Multimedia
Uganda Rising (documentary)- Check out perhaps the best look at the background of the conflict, and order a copy online.

Invisible Children (documentary)- Learn about
the Invisible Children documentary and grassroots campaign for northern Uganda, and order a copy online.

Journey into Sunset- This documentary chronicles the lives of "night commuters" in northern Uganda as seen through the eyes of actor Don Cheadle and his family.

War Dance (documentary)- This recent documentary by Shine Global tells the story of schoolchildren in Patongo IDP camp as they take an historic journey to compete in Uganda’s national music and dance festival

Horror in Uganda (photo journal) - View moving photography and narration about the conflict and night commuters compiled by Francine Orr of the LA Times.

In Pictures: Night Commuters (photo journal)- View this photo journal about northern Uganda's night commuters compiled by BBC.

A snapshot: the night commuters of northern Uganda (video)- View an article and video about northern Uganda's night commuters compiled the United Nations Children's Fund.

The Ugandan Night Commuters (radio)- Listen to a World Vision radio report about northern Uganda's night commuters

Reports/ Articles
Uganda-CAN- John Kiweewa, a Ugandan native and Uganda-CAN grassroots organizer in New York State, traveled to northern Uganda to work with ex-child soldiers in Gulu. Read his powerful narrative about the "invisible wounds" inflicted on ex-child soldiers and the challenges they face trying to rebuild their lives after escape.

Amnesty International- Uganda's 'night commuters' seek protection from abduction (2005)

Amnesty International- "Breaking God's Commands: The Destruction of Childhood by the Lord’s Resistance Army" (1997)

Human Rights Watch- "Abducted and Abused: Renewed Conflict in Northern Uganda" (2003)

Human Rights Watch- "Child Soldier Use in 2003"

Human Rights Watch- "The Scars of Death: Children Abducted by the Lord’s Resistance Army in Uganda" (1997)

Philidelphia Inquirer- Reclaiming faith after sojourn with night commuters, by Carolyn Davis

UNOCHA IRIN- when the sun sets, we start to worry....

SWAY-Uganda- Research Brief 1: The Abduction and Return Experiences of Youth (2006)

Women's Commission on Refugeee Women and Children- No safe place to call home: children and adolescent night commuters in northern Uganda

World Vision - "Pawns of Politics: Children, Conflict, and Peace in Northern Uganda" (2004)

North America
GuluWalk
Act for Stolen Children
Name Campaign
Invisible Children
United Movement to End Child Soldiering

Uganda
UNICEF
Acholi Youth Leadership Program (Gulu)
World Vision (Gulu)
Rachelle Rehabilitation Center (Lira)

To the US and International Community
- Strongly support a peaceful resolution to war, recognizing that a "military solution" to the conflict necessitates engaging a rebel force comprised primarily of children
-Call on the government of Uganda, in accordance with its National IDP Policy, to adopt a security strategy that focuses on protection rather than confrontation and prioritizes civilian and aid convoy protection
-Tie non-lethal military aid to the UPDF to stipulations restricting all recruitment and use and child soldiers in the UPDF and LDUs
-Provide funding and support to NGOs and UN agencies for the protection of children and rehabilitation of former child soldiers

To the Government of Uganda
-Develop and implement a comprehensive Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration (DDR) program to encourage child soldiers to leave the LRA and to support escapees in their home communities
-Instruct the UPDF and LDUs to make protecting children from LRA abduction a priority
-Ensure that all UPDF and LDU recruits are eighteen years of age; demobilize all current soldiers not eighteen years of age
-Ensure that escaped/surrendered child soldiers are returned promptly to appropriate authorities
-Take all possible care to minimize child casualties when fighting the LRA

A generation at risk, a world at fault
Over 1.5 million people, 80% of whom are women or children, have been forced to live in internally displaced persons' (IDP) camps in northern Uganda. Access to healthcare, clean water, and livelihood opportunities in the camps is severely limited, and inadequate protection from the Ugandan military leaves them extremely susceptible to rebel attacks.

