Kitgum Anglican Bishop Benjamin Ojwang has asked the LRA delegation to the Juba peace talks to come and tour IDP camps in northern Uganda. The visit would help them seek the views of the internally displaced people on the peace talks, he said on Friday. Noting that most of the LRA negotiators were Acholi from the Diaspora, Bishop Ojwang said: "They are putting their own demands; not those of the IDPs who are suffering. They have never been here. They should come and get the views of the people." Read more at The Monitor.

In November 2007 the Ugandan government will host the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHoGM), a bi-annual event bringing together the leaders from the 53 countries that comprise the Commonwealth. Ugandan Minister of Foreign Affairs Sam Kutesa recently expressed the government’s recognition of the summit’s PR opportunities, saying, "We should use the chance to showcase our country as a success story to our world." Within the past week alone the Ugandan government has announced plans to spend over $11 million to rebuild roads and install security cameras in the Kampala region where the summit will be held.

However, it remains glaringly obvious that the 1.4 million northern Ugandans living in squalid IDP camps have yet to find their role in Uganda’s "success story." Why are there no new 'CHoGM roads' being built to Gulu? And why are hundreds of Karamajong beggars displaced by fighting and drought in northeastern Uganda being cleared off the streets of Kampala before CHoGM’s security cameras are installed? Perhaps the evidence of two decades of violence and displacement in the northern half of the country has not been deemed worthy of inclusion in Uganda’s "success story." It will be a shame – and a lost opportunity - if 53 heads of state come to Uganda this November and fail to recognize that once again the voices of those marginalized in northern Uganda are being written out of the story…

Gulu district wants all children's "night commuter" shelters to close within one month. This decision follows reports that the number of "night commuters" in the town has dropped from 15,000 in May 2006 to less than 500 last month. The fall is attributed to the improved security situation in northern Uganda, directly related to the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement established by the parties at the Juba peace talks. Read more at The New Vision.

The South Sudan army, the Sudan People’s Liberation Army, has redeployed troops in anticipation of potential attacks by LRA rebels, the army spokesman Maj-Gen Kuol Diem Kuol has said. The SPLA second infantry division has been redeployed to potentially volatile areas across southern Sudan. The eight brigade is being deployed to Western Equatoria State and other forces are being deployed to Torit in Eastern Equatoria, Central Equatoria, Upper Nile State and Bahr al Ghazal states. Their mandate is to protect their people against attacks by the LRA or other armed groups. Read more at The Sudan Tribune.

Two ministers within the Ugandan government have denied allegations that they have illegally or wrongfully acquired land belonging to the Kitgum hospital. The allegations surfaced last week after Kitgum district chairman John Komakech Ogwok testified before the Ugandan Parliament that the Kitgum district land board had allocated the two ministers and other developers land that is urgently needed for expansion of the hospital services. Hillary Onek, the minister of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, said, "It's not true. I would never willfully or illegally take institutional land or property well knowing that such services are vital for our people.” Read more at The Monitor.

District land boards are responsible for facilitating registration of land interests and holding and allocating land that is publicly owned or not owned by any person. However, land boards in northern Uganda are often underfunded and unable fulfill their duties, leading to a lack of adequate land administration capacity in northern Uganda that leaves the ownership status of some land unclear or disputed.

The Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre has released an updates profile on the IDP situation in northern Uganda. The profile reads, "The overall security situation in northern Uganda remains fluid, as a landmark Cessation of Hostilities Agreement, signed in August 2006 by the LRA and the Government of Uganda expired in late February 2007. A number of LRA groups are reported to have re-entered northern Uganda, causing fear amongst communities and hindering ongoing return and population movement. Despite improved security, illustrated by increased access to land and freedom of movement, the majority of IDPs in Uganda live in appalling conditions with limited access to basic services." Read the full profile here.

UNICEF, other United Nations agencies, the Ugandan government and civil society organizations launched a campaign today to improve primary-school enrollment in the Lango sub-region of northern Uganda. This event is part of a national campaign to accelerate enrollment, retention and completion by boys and girls, with a particular focus on the conflict-affected northern and northeastern parts of the country. The latest data from the Ministry of Education and Sports indicates that in the Lango sub-region, less than 50% of the children enter primary school at the officially prescribed age of six. Of those who do enroll in school, relatively few (50% or less) complete the first cycle of schooling. Read more at UNICEF.org.

