This weekend UPDF officer Lt. Deo Asiimwe wrote in The New Vision about the improved security in northern Uganda in 2007 and outlined the Ugandan military’s priorities in 2008 in the region. He highlighted ensuring border security with Sudan, curtailing cattle rustling in Karamoja, eliminating unexploded mines and stemming the illegal arms trade as key UPDF challenges.

We hope the UPDF is able to achieve these goals - and we’d like to add a few of our own.
- Refrain from rhetoric or troop deployments that undermine the Juba peace talks,
- Ensure the security and freedom of movement of IDPs,
- Investigate, punish and (most of all) prevent sexual- and gender-based violence and other human rights violations committed by UPDF personnel against civilians,
- Agree to be held accountable for crimes and human rights violations committed in the north during the past two decades,
- Ensure that disarmament operations in Karamoja do not violate human rights or rule of law.