Patrick Corrigan, former Uganda-CAN researcher and current student coordinator for Resolve Uganda, has written an Op/Ed in today's Monitor, titled "Why the ICC must stop impeding the Juba process." Corrigan writes, "The international debate on the ICC in Uganda has focused on this so-called "peace versus justice" dilemma which evaluates the trade-off between attempts to negotiate an end to ongoing conflicts and efforts to hold criminals accountable through international law. The terms "peace" and "justice" are misleading and easily manipulated because "justice" is a broader concept than criminal trials in an international courtroom, and "peace" is more comprehensive than silencing guns." Corrigan argues, "In facilitating an expeditious end to the conflict and taking steps to eliminate impunity, the recently proposed agreement on accountability and reconciliation will save the most lives in both the short and long-term. The ICC prosecutor must now make the right decision and seize the moment for long-delayed peace and justice in northern Uganda." Read the full Op/Ed at The Monitor.

In yesterday's Washington Post, former Bush Administration speechwriter and now CFR Senior Fellow Michael Gerson wrote an Op/Ed, titled "The Price of Peace in Uganda." Gerson writes, "For Congress and the Bush administration to prove their seriousness about a peace agreement will require more than the pay of a new diplomat." Gerson is right, but it still seems sending a senior U.S. official to northern Uganda is a key first step to convey U.S. commitment to the peace talks and coordinate greater U.S. involvement to support an end to this horrific war.

Gerson seems to place more faith in military action to end the war. He argues, "The United Nations has more than 18,000 peacekeepers in Congo, with a mandate to oppose destabilizing forces. They should act aggressively to prevent the LRA from putting down roots in Garamba Park. And the United States should support them by sharing intelligence, perhaps providing radar to track suspicious flights into the region and paying what we owe for U.N. peacekeeping." Again, most support heightened intelligence and U.N. peacekeepers to protect civilians, but the danger is that sudden military activity could derail the peace process in which northern Ugandans have placed their hopes. Sudden military activity could undermine the very "African solutions to African problems" that Gerson earlier advocates. Gerson's analysis also seems to focus only on LRA atrocities, and not the grievances many in northern Uganda have against the Ugandan government.

Nevertheless, Gerson's article and arguments in The Washington Post highlight growing attention to this once neglected crisis, Africa's longest running war. That is something we can all celebrate. Read the full Op/Ed at The Washington Post.

UN peacekeepers in the DR Congo announced yesterday that they were deploying to the northeast of the country to try to intercept incoming rebels from Uganda entering via Sudan. A contingent of 80 Moroccan peacekeepers have been deployed near the border with Sudan, for a week already, said the MONUC mission's military spokesman Major Gabriel de Brosses. The UN troops, in cooperation with soldiers from the DR Congo army, were responding to the appearance of LRA rebels, who had arrived in the country via Sudan. MONUC's mission would be to repatriate any LRA rebels found inside the country, respecting the terms of the Juba peace process, said de Brosses. Read more at ReliefWeb.

A thought-provoking editorial in today’s Washington Post urges US activists working to help end crises in Africa to think critically about the potential for incautious advocacy campaigns to reinforce negative stereotypes about the continent. Reflecting the recent writings of eminent African scholar Mahmood Mamdani, Uzodinma Iweala writes that efforts to "save" Africa "tend to ignore the West's prominent role in creating many of the unfortunate situations on the continent, [and] they also ignore the incredible work Africans have done and continue to do to fix those problems."

Iweala is right. Decades after the end of formal colonialism on the continent, US and Western attitudes towards Africa are still often paternalistic – even if they are well-intentioned. 'Resolving' Uganda implies an understanding that we cannot simply pluck northern Uganda from decades of conflict. Savior complexes prevent us from seeing the reality of the situation and subsequently, our role in either their perpetuation or resolution.

The way we see it, 'resolve' connotes three key principles:
* critical analysis and understanding of the conflict’s deep historical roots (often found in and made worse by Western colonial and post-colonial policies),
* supporting local actors as they take the lead in navigating the complex political processes needed to end the conflict,
* and mobilizing grassroots political pressure for responsible US foreign policy in the region that prioritizes both peace and the full social, political and economic participation of war-affected people.