Representatives of the Uganda government and LRA will meet this week with the UN Secretary General's special envoy to northern Uganda, Joaquim Chissano, in a bid to restart the Juba peace talks. The meetings come in the wake of Khartoum's decision to pull out of an agreement to co-operate with the International Criminal Court (ICC). Although it is widely believed that Sudan's earlier decision to cooperate with the ICC helped force the LRA leaders to the negotiating table, officials on all sides say Khartoum's decision will not derail the peace talks. However, the ICC indictments hanging over the rebel leaders continues to cast a shadow over the Juba peace talks. This issue will likely be discussed at the meetings, along with the presence of the Ugandan army in South Sudan, the venue of the negotiations and financial considerations. Read more at The East African.

Courtney Howard, high school teacher and Uganda-CAN activist, is featured on the listener commentary program at WBFO, a public radio station in Buffalo, NY. Courtney speaks about her experiences in northern Uganda and about the need for the US government to step up its support of the Juba peace process. Listen to the commentary here.

Maintaining internally displaced people's (IDP) camps in northern Uganda costs UN agencies and non-governmental organisations $200 million a year, a new report by the British Parliament has revealed. According to the report, "Conflict and Development: Peace Building and Post Conflict Reconstruction," the international community has "taken the pressure off" the government of Uganda to provide for its own citizens. "In effect, the international community is paying $200 million per year to provide services which the government of Uganda should either be providing or for which there would be no demand if the IDPs could go home and live normal lives," the report reads in part. The report continues, "We consider that insufficient international pressure has been put on the government of Uganda to work towards either a negotiated or a military solution to the conflict." Read more at The Monitor.

The World Food Programme’s urgent appeal for funds to buy food for displaced people and other refugees in northern Uganda is yielding a positive response. The United Kingdom has pledged $13 million towards the cause. The donation followed an announcement by WFP that it would cut by half the food rations it has been distributing to internally displaced persons (IDPs) due to lack of funds. Read more at The Monitor.

The UN Under-Secretary for Humanitarian Affairs has reaffirmed the organisation’s support for the Juba peace talks. John Holmes, as he announced a scaledown of the UN humanitarian operations in South Sudan, told reporters that there would not be a complete withdrawal "of emergency relief until there’s a resolution of the LRA conflict." "What is clear is that we all need a resolution for the people of south Sudan and the people of northern Uganda," Holmes said. Read more at The New Vision.

The European Union (EU) has vowed to exert pressure on the countries blocking the Juba peace talks. The EU Special Representative for the Great Lakes Region, Roeland Van De Geer, did not name the countries. He said, however, that the EU will pressure the countries in the region to refrain from involving themselves in the Ugandan conflict. The EU has also urged the Government and the LRA, as well as other parties involved, to show greater commitment to the peace process. Read more at The New Vision.

Welcoming a recent meeting between the Ugandan Government and the LRA, the UN Security Council today expressed hope that peace talks could soon resume. The 15-member panel issued a presidential statement that also called for the extension of last year's cessation of hostilities agreement after being briefed on the latest developments by Joaquim Chissano, the Secretary-General's Special Envoy to the conflict. Noting the progress made at that meeting towards a resumption of formal peace talks, the Council stressed the need for a negotiated settlement to be concluded quickly and for those responsible for serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law to be brought to justice. Read more at the UN News Service.

Te chief Government negotiator Dr. Rugunda announced in a press briefing on Friday that the stalled peace talks would tentatively resume on April 13. Read more at The New Vision.

Joaquim Chissano, the UN special envoy to the LRA-affected areas, briefed the UN Security Council yesterday about his efforts to restart the peace talks between the LRA and Ugandan government. Chissano discussed the meetings he has held in the DR Congo and southern Sudan with the LRA leadership, Ugandan government, and other regional actors in the past several weeks to address the reasons that prompted the LRA to withdraw from the talks in January. He said that the parties have scheduled a preliminary meeting to the resumption of the talks in Juba to be held in the second week of April. Chissano expressed optimism that the talks can be successfully restarted, and said that LRA leader Joseph Kony “convinced me that he is sincere when he says that he is committed to peace and doesn’t want to go back to war.” Watch a webcast of Chissano’s comments to the media after his briefing to the Security Council.

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir this week urged the LRA and Ugandan government to accelerate their progress in negotiating a settlement at the Juba peace talks. Ruhakana Rugunda, the head of the Ugandan government’s delegation to the talks, said that al-Bashir also urged a timeframe be set for the negotiations to assess their development. Rugunda said, "President Bashir put it in a positive way that he would like to see faster progress being made in the talks so that the conflict in northern Uganda can come to an end formally." Read more at the Sudan Tribune.

