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.

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.

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)

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.