Please Click here to email your members of Congress to urge them to support the current negotiations taking place in southern Sudan, before it is too late.

In recent weeks, the Government of Southern Sudan, led by its Vice President Riek Machar, has facilitated peace talks between the Government of Uganda and Lords Resistance Army (LRA). In response to a call for peace talks from LRA leader Joseph Kony in May, President Museveni said he would guarantee the safety of the rebels if LRA hostilities ceased by July. Both sides expressed willingness to engage talks mediated by the Southern Sudanese.

This has set the stage for perhaps the most robust peace initiative in the 20 years of the conflict. For the first time, there is a political body giving backing to these peace talks. Numerous governments have sent observers, including a delegation from the Government of Kenya. Last week, Kony named 14 negotiators to permanently stay in the town of Juba and represent the LRA in these talks. The Government of Uganda said it would send a delegation from Kampala when it received signal from Machar.

However, in a drastic turn of events, government officials said last week that the Government of Uganda would not send a delegation to these talks. Government spokesmen said that the government could not negotiate because of indictments issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for the top five LRA commanders. Government officials further said that the LRA was now a problem for the UN, Sudan and DRC, not Uganda. Since the end of last year, President Museveni has declared the war over.

This refusal is a serious failure of the governments moral and legal responsibility to protect its citizens and work toward regional security. The government has a duty to exhaust all opportunities to minimize and end violence against its people. The peace talks in Juba represent one such significant opportunity that could end this 20-year war.

Further, the governments statements are wrong. Yes, the ICC indicted the top five LRA commanders; however, these five are not the ones representing the LRA in Juba. The 14 LRA negotiators represent the whole of the rebel army with which the government can and should negotiate. Second, the government claims ICC indictments do not allow it to guarantee the safety of LRA rebels. However, this statement misses an important question: how can the Ugandan government guarantee the safety of rebel commanders that are not even within their own borders? Instead of continuing its litany of excuses, the government should put the needs of its citizens first and engage peace talks.

The United States, as a non-signatory to the ICC and world power, has a critical role to play in ensuring that this opportunity to end the war is engaged in full. By giving diplomatic backing to the process, the U.S. can support the mediation of the Southern Sudanese and help bring the Government of Uganda to the table.

The people of northern Uganda have spoken: they want peace, and they want to return home as soon as possible.

Click here to email your Congressional representatives and urge them to support this opportunity to end the 20-year war, before this opportunity is lost to indifference!