The Ugandan government said on Wednesday that it expects peace talks to restart within weeks and remains optimistic for progress on a deal to end two decades of war. "We are consulting over the actual timing," the chief government negotiator, Internal Affairs Minister Ruhakana Rugunda said. "We expect that the next round of talks will also ensure that the (truce)...will be strictly adhered to...make further progress and conclude the peace agreement," Rugunda said. The chief mediator Riek Machar also said on Wednesday that the two parties had agreed to resume talks by April 13. Read more at Reuters.

The Ugandan Parliament is investigating accusations that two ministers within the Ugandan government were among a group of private investors allocated land once belonging to the Kitgum hospital. Kitgum district chairman John Komakech Ogwok testified yesterday before the Parliament that the allocated land is urgently needed by hospital officials to expand facilities for the children’s ward and staff accommodation. Read more at The Monitor.

Land is an extremely sensitive issue in northern Uganda. Many northerners, forcibly displaced from their land for over a decade, harbor deep suspicions that government officials, members of the Ugandan military and ‘private investors’ have plans to acquire land that remains the bedrock of their social structures, cultural values and economic livelihoods. Learn more about land issues by visiting the website of Uganda-CAN partner the Land and Equity Movement in Uganda.

Members of four Acholi clans clashed last week after a dispute over land ownership in Amuru district in northern Uganda. Land is an invaluable cultural and economic asset in northern Uganda, but over a decade of war and displacement has muddled land ownership claims and weakened traditional dispute resolution mechanisms. Special government land tribunals, already underfunded and difficult to access for the poor, were phased out in November 2006. A report released by the UN Human Rights Council in February 2007 documented a growing number of and potential for violent land disputes. Unless traditional community-based and formal judicial mechanisms for settling land disputes peacefully are strengthened, land conflicts will continue to pose a threat to the secure return of over 1.4 million IDPs in northern Uganda to their homes. Read more at AllAfrica.com.

Six people, including an LRA rebel collaborator and three youths who killed a Comboni priest, were sentenced to death for murder charges. The High Court in Gulu on Tuesday sentenced Santo Bongomin, a former LRA collaborator, to death for conniving with the rebels to kill a family of nine people at Lamin-Oywek nine years ago. Read more at The New Vision.

The LRA has requested that Gen. Salim Saleh, brother to Ugandan President Museveni, join the Ugandan government’s delegation to the Juba peace talks. In a statement released yesterday, LRA leader Joseph Kony says, "The LRA High Command and the peace delegation strongly suggest involvement in the government delegation of people with information and the capacity to comprehend, not only the political but also the military and security dynamics of the conflict. In particular, we strongly feel that the involvement of Gen. Salim Saleh would provide this critical mass." Gen. Saleh has been involved in several initiatives to make peace with the LRA, including the Presidential Peace Team created in 2003. Read more at The Monitor.

Reacting to yesterday’s decision by the Sudanese government to suspend cooperation with the International Criminal Court (ICC), LRA commander Vincent Otti reaffirmed the LRA’s opposition to the execution of the ICC’s arrest warrants for top LRA leaders. "Sudan has nothing to do with our indictments by the ICC. Our indictments are between the government of Uganda and the ICC. We are ready for anything. We are not concerned about Sudan and its withdrawal. We are always ready for anyone who shall come to execute the ICC warrants. We shall protect ourselves against anyone who comes and we shall respond accordingly." Read more at The Monitor.

A suspected LRA attack in the Eastern Equatoria region of southern Sudan yesterday killed one person and displaced over 1500 people. The attack comes just days after both the LRA and Ugandan government delegations to the Juba peace talks expressed hope that the negotiations would resume within the next few weeks.

However, the LRA is only one of many armed groups in southern Sudan and has been inaccurately blamed for attacks on civilians several times within the past few months. Until peace talks resume, the cessation of hostilities is renewed and effective monitoring mechanisms are put in place such attacks, no matter who is responsible, will continue to sow discord and mistrust among the LRA, Ugandan government and southern Sudanese. Read more at the Sudan Tribune.

The Sudanese government has said it will suspend all cooperation with the International Criminal Court (ICC) in response to accusations that Sudanese officials have committed war crimes in Darfur. The action will also affect Khartoum's commitment to cooperate in the arrest of LRA leader Joseph Kony and his commanders who are under indictment by the ICC. On October 3, 2005, the ICC, Uganda, the DR Congo and Sudan signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate in the arrest of the LRA commanders. That memorandum may be jeopardized by this latest announcement. Uganda's Regional Cooperation Minister Isaac Musumba acknowledged that the suspension of cooperation between Sudan and the ICC "has huge implications for the dynamics of the Kony case." Read more at The Monitor.