Although abductions by the LRA have decreased dramatically in the past several months, over 25,000 children have been abducted within the past three years alone. Some reports estimate that the total number of children abducted by the LRA is 66,000 - far more than the 20,000-30,000 often cited by media reports[1]. Many have escaped or been rescued by the Ugandan government, but over 8,000 remain missing. The risk of abduction compels tens of thousands of children, called "night commuters", to walk miles each night from at-risk rural IDP camps to the relative safety of town centers.

Not all of the child soldiers in northern Uganda have been abducted by the LRA. The Ugandan military (UPDF) and civilian militias called Local Defense Units (LDUs) also recruit child soldiers. Often children that have just escaped or been rescued from the LRA are recruited, and some have been forced into service against their will.

Abduction and life in the bush
That night, the LRA came abducting people in our village, and some neighbors led them to our house. They abducted all five of us boys at the same time. I was the fifth one. . . . We were told by the LRA not to think about home, about our mother or father. . . . There were twenty-eight abducted from our village that night. . . . Early on when we were captured, the LRA explained to us that all five brothers couldn't serve in the LRA because we would not perform well. So they tied up my two younger brothers and invited us to watch. Then they beat them with sticks until the two of them died. They told us it would give us strength to fight. My youngest brother was nine years old.
-Martin P., abducted in February 2002 at age twelve.

Children are often forced into killing family members or other children before beginning arduous marches to rebel camps. This is the initial stage of a calculated rebel method to psychologically break down children and transform them into ruthless and brutal killers. The children's participation in ritual killing is also used by LRA commanders as a deterrent to attempted escape, convincing them that their home communities will not accept them back because of their crimes.
He (Kony) is not a Muslim, or a Christian, he is his own religion. He can sit and then talk from very far away and give orders. And then he can look at you and tell you he knows what you are thinking. Everybody is afraid of him. But we all admired him. He promised us that he will take over the government and then we would be able to live in big houses and drive cars. We were forced to watch those who wanted to escape being killed. Nobody wanted to escape then.
-Grace T., age sixteen

Life with the rebels is marked by uncertainty and terror. Most of the “rebels” the UPDF kills in battle are abducted child soldiers, meaning that the brunt of a "military solution" to the LRA rebellion would inevitably fall on children. Thousands of children have died from starvation, disease, violence, and overwork after being abducted. Abducted girls are usually given to an LRA commander as a "wife" and are raped and beaten at the commander's will.
As we moved from place to place, we would have to sleep on the grass, under trees or in the sand. I had to fetch water, wash clothes and cook the meals. The "wives" would sometimes beat me or make me carry heavy loads. If I walked slowly, I was beaten. I was beaten practically every day.
Susan A., age twelve

Escape and rehabilitation
Failed escape from the LRA is almost always met with violent death at the hands of LRA commanders. Despite this risk, thousands of children have made successful escapes. However, physical dangers and social barriers haunt escaped child soldiers even after escape. Escapees return to vulnerable IDP camps where they run the risk of being abducted again. Some are also interrogated by the Ugandan military, sometimes roughly, and forced into military service.
I joined nine others who were there, mostly boys. The soldiers lured us into accepting to fight with the UPDF with offers of money and benefits, but I refused. One boy, sixteen, accepted and he immediately started training at the barracks with the other soldiers. He was moved from us and kept in better quarters.
-Edward T., age eighteen

Besides debilitating injuries and sexually-transmitted diseases escapees carry immense psychological burdens as a result of their time in captivity. They must overcome haunting memories and feelings of guilt and alienation as they try to find a place in a world that has few economic opportunities and cultural safety nets for them. Education often takes a back seat to mere survival.

Acceptance back into communities, which are themselves in economic and cultural upheaval and displaced into IDP camps, is also a difficult process. Sometimes communities are reluctant to accept child soldiers into their communities, often because they fear reprisal attacks from the LRA. Girl escapees, often shouldering the extra burden of rebel-fathered children and status as rape victims, often face social ostracization. Many are forced into prostitution or unstable relationships. Some escaped girls who were married to LRA commanders that later surrendered live in fear that the ex-commanders will murder them to prevent any testimony to their former brutality.

