The LRA negotiating team is calling on Queen Elizabeth II to convince President Museveni to work with them to find a lasting peace for northern Uganda. Speaking on Voice of America, LRA technical adviser David Matsanga said that the President has often reneged on his previous promises of finding a peaceful end to the 21-year rebel insurgency. He also accused the President of failing to equitably distribute the wealth of the nation, which has led to lack of development in northern Uganda. Matsanga said the LRA high command is committed to finding a lasting peace through the ongoing negotiations.

This week's Wednesday regional update focuses on the political situation in southern Sudan. The Washington Post reports that South Sudan's President Salva Kiir, upon returning from visiting Washington, said this week that the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) would "never, ever take people to war again." He said that the party remains committed to the peace agreement signed in 2005. "However," Kiir said, "we reserve the right to self-defense should we be attacked." In recent months, tensions have been rising over the failed implementation of the agreement, especially the failed withdrawal of government troops from the oil-rich Abyei region. In a speech over the weekend, Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir stoked the crisis by calling on militia forces that fought against the south and stand accused of human rights abuses in Darfur to "open training camps and to gather mujaheddin not for the sake of war but to be ready for anything." Regional leaders are already planning a summit to deal with these tensions, led by Kenyan envoy and former president Daniel arap Moi.

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Thirteen Italian non-governmental organizations have released a statement calling on the political authorities and mass media who will attend the Commonwealth Heads of Governments Summit in Kampala, from November 23rd to 25th, to visit northern Uganda to see for themselves the tragic living conditions there. They write, "To understand these needs it is necessary, for those attending the Commonwealth meeting, to leave the capital Kampala and go into Northern and Eastern Uganda, to meet the people and to see with their own eyes those lands which in the last month have also been affected by floods. Peace needs thousands of steps, even outside the capital."

Adrian Bradbury, founder of GuluWalk, had an Op/Ed over the weekend in Nova Scotia's The Chronicle Herald, titled "Quiet diplomacy or lost opportunity?" Bradbury writes, "Canada is the world’s largest financial contributor to the peace process in what region? In fact, there will only be a handful of Canadians who can tell you that all of this support on the ground, and the public silence that seems to go hand-in-hand, is coming from northern Uganda...That’s why Canada’s voice must be heard on the international stage, where we are recognized as a non-partisan leader in peace-building and human security. Shying away from a leading public role in this peace process raises the question of whether Canada is once again keeping quiet and remaining in the shadows for the benefit of our relationship with our neighbours to the south." Read the full Op/Ed here.

After a week's hiatus, we return to our Wednesday updates on happenings in northern Uganda's two main neighbors: southern Sudan & eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Here are a few key news stories from the last week:

"South Sudan could secede if Abyei unresolved" (Reuters): South Sudan could unilaterally split from the north because of a dispute over the oil-rich region of Abyei in Africa's largest country, leading Islamist opposition party leader Hassan al-Turabi said on Sunday.

"North-south Sudan talks fail to reconcile ex-foes" (Reuters): Discussions between the southern Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) and northern National Congress Party (NCP) have reached a deadlock, largely over the status of the oil-rich Abyei region.

"Rwandan rebels in Congo vow to resist disarmament" (Reuters):

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UN special envoy to LRA-affected areas Pres. Joaquim Chissano briefed the UN Security Council yesterday on progress at the Juba peace talks. Pres. Chissano, the former president of Mozambique, last briefed the Council in March 2007. After yesterday’s briefing the Council issued a "press statement" supporting Pres. Chissano’s mandate, renewing its call for a negotiated solution to the conflict and urging that those responsible for serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law be brought to justice. The statement also called for sustained progress in improving the humanitarian situation in northern Uganda. Read more at UN News.

However, some advocates and UN member states were hoping that the Council would make a more vocal and meaningful gesture in support of Pres. Chissano’s efforts and the Juba peace talks by issuing a Security Council Presidential Statement, as it did when Pres. Chissano visited New York in March 2007.

In the aftermath of President Museveni's visit to the White House, advocacy groups are charging that U.S. strategic aims in East Africa are overriding concerns about democracy and human rights. Uganda-CAN's favorite son and now executive director of Resolve Uganda, Michael Poffenberger, was quoted as saying he was "incredibly disappointed" by the content of the White House meeting. "The Museveni regime has been very effective in leveraging key aspects of relations with the US to prevent Washington from speaking critically about the situation in northern Uganda as well as about human rights and democracy throughout the country," Poffenberger said. "Uganda’s partnership in the war on terror and its troop deployment in Somalia have become the first priority in the US relationship." Read more at The East African.

The UN Secretary-General has issued the following statement on the peace process in northern Uganda: "The Secretary-General is encouraged by the official visit of a delegation of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) to Kampala, and hopes that the consultations taking place there will create momentum towards a comprehensive settlement to this conflict, which has brought great suffering to the people of Northern Uganda. He commends the Government of Uganda and the LRA leadership for their continued commitment to the peace process. The Secretary-General calls on the international and regional actors who have been assisting the peace process to continue their crucial support until an acceptable solution is found for this longstanding conflict. His Special Envoy will continue, in cooperation with the Mediation of the Government of Southern Sudan, to facilitate discussions with all parties aimed at reaching lasting peace with justice, for the benefit of all Ugandans."

Continuing our (late) Wednesday look at news from Uganda's neighbors, we focus today on three stories. First, the UN Security Council has voted unanimously to extend the mandate of the 18,800-strong U.N. force (UNMIS) monitoring the Comprehensive Peace Agreement between the North and South. There remains concern that the CPA collapse as the largest southern political party, the SPLM, has suspended its involvement in the national government. The UN resolution adopted yesterday "stresses the importance of full and expeditious implementation of all elements of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement" and other peace accords.

Second, the International Crisis Group has published a new report, "Congo: Bringing Peace to North Kivu," that says failure to integrate Laurent Nkunda's forces into the national army has led to a deteriorating crisis centered in North Kivu. UN attempts to impose a ceasefire and appoint a special envoy to mediate have failed. They write, "A comprehensive initiative needs to be launched urgently to de-escalate the crisis and address the root causes of the conflict. This new crisis results from failures of the Congo peace process on army integration, economic governance and transitional justice...The illegal exploitation of natural resources continued unabated as all communities armed, animated by deep mutual resentments over land security, mass human rights abuses during the war and control of natural resources."

Third, there are ongoing peace talks in Libya between the Sudanese government and several rebel groups from the Darfur region. The UN and AU have been promoting these negotiations, but any progress has been hampered by rebel factionalization. In addition, several key rebel groups have declined to attend the talks. Diplomats are hoping to build momentum to encourage their participation, but prospects remain grim. For more on Darfur, check out the Genocide Intervention Network.