The Uganda National Focal Point on Small Arms yesterday refuted reports that put the number of small arms in the hands of the LRA at 150,000. The UN agency IRIN on Friday quoted its coordinator, Richard Nabudere, as saying that there were 400,000 small arms in Uganda, 150,000 of which were in the hands of the LRA. Research by the Geneva-based Small Arms Survey also estimated the stockpile holdings in Uganda to be in the range of 200,000 to 400,000 small arms. In order to establish the number of small arms in circulation in the region, member states in a meeting in Kampala last week adopted a regional research strategy. Read more at The New Vision.

GuluWalk's co-founder and director Adrian Bradbury is touring the war-torn northern region. "During the two-week trip, which will include visits to Gulu, Pader and Kitgum districts, Bradbury will connect with local officials and spend time with residents directly affected by the war," the press statement from GuluWalk reads. The GuluWalk initiative has in the past two years raised over $590,000 through charity walks and fundraising drives to support education, rehabilitation and youth and health programmes for children affected by the 20-year conflict. Read more at The Monitor.

Constrained by a critical lack of funds, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) said today it would be forced from the beginning of April to cut by half food rations for nearly 1.5 million displaced people and refugees in northern Uganda. Ninety percent of displaced people in the war-affected area, mostly women and children, depend on WFP for their survival. "Until we have sufficient funds to buy food locally, we will be forced from 1 April to reduce by half the amount of maize and beans that we give to each displaced and refugee family in Uganda," said WFP Uganda Country Director Tesema Negash. WFP has so far received only $37 million of the $127 million it asked donors and the government to provide for relief and recovery support in 2007. "It is vital that we do not abandon the displaced at this critical stage in the peace process," Negash said. Read more at Peace Journalism.

In an interview with Voice of America, the LRA delegation's Godfrey Ayo said that there will be no resumption of peace talks until the conditions they put before a meeting convened by the UN Special Envoy to Northern Uganda Joachim Chissano, have been met. Ayo said that there are outstanding issues, "very grave malfunctions that we need addressed by the UN Special Envoy for Northern Uganda." Ayo said the LRA team is ready to resume talks in Juba, though "there are certain specific conditions that we want fulfilled." He said the LRA delegation to the peace talks would send a verification team to Juba to ascertain whether the conditions they set have been met. Ayo did not specify these conditions in the interview. A meeting to set the agenda for the resumption of the Juba peace talks is scheduled for later this week.

Gulu resident district commissioner Col. Walter Ochora has said there is need for a time limit for the peace talks to discourage the Government and the LRA from delaying the talks. "Everything should have a beginning and an end. These peace talks should have a time limit. They should not to be left open like that." Read more at The New Vision.

A meeting to set the agenda for the resumption of the Juba peace talks is scheduled for next week. The Government team leader, Dr. Rugunda, said: "President Chissano is coordinating affairs to resume the talks. We are going to hold a preliminary meeting soon to work out how we can resume the talks." The UN special envoy on the LRA conflict, Joaquim Chissano, has requested for two military observers from each of the countries which will be involved in restarting the talks. DR Congo, Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa and Tanzania were also asked to provide a senior official each to join the permanent observer team. Meanwhile, a Cessation of Hostilities monitoring team is being set up under the African Union to oversee the assembling of the LRA fighters. Read more at The New Vision.

LRA leader Joseph Kony and his deputy Vincent Otti have reconciled with key Acholi leaders whom they earlier accused of criticizing them unfairly. At last Sunday's meeting, Kony and Otti accused some of the Acholi leaders of being uncooperative. Sources who attended the meeting said that the rebel leaders pointed fingers at Gulu Resident District Commissioner, Walter Ochora, area LC5 chairman Norbert Mao and leader of the opposition in Parliament Ogenga Latigo. But now on the intervention of Acholi paramount chief David Acana, the exchanges have ceased and the two sides decided to "bury the hatchet" for the sake of peace in their region. Read more at The Monitor.

A new HIV/Aids survey by UNAIDS and the World Health Organization has cast doubt on the widely-held assumption that internally displaced persons and refugees are more likely to be HIV-infected than people in ostensibly more stable settings. Previous reports had indicated that war-torn northern Uganda had the highest HIV prevalence in the country. However, in northern Uganda, which is home to an estimated 1.4 million internally displaced persons, "the HIV prevalence rate is just over 8%," the report says. Because of the variance in the actual figures, the Ugandan Ministry of Health is planning to conduct a study of HIV prevalence among internally displaced people. Read more at The Monitor.

The decision by the government of Uganda and Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) to resume peace talks within the next two weeks brings fresh hope that a peaceful resolution to the 21-year conflict can be found. For those who shirked support for the process before - the U.S. Government, African Union, IGAD to name a few - this provides a second chance. As we've continually advocated, confidence-building and accountability provided by external actors will be crucial if negotiations are to succeed.