I can’t sleep at night, every time I hear any soldier I think it’s my children’s’ father coming to kill me.
-escaped child mother, age sixteen^

Although some rehabilitation and reintegration institutions exist in northern Uganda, they are woefully inadequate. Traditional cultural and social support networks have often been decimated by the displacement, malnutrition, and disease prevalent in northern Uganda. International humanitarian organizations provide some centers for rehabilitation in the region, such as the World Vision Children of War Center in Gulu. However, the services these centers are able to provide are limited by funding and the overwhelming long-term needs of the children.

E-mail your congressman to support peace in northern Uganda now.

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[1]SWAY-Uganda (2006)

* Unless otherwise noted, all quotations from former child soldiers quoted in this analysis come from:
Human Rights Watch- "Abducted and Abused: Renewed Conflict in Northern Uganda" (2003)

^Testimony is from Uganda-CAN activist John Kiweewa's research in northern Uganda, December 2005.

A analysis of the phenomenon of child soldiers in northern Uganda

What did I do with the LRA during my time in captivity? Killed people, beat up people, and looted property. This was under order from the commanders.
James K., abducted in May 2002 at age sixteen*

Over 30,000 northern Ugandan children have been abducted by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) during the course of its 19-year insurgency against the Ugandan government. Forced into soldiering, sexual slavery, and hard labor, they are often killed or endure serious physical and psychological injury. The LRA's abduction and terrorization of these children, who compose 80% of the rebel ranks, is often cited as the most urgent reason to bring the rebellion to a halt. However, the sheer brutality of the LRA's actions often mask the failure of the Government of Uganda and international community to fulfill their responsibility to protect the children of northern Uganda by leaving them vulnerable to abduction and forced soldiering.

The Child Soldier Phenomenon in Northern Uganda
Uganda-CAN Policy Recommendations
Relevant Civil Society Organizations and UN Agencies
Relevant Resources

