include a Web page concerning the contentious issues of land ownership and rights currently troubling northern Uganda. Many IDPs fear that their land - which carries immense economic, cultural, and religious importance - is in danger of being stolen during their confinement to IDP camps or during post-conflict rebuilding. A variety of threats, stemming from suspicious government actions and the conflict's long-term damage to traditional land tenure, bolster and legitimize these fears. These fears in turn foster mistrust between northern Ugandans and the Ugandan government, hindering the cooperation and reconciliation essential to hopes for a sustainable peace in the region.

Click here to learn more about land insecurity in northern Uganda - including thoughts from northern Ugandans, Uganda-CAN's policy recommendations to the US government, links to land insecurity studies and news, and information about Ugandan land rights advocacy organizations. Or navigate there by clicking on the subsection entitled "The Conflict" on the left sidebar of this Web page.

A powerful article in Weekly Magazine writes about the war in northern Uganda and the work of Uganda-CAN to organize the Washington D.C. GuluWalk on October 22. The lead organizers of that walk, Reid Rector and Uganda-CAN co-founder Michael Poffenberger, worked tirelessly to organize a walk that turned out hundreds of people even amidst the rain and cold. Read the article here.