Fortunately, this time around, the foundation for peace talks looks to be firmer. The involvement of additional mediators from five African countries - Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania, Mozambique and DR Congo - may add leverage to the process and increase disincentives for its derailment. In addition, the leadership of UN special envoy for northern Uganda Joaquim Chissano, a respected African elder and statesman, strengthens the process. Significant hurdles still exist - namely ICC indictments, 'political solutions' to the war and Cessation of Hostilities - but strategic external support can help the talks maintain momentum.

Most importantly, though, the web of actors in Juba cannot lose sight of the ultimate stakeholders: the war-weary people of northern Uganda. Neither party - the GoU or LRA - can honestly claim to represent northerners' best interests, but both can win their favor by showing that their priority is peace. To ensure northerners are at the center of the process, civil society leaders, especially including women, should be more involved in the negotiations. Their representation in Juba is essential to hold the process accountable to the 30,000 abducted, 1.7 million displaced and millions forced into silence by 21 years of war.

To restart stalled peace talks, the Ugandan government has agreed to the LRA request to bring in new mediators from five other African countries, Internal Affairs minister Dr. Rugunda said today. After meeting LRA leader Joseph Kony on Sunday, Rugunda said mediators would be called from Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania, Mozambique and the DR Congo. The LRA delegation walked out of the talks in early January, demanding a change of venue and mediator. However, Rugunda said these issues had now been solved. Read more at The New Vision.

Negotiators for the Lord's Resistance Army have agreed to return to Juba for peace talks after staying away for months, the government's lead negotiator announced today. Internal Affairs Minister Dr. Rugunda told reporters that the Uganda peace delegation and the LRA negotiators had "agreed to resume peace talks." However, Rugunda said a date is yet to be set for when the talks would resume, adding that a time frame of two weeks had been "suggested" within which the two parties would meet to agree on the date. Read more at The Monitor.

Internal Affairs minister Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda met LRA commanders Joseph Kony and Vincent Otti on Sunday in the first-ever direct talks between the top LRA leadership and the Government. "Given the circumstances, it was a good meeting," Rugunda said. "It brought the main stakeholders together. Both parties expressed readiness and willingness to resume the peace talks...Definitely, we are optimistic." In addition, South Sudan's President announced yesterday that the LRA could stay in South Sudan as long as they were willing to make peace. Read more at The New Vision.

LRA leader Joseph Kony has set 18 conditions that the Ugandan government must meet before the rebels resume peace talks. The conditions include; an increment of allowances for their negotiating team, deployment of 1,000 peacekeeping troops in South Sudan, guarantee of security of their delegation and the participation of the Khartoum government in the talks. Other conditions include demands for a change of mediator, withdrawal of UDPF troops in South Sudan and a safe corridor for LRA troops to cross to east of the Nile. The conditions were set over the weekend at a meeting between the LRA High Command, the UN special envoy to Northern Uganda Joachim Chissano, and various government officials. Read more at The Monitor.

Stressing the need to end the suffering in northern Uganda, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon today welcomed the latest pledges by the parties to maintain the ceasefire. The Secretary-General voiced hope that the discussions begun yesterday "can lead in the near future to a resumption of the Juba peace talks," spokesperson Michele Montas said. "The Secretary-General looks forward to further discussions on the situation of the LRA-affected areas when his Special Envoy visits New York later this month to brief the Security Council," she added. Read more at the UN News Service.

The ENOUGH Initiative, a newly formed campaign to galvanize public and political leaders to effectively confront mass violence against innocent civilians, today released the first in a series of reports detailing the current realities in Darfur, northern Uganda and eastern Congo. ENOUGH will issue a series of policy papers focused on what the international community, and particularly the United States, can do now to prevent mass atrocities and genocide in the future.

ENOUGH employs what it calls a "3-P" strategy focused on promoting durable peace efforts; providing protection for the innocent victims of mass atrocities; and punishment of the perpetrators to break the cycle of impunity and will use field analysis and policy advocacy to empower a growing activist movement for change. "Stopping atrocities requires a calibrated combination of peacebuilding, civilian protection, and accountability," says ENOUGH co-founder John Prendergast. "A policy that falters on any of these fronts is doomed to failure, and failure means more innocent lives are lost." Visit Enough's website and sign up for their bimonthly updates.