HIV/AIDS
Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles
1. Migliori GB, Borghesi A, Adriko C, Manfrin V, Okware S, Naamara W, Bartoloni A, Neri M, Acocella G. Tuberculosis and HIV infection association in a rural district of northern Uganda: epidemiological and clinical considerations. Tuber Lung Dis. 1992 Oct; 73(5):285-90.
2. Francesconi P, Fabiani M, Dente MG, Lukwiya M, Okwey R, Ouma J, Ochakachon R, Cian F, Declich S. HIV, malaria parasites, and acute febrile episodes in Ugandan adults: a case-control study. AIDS. 2001 Dec 7;15(18):2445-50.
3. Fabiani M, Fylkesnes K, Nattabi B, Ayella EO, Declich S. Evaluating two adjustment methods to extrapolate HIV prevalence from pregnant women to the general female population in sub-Saharan Africa. AIDS. 2003 Feb 14;17(3):399-405.
4. Accorsi S, Fabiani M, Lukwiya M, Onek PA, Di Mattei P, Declich S.
The increasing burden of infectious diseases on hospital services at St. Mary's Hospital Lacor, Gulu, Uganda. The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 2001;64(3-4):154-158.
5. Fabiani M, Blč C, Grivel P, Lukwiya M, Declich S. 1989-1996 HIV-1 prevalence trends among different risk groups in Gulu district, North Uganda. Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes and Human Retrovirology 1998;18:514.
6. Fabiani M, Nattabi B, Ayella EO, Ogwang M, Declich S. Using prevalence data from the programme for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission for HIV-1 surveillance in North Uganda. AIDS 2005; 19(8):823-827.
7. Fabiani M, Ayella EO, Blč C, Accorsi S, Dente MG, Onek PA, Declich S.
Increasing HIV-1 prevalence among pregnant women living in rural areas of the Gulu District (North Uganda). AIDS 2001;15(17):2330-2331.
8. Fabiani M, Accorsi S, Lukwiya M, Rosolen T, Ayella EO, Onek PA, Declich S.
Trend in HIV-1 prevalence in an antenatal clinic in North Uganda and adjusted rates for the general female population. AIDS 2001; 15(1): 97-103.
9. Gage AJ and Ali D. Factors associated with self-reported HIV testing among men in Uganda. AIDS Care 2005 Feb; 17(2):153-65.
10. Ciantia, F. (2004). HIV Seroprevalence in Northern Uganda: The Complex Relationship Between AIDS and Conflict. Journal of Medicine and the Person, 2 (4), 172-175.
11. Ministry of Health – Uganda. Uganda HIV/AIDS Sero-Behavioral Survey 2004-2005. March 2006. Maryland, USA: ORC Marco.
12.Lett RR, Kobusingye OC, Ekwaru P. Burden of injury during the complex political emergency in northern Uganda. Can J Surg. 2006 Feb;49(1):51-7.
13. Ansalonl L, Acaye GL, Re MC. High HIV seroprevalence among patients with pyomyositis in northern Uganda. Trop Med Int Health. 1996 Apr; 1(2): 210-2.
14. Ansalonl L, Acaye GL. Absence of neutropenia in African patients with AIDS and associated pyomyositis. East Afr Med J. 1994 Nov; 71(11): 736-8.
15. Buonaguro L, Del Gaudio E, Monaco M, Greco D, Corti P, Beth-Giraldo E, Buonaguro FM, Giraldo G and the Italian-Ugandan Cooperation AIDS program. Heteroduplex mobility assay and phylogenetic analysis of V3 region sequences of HIV-1 isolates from Gulu, Northern Uganda. Journal of Virology 1995;69(12):7971-7981.
16. Lowicki-Zucca M, Spiegel P, Ciantia F. AIDS, conflict and the media in Africa: risks in reporting bad data badly. Emerg Themes Epidemiol. 2005 Dec 13;2:12.
17. Accorsi S, Corrado B, Fabiani M, Iriso R, Nattabi B, Anella EO, Ogwang M, Onek PA, Pido B, Declich S. Competing demands and limited resources in the context of war, poverty end disease; the case of Lacor Hospital. Health Policy and Development 2003;1:29-39.
18. Accorsi S, Fabiani M, Nattabi B, Corrado B, Iriso R, Ayella EO, Pido B, Onek PA, Ogwang M, Declich S. The disease profile of poverty: morbidity and mortality in northern Uganda in the context of war, population displacement and HIV/AIDS. Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 2005; 99:226-233.
19. Fabiani M, Accorsi S, Aleni R, Rizzardini G, Nattabi B, Gabrielli A, Opira C, Declich S. Estimating HIV prevalence and the impact of HIV/AIDS on a Ugandan hospital by combining serosurvey data and hospital-discharge records. Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes and Human Retrovirology (2003), 34: 62-66.
20. Accorsi S, Fabiani M, Lukwiya M, Ravera M, Costanzi A, Ojom L, Pazč E, Manenti F, Anguzu P, Dente MG, Declich S. Impact of insecurity, the AIDS epidemic, and poverty on population health: disease patterns and trends in Northern Uganda. The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 2001;64(3-4):214-221.
21. Fabiani M, Nattabi B, Ayella Emingtone O, Ogwang M, Declich S. Difference in fertility by HIV serostatus and adjusted HIV prevalence data from an antenatal clinic in northern Uganda. Tropical Medicine and International Health 2006;11(2):182-7.
22. Oywa, R. Poverty creates the greatest risk for women in Uganda. AIDS Anal Afr. 1995 Aug; 5(4):11.
23. Allen, Tim. AIDS and Evidence: Interrogating Some Ugandan Myths. Journal of Biosocial Science 2006, 38, 7-28.
24. Westerhaus, M. “Everyday Violence in Northern Uganda: War and HIV.” Global Pulse: AMSA’s International Health Journal. Volume 1, Issue 1. Spring 2005.

