Tomorrow's Daily Monitor is running an Op/Ed written by Uganda-CAN, titled "Government Needs to Involve IDPs to Achieve Meaningful Peace Pact." In the editorial, we write, "In the midst of elite-level politicking, we fear the people of northern Uganda suffering in camps may be left behind. Their lack of participation and empowerment in the very processes that will determine their future makes the processes likely to fail." Uganda-CAN calls on the Government of Uganda and all stakeholders to implement an effective strategy for the secure return of IDPs to their land. Read the full text of the article at The Monitor.

In recent weeks, the Government of Southern Sudan has facilitated peace talks between the Government of Uganda (GoU) and Lord's Resistance Army (LRA): perhaps the most robust peace initiative in the 20 years of the conflict. However, in a drastic turn of events, government officials said last week that they would not send a delegation to these talks. Remarking that the LRA is not a Uganda problem anymore, government spokesmen said that they would not negotiate because of ICC indictments issued for the top five LRA commanders.

This refusal is a serious failure of the GoU’s moral and legal responsibility to protect its citizens and work toward regional security. The government has a duty to exhaust all opportunities to end violence against its people. The talks in Juba are one such opportunity. Further, the five indicted leaders are not the ones representing the LRA in Juba. The 14 LRA negotiators there represent the whole of the rebel army with which the government can and should negotiate.

Second, the government claims ICC indictments do not allow it to guarantee the safety of LRA rebels. However, this statement misses an important question: how can the Ugandan government guarantee the safety of rebel commanders that are not even within their own borders? Instead of continuing its litany of excuses, the government should put the needs of its citizens first and engage peace talks. Uganda-CAN urges the United States to support the mediation of the Southern Sudanese and help bring the GoU to the table.

Click here to email your Congressional representatives and urge them to support this opportunity to end the 20-year war, before this opportunity is lost to indifference!

As news surrounding potential peace talks in Juba has been unfolding, Uganda-CAN has been consulting with its international legal sources about the responsibilities of various stakeholders. An article in today's New Vision reports that the Government of Uganda (GoU) will not send a delegation to the peace talks. Uganda-CAN believes (if this news is accurate) that this is a serious abrogation of the government's responsibility to protect its citizens and work toward regional security. The government has a duty, through its constitution and signing of the UN charter, to exhaust all opportunities to minimize and end violence against its people. The peace talks in Juba represent one such significant opportunity that could end the war in the north and improve regional security.

It is true that the GoU is a party to the Rome Statute. Yet, as a sovereign state, Uganda is the ultimate arbiter of how to manage its national security interests and defend against internal conflict. Article 53 of the Rome Statute specifically considers scenarios where insisting on prosecution should defer to the "interests of victims" or other "interests of justice," such as circumstances in which peace may be negotiated. This is one such case. Uganda-CAN urges the Government of Uganda and other stakeholders to put the needs of peace and protection for civilians in northern Uganda first.

8,744 Americans have petitioned US President George Bush and the US Congress to act decisively to end the war in northern Uganda, a statement from the Uganda Conflict Action Network said. The petition was delivered to the White House and key members of Congress on Tuesday. Read more at The New Vision.

Kathleen Mackin, a former Washington-based Uganda-CAN intern, shares the following reflections on night commuting, suffering, and political apathy from her current research post in Kitgum district of northern Uganda -

"In the last week I have also gotten to go to a reception center, where children who have escaped from the bush are taken to be reintegrated back into the community. It was so odd to look at these little children and think about them being killers. Many were injured and many of the girls had babies. I was sitting next to this one boy and as I was looking down at his legs there were so many scars. Ann said that he had been shot several times and spent months in a Sudanese hospital. I am sure it was a miracle that he was even alive...

This week Ann has gone to Kampala leaving me to hold the fort. I will often sit a roadside stand on the way home and talk to the neighbors. This one particular evening I was talking to two gentlemen and they were asking me the usual questions about the states. One was particularly drunk and started me asking why the U.S. wasn't doing anything to help end the war. Why weren't they sending soldiers? I told him the obvious answer, there is a lack of political will and interest. This of course didn't sit well so he continued on about how Americans didn't care and how people like me just came here to study and get my qualifications, but that as soon as I left I would forget the suffering of the people. He didn't believe me that there are people in the States that do care and work for peace in Northern Uganda everyday. I hope that one day he gets to see that I am right."

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In the month of May, President Yoweri Museveni has taken a number of bold steps toward addressing the 20-year-war in northern Uganda both through military and dialogue. These steps have come with increasing international attention to the conflict and pressure for action. Each of these steps holds potential to end the war; however, it is essential that they are well coordinated and part of a comprehensive peace plan. Even more crucially, in the midst of elite politicking, the people of northern Uganda suffering in displacement camps cannot be forgotten or ignored. Click below for Uganda-CAN's latest analysis of the conflict dynamics during the month of May.

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