As we reported last week, your phone calls pushed the U.S. Senate to pass a resolution calling on the U.S. Government and international community to do all that it can to recommence the vital peace talks for northern Uganda. Your phone calls also led the House of Representatives to introduce a similar resolution (H. Res. 80) to strengthen the peace talks in northern Uganda. However, this resolution is being held up by the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

We need YOU to push this resolution through, by calling your representatives, especially those on this committee (check the list below). Click here to find your House representative and their contact information. Our message is simple: "We want the U.S. House of Representatives to follow the Senate's lead by passing House Resolution 80 to show its concern for peace talks to resume in war-torn northern Uganda." Together, let's see this through and demand that peace in northern Uganda be taken seriously by our political officials!

House Committee on Foreign Affairs:
Chairman: Rep. Tom Lantos (D-CA): 202-225-3531
Ranking Member: Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL): 202-225-3931
Rep. Howard L. Berman (D-CA)
Rep. Gary L. Ackerman (D-NY)
Rep. Donald M. Payne (D-NJ) - co-sponsor of the resolution
Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA)
Rep. Robert Wexler (D-FL)
Rep. Eliot L. Engel (D-NY)
Rep. Bill Delahunt (D-MA)
Rep. Gregory W. Meeks (D-NY)
Rep. Diane E. Watson (D-CA)
Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA)
Rep. Russ Carnahan (D-MO)
Rep. Josh S. Tanner (D-TN)
Rep. Gene Green (D-TX)
Rep. Lynn C. Woolsey (D-CA)
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) - co-sponsor of the resolution
Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-NY)
Rep. Ruben Hinojosa (D-TX)
Rep. David Wu (D-OR)
Rep. Brad Miller (D-NC)
Rep. Linda T. Sanchez (D-CA)
Rep. David Scott (D-GA)
Rep. Jim Costa (D-CA)
Rep. Albio Sires (D-NJ)
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ)
Rep. Ron Klein (D-FL)
Rep. Christopher H. Smith (R-NJ)
Rep. Bob Inglis (R-SC)
Rep. Ted Poe (R-TX)
Rep. Michael T. McCaul (R-TX)
Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE) - co-sponsor of the resolution
Rep. Connie Mack (R-FL)
Rep. J. Gresham Barrett (R-SC)
Rep. John Boozman (R-AK)
Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC)
Rep. Thaddeus G. McCotter (R-MI)
Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN)
Rep. Jo Ann Davis (R-VA)
Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ)
Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX)
Rep. Thomas G. Tancredo (R-CO)
Rep. Donald A. Manzullo (R-IL)
Rep. Steve Chabot (R-OH)
Rep. Edward R. Royce (R-CA)
Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA)
Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-CA)
Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN)

A team of peace negotiators and political officials, including Internal Affairs Minister Ruhakana Rugunda, met Joseph Kony and the LRA High Command for the first time yesterday in DR Congo. The meeting, which is expected to last three days, was convened by UN Special Envoy for Northern Uganda Joachim Chissano at the request of Kony and his deputy Vincent Otti. The visiting team includes Acholi religious and political leaders, and members of the LRA negotiating team. The agenda of the meeting, which is believed to be about finding ways to resume stalled peace talks, has remained confidential. Read more at The Monitor.

A group of LRA rebels that were found stealing food in Ngomoromo IDP camp in Kitgum were forced back into Sudan by the UPDF. A local official said about 30 rebels were involved. According to the source, the IDP camp there has more than 2,500 residents. Many of them had returned from areas in southern Sudan after the Government’s appeal for people to return home. Read more at The New Vision.

The Monitor reports that UN special envoy to Northern Uganda Joachim Chissano and South Sudan Vice-President Riek Machar tomorrow will travel to the DR Congo to meet LRA rebel leader Joseph Kony. "The meeting is very important for ending of the suffering of the people in Northern Uganda," Chissano said yesterday.

Through music and political lobbying, students and faculty on the University of Tennessee-Knoxville are working to help bring peace to war-torn northern Uganda. Professor Rosalind Hackett, student Chris Martin and others have put together a new music cd, titled 'Jazz for Justice' to benefit the Northern Uganda Girls' Education Network. They're also seeking new ways for musicians and music-lovers in the Knoxville area to use music as a form of activism, something Martin calls "engaged entertainment." The CD is available at www.cdbaby.com/kjfjvac, the UT Bookstore and Knoxville music stores.

Last October, the group traveled to the Northern Uganda Lobby Day in Washington D.C. and have been one of the most active campus groups in the country advocating for an end to the 21-year war. For Hackett, seeing students unite to help Northern Uganda has been thrilling. "These students don't just want to be globally aware, they want to be globally engaged," Hackett said. "They're learning they can do more than get involved - they can make a difference. It's so heartening to me as a professor who has been here 20 years. This is far beyond anything the students or I could get from the classroom." Read more at Tennessee Today.