Abstracts/Conference Presentations/Theses
1. Declich, S., Nattabi, B., Nigro, L., Rizzardini, G., Okwey, R., Ouma, J., Ranghiasci, A., Opira, C., & Fabiani, M. Impact and Trend of HIV/AIDS on Hospital Services in North Uganda. Presented at 13th International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa (ICASA). Nairobi, Kenya, September 21-26 2003.
2. Fabiani, M., Ayella, E.O., Nattabi, B., Ranghiasci, A. Akongo, C., Akello, P., Di Vincenzo, A., Meduri, F.R., Opira, C., & Declich, S. Factors Influencing the Acceptance of HIV Voluntary Counseling and Testing Among Pregnant Women in North Uganda. Presented at 2nd International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Pathogenesis and Treatment in Paris 2003.
3. Nattabi, B., Fabiani, M., Nigro, L., Rizzardini, G., Okwey, R., Cocca, G., Ouma, J., Ranghiasci, A., Di Vincenzo, A., Opira, C., and Declich, S. Disease-Specific HIV Prevalence and Level of Immune-Suppression Among Hospitalised Patients in North Uganda. Presented at 2nd International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Pathogenesis and Treatment in Paris 2003.
4. Nattabi B, Ninci A, Ouma J, Dfendu M, Fabiani M, Okwey R, Di Vincenzo A, Parroccini S, Opira C, Declich S. Evaluating the performances of an HIV diagnostic algorithm based on rapid test in resource-limited settings. In 13th International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa (ICASA). Nairobi, Kenya, September 21-26 2003.
5. Fabiani M, Nattabi B, Ayella EO, Ranghiasci A, Di Vincenzo A, Akello P, Akongo C, Opira C, Declich S. Estimating differences in fertility by HIV-serostatus and adjusting HIV prevalence data from pregnant women. In 13th International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa (ICASA). Nairobi, Kenya, September 21-26 2003.
6. Fabiani M, Nattabi B, Emingtone A, Di Vincenzo A, Opira C, Declich S. HIV-1 prevalence and factors associated with HIV-1 infection among pregnant women living in rural district of North Uganda (2000-2002). In 13th International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa (ICASA). Nairobi, Kenya, September 21-26 2003.
7. Dente MG, Conestŕ N, Okwey R, Fabiani M, Francesconi P, Declich S, Akello P.
Impact of health education on risk behaviours for HIV/AIDS among secondary school students in North Uganda. In XIV International AIDS Conference. Barcelona July 7-12 2002.
8. Declich S., Ayella E.O., Nattabi B., Akongo C., Di Vincenzo A., Ogwang M., Fabiani M. "Factors affecting the acceptance of HIV voluntary counselling and testing among pregnant women in Northern Uganda". In XV International AIDS Conference. Bangkok, Thailand, July 11-16 2004.
9. Fabiani M, Accorsi S, Corrado B, Lukwiya M, Corti P, Onyut A, Rosolen T, Declich S. HIV prevalence trends among population groups in the Gulu district (Northern Uganda). In XIth International Conference on AIDS and STDs in Africa. Lusaka Zambia 12-16 September 1999.
10. LaFond, C.A. Adherence Factors for Anti-Retroviral Therapy in Internally Displaced Person Camps. Presented as poster in 2005.
11. Accorsi S, Fabiani M, Rizzardini G, Lukwiya M, Dente MG, Opira C, Aleni R, Declich S. Linking hospital HIV sero-survey data to discharge records: impact of HIV/AIDS at Lacor Hospital, North Uganda (1992-1998). In XIV International AIDS Conference. Barcelona July 7-12 2002.
12. Lukwiya M, Rizzardini G, Greco D, Declich S, Odongo G, Tamburini M. Burden of HIV infection on bed occupation in medical ward of a rural hospital in northern Uganda. In IXth International Conference on AIDS and STD in Africa. Kampala, Uganda, 10-14 December 1995.
13. Lukwiya M, Tamburini M, Greco D, Declich S, La Raja M, Giraldo G, Milazzo F. High impact of HIV infection on bed occupation of medical wards in a rural hospital in northern Uganda. In VIII Symposium Mediterraneen de Sidenologie. Toