Residents of areas affected in southern Sudan by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) insurgency will benefit from a revolving fund of $1.5m offered by the UN. John Holmes, UN Humanitarian Coordinator, approved the fund which will support activities in Ibba, Ezo, Maridi and Yambio counties in South Sudan. Meanwhile, 15,433 South Sudanese refugees who have been living in Uganda have been voluntarily repatriated since 2005 out of a targeted 46,000. Read more at The New Vision.

The United States government has saluted Riek Machar and Joachim Chissano for their efforts in trying to resolve the northern conflict. Speaking at the opening of the Gulu USAID office, U.S. Ambassador Steven Browning said his government supports the Juba peace process as a means to end the war. "At the moment, much hope rests in the peace talks between the government of Uganda and LRA in Juba," Browning said. "We appreciate the efforts of the mediators to facilitate the talks and ultimately to resolve the conflict. My government is in constant, behind-the-scenes contact with people at the table through our embassy in Kampala and our consulate in Juba." Still, the U.S. has refused to take a public role in assisting the mediator either through funding or logistics. Browning also said his government would shift from disaster and emergency to resettlement and economic redevelopment of northern Uganda. This year, the U.S. is reportedly on track to increase its assistance to the north to more than $100 million. Read more at The Monitor.

The U.S. House of Representatives has finally passed a resolution urging U.S. support for the peace talks aimed at ending the war in northern Uganda! The resolution urges the Government of Uganda and LRA to commit to finding a political solution to end the war and also calls upon the U.S. and international community to provide "immediate and substantial support" to the ongoing peace talks. The bill (H.Con.Res.80) was originally introduced a few months ago and had been stuck in committee until last week. Many of you worked with our new Resolve Uganda organization to get support for this resolution and you are the reason why it passed yesterday with over 30 cosponsors! Read more at Voice of America.

Arua county MP Samuel Odonga Otto has written to Her Majesty the Queen of England and other Commonwealth Heads of State inviting them to visit northern Uganda during the November CHoGM summit. In a June 12 letter to the Commonwealth Secretariat in London with a blind copy to the British High Commission in Kampala, Otto states that such a visit would showcase Uganda in its totality and its unity in diversity. "This would mean a lot to the people of northern Uganda who have been living in concentration camps for the last 21 years…Such a visit can additionally be an impetus that may help upgrade Gulu Airfield and bolster the Juba peace talks," he wrote. Read more at The Monitor.

LRA attacks continue to be a source of insecurity and displacement in southern Sudan despite ongoing peace negotiations between the LRA and Ugandan government. The LRA presence is especially problematic in the Western Equatoria region which borders the rebel camp in the DR Congo. According to government sources in the region, 1,181 households in a single county within Western Equatoria have been affected by the LRA.Read more at IRIN News.

The LRA's second-in-command Vincent Otti has said he is ready to hand himself into the ICC to answer charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes, but only if the court charges the Ugandan army with similar counts. LRA members have in the past hinted that they would be prepared to be face justice under these conditions, but this the first time one has said so explicitly. "It’s not only LRA alone who committed atrocities in northern Uganda. It’s both LRA and UPDF. Why did ICC indict us alone? It's very one-sided," Otti said. Read more at Institute for War & Peace Reporting.

A senior International Criminal Court (ICC) official has been in north Uganda to speak to victims of the 20-year long conflict. André Laperrieré, the executive director of the Trust Fund for Victims of the ICC, visited Uganda from June 3 to 10. He met representatives of victims’ communities in Adjumani, Gulu, Lira, Oyam and Pader districts. The trust fund is an independent body created by the Rome Statute to complement the work of the criminal court on reparations for victims of the crimes that fall under its jurisdiction. Read more at The New Vision.

The ENOUGH initiative today released a new strategy paper for northern Uganda, called "The Answer to the Lord's Resistance Army." The paper calls for strong U.S. leadership in a coordinated international push to end Africa's longest-running war. Authored by ENOUGH co-chair John Prendergast, the paper calls for strong U.S. leadership in a coordinated international push to end Africa's longest-running war. According to the paper, four ingredients are essential to securing peace in northern Uganda: reform of the Juba process and support for its cessation of hostilities agreement; parallel facilitation of direct contacts between President Museveni and LRA leader Joseph Kony to broker a security deal for LRA leadership; preparation for a wider process following the security deal to address the concerns of northern Ugandans; and increased leverage from the international community in support of a solution. For more information, visit ENOUGH.

Yesterday, ThinkProgress spoke with ENOUGH Project co-founder John Prendergast and actor Ryan Gosling, both of whom are currently advocating for U.S. leadership to support the peace talks for northern Uganda. The two, along with Resolve Uganda, have been meeting this week with Congressional officials to press for a senior U.S. diplomat to be sent to Juba. Watch and read highlights from the conversation at ThinkProgress.