The UN Mission in Sudan reports that "small and large LRA movement to and from Central African Republic (CAR) and Western Equatoria are being regularly reported." Unconfirmed reports indicate LRA fighters are currently in border towns between CAR and DR Congo. Reportedly, CAR authorities have reinforced their military positions on the border with DRC and Sudan to prevent crossings. They suspect LRA of joining forces with the "Union of Democratic Forces for Unity" (UFDR) rebels in the future.

This week, the first group of 370 Ugandan soldiers arrived in Somalia to contribute to the controversial African Union (AU) peacekeeping force. The force is tasked with assisting the Transitional Federal Government in stabilizing the country. Upon their arrival on Tuesday, heavy gunfire and mortar bomb explosions were heard near the Mogadishu International Airport. Yesterday, two Ugandan soldiers were wounded after unknown gunmen attacked an AU convoy. "Peacekeeping" in present-day Somalia will face immense challenges as some Islamist groups have vowed to wage guerrilla war against the foreign troops.

The advent of the AU peacekeeping force is not only controversial in terms of Somali politics, but also for Uganda. First, with mass insecurity and gross displacement continuing in northern Uganda, more police and security are needed there to finally bring peace to Africa's longest running conflict. However, despite this reality, the government is commiting 1,400 soldiers to Somalia. This certainly raises doubts among northerners that Kampala is committed to their welfare and protection.

Second, it is clear that the U.S. Government (USG), though unwilling to send troops, is the biggest supporter of the AU peacekeeping force. Since the 1990s, Washington has been worried about Islamic groups gaining control of the strategically-located country. By being the first to send troops, Ugandan is deepening its already-close alliance with the USG. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with such good will, except that it is keeping the USG from taking decisive action to support and strengthen peace talks in northern Uganda. Afraid to perturb this new strategic relationship, Washington is avoiding its potential to help the people of northern Uganda overcome the throes of war.

New Vision columnist Opiyo Oloya today shares his analysis of the Acholi Peace Conference held over the last few days in Juba; an attempt to restart peace talks between the LRA and Ugandan government. He writes, "The events that happened in Juba in the last three days can only be described as extraordinary, even historic, as described by Machar. For one, this was the first time a group of Acholi from northern Uganda and Acholi from Southern Sudan sat down together to consider a common issue facing them...The assembly itself was extraordinary in that delegates from a cross section of Acholi communities in the Diaspora, displaced people’s camps, villages, towns and cities throughout Uganda..." Oloya concludes, "We had also defied the notion that only the two parties in the peace talks could speak on the issue of peace in northern Uganda. In fact, we collectively threw down the gauntlet to the Government of Uganda and the LRA, daring them to ignore the voice of the Acholi people." Read the full column at The New Vision.

BBC News is today featuring a series of pictures displaying life for the 1.7 million people displaced in northern Uganda. Progress in improving conditions and allowing IDPs to return home is now hanging in the balance as the future of the Juba peace talks remains uncertain.

The chief mediator Dr. Riek Machar, told Acholi leaders meeting in Juba over the weekend that more countries have been invited to join mediation between the Ugandan government and LRA rebels. "We have invited eight military observers from the African Union to back the cessation of hostilities team here in Juba," Machar told the conference on Sunday night. "We have agreed that five countries be allowed on the mediation team as observers. President Chissano is now in Kampala discussing the same issue with President Museveni." The Juba conference, chaired by Acholi Paramount Chief Rwot David Acana recommended that both parties return to peace talks in Juba, with a strengthened Cessation of Hostilities Monitoring Team, more participation for civil society, and new involvement of the UN, African Union, Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and the East African Community. Read more at The Monitor.

The Ugandan Amnesty Commission has proposed that two more mediators join the South Sudanese Vice-President, Dr. Riek Machar, to guide the stalled Juba peace talks. The commission's chairman, Justice Peter Onega, on Friday said for any mediation to be successful, the mediator must be accepted by both parties. Onega noted that whereas Machar is mediating from a well informed position, the LRA leaders no longer fully trust him. Read more at The New Vision.

Today, hundreds of students from Gulu University organized a mass demonstration against the decision to close the University in Gulu town. The students marched towards the town centre, when they were forced back by tear gas from the police. Many students still resisted and were detained at the central Police Station. The Gulu LCV Chairman Norbert Mao met with the students in the afternoon and released the detained students. The students are threatening to resume demonstrations again tomorrow if their demands are not met.

Following a weekend meeting between former Mozambique president Joachim Chissano, UN envoy to northern Uganda, and LRA rebel leader Joseph Kony, Dr. Riek Machar was quoted in The Monitor as saying that he expected the LRA delegation to return to peace talks in Juba sometime this week. However, this statement was quickly refuted by LRA leadership, which issued its own statement in the Sudan Tribune claiming that "no concrete decision was reached to resume the talks in Juba."

Over the weekend, Mr. Chissano reportedly met with Kony at an undisclosed location near the Sudan-DRC border and discussed issues related to the breakdown of the Juba peace process. While neither Mr. Chissano or LRA leadership would comment on the specifics of what was discussed, Vincent Otti, LRA second in command, said, "We had a good discussion." The Monitor quoted reliable sources as saying that Kony eventually agreed to convince his delegates to return to the negotiating table.

Shortly following this, the LRA delegation issued a four point statement in the Sudan Tribune reiterating its position that there should be both a new venue and new mediation for the stalled peace talks. According to the statement, "The only issue discussed at the meeting concerned the reasons why the LRA/M Delegation suspended their participation in the peace talks in Juba and the way forward. It was then agreed that the UN Special Envoy would in the near future convene a meeting of all the stakeholders to resolve the impasse."

Mr. Chissano is expected to brief the government delegation of weekend progress in Kampala today before returning to Mozambique, though it remains uncertain what the next steps will be beyond that. He did however get Sudanese president Omar Hassan al-Bashir to clarify his position on LRA presence in Sudan. Bashir threatened to expel all LRA rebels from Sudan last January, but according to Chissano, is willing to let them remain in Sudan as long as they are participating in peace talks. Read more at The Sudan Tribune.

The conference of Acholi leaders in Juba, organized by Acholi Paramount Chief David Acana to salvage stalled peace talks, continued today. The conference includes northern Ugandan traditional, political, and religious leaders as well as members of the Ugandan diaspora. No news has been published yet regarding what progress has been made during the conference, or the specific topics of discussion amongst participants. Though the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement between the rebel group and Ugandan government was not renewed at the end of its term last week, there is hope amongst northern leaders and displaced people that negotiations can continue and a settlement still be found.

A group of LRA looted a town in South Sudan near the border with Central African Republic, killing two people and stealing goods, reports the Sudan Tribune. The attack bodes badly for the prospects of renewing the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement that expired this week. The LRA reportedly were engaged for several hours by Sudanese military forces. The governor of the state where the attack took place called for the Sudanese military to expel the LRA from Sudan, saying that the peace talks would not succeed.

U.S. Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) announced today the passage of a resolution he introduced, along with Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS), calling for the warring parties in northern Uganda to recommit to peace talks. The resolution urges immediate and substantial support for the ongoing peace process from the U.S. and the international community. "During two decades of violence in northern Uganda, hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians have been killed or mutilated and tens of thousands of children have been abducted, forced into combat and subjected to torture and sexual violence," Feingold said. "Getting the parties back to the negotiation table offers the strongest opportunity to end the war and begin the healing process for Ugandans."

United States Congressman Donald Payne (D-NJ) yesterday announced the introduction of a House of Representatives resolution urging the Ugandan government and LRA back to the negotiating table. Payne also announced that Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS) and Senator Russell Feingold (D-WI) are introducing a similar resolution in the Senate. Payne made this announcement at yesterday's Congressional briefing on the peace process in northern Uganda. Michael Poffenberger, executive director of Resolve Uganda, spoke at the briefing: "There has been no thoughtful leadership from State Department officials in the region to strengthen the viability of the negotiations process." On Wednesday, thousands of you participated in Uganda-CAN's action, calling Congress to pass this resolution to support the stalled peace process. Your calls have clearly made a big difference!

Inaction by the United States runs a risk of letting the northern Uganda peace process disintegrate and prolong the vicious 20-year war, according to a panel of experts that spoke at a Congressional briefing yesterday. More than 100 people crowded into a Senate hearing room for the discussion. "If the U.S. does not step up engagement, then we are not going to get a peace deal," John Prendergast, Africa expert of the International Crisis Group. Uganda-CAN's own Michel Poffenberger, the new executive director of Resolve Uganda, assailed what he said was a lack of State Department support for the Juba negotiations. "The U.S. should play an important part in marginalizing those who are not playing a constructive role," Poffenberger said. Read more at the International Herald Tribune.

A day before the ceasefire agreement between the Government and LRA was due to lapse with no sign of an extension, observers fear northern Uganda could again plunge into violence. "The international community must insist that both parties take urgent and extraordinary measures to ensure a peaceful resolution," Save the Children said in a statement on Wednesday. The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Gulu, John-Baptist Odama, expressed optimism that the government and the rebels would consider the suffering of the people in the region and extend the truce and resume peace talks. He appealed to the United Nations Secretary-General's special envoy for northern Uganda, Joachim Chissano, to take up the issue of the lapsing ceasefire. Read more at Reuters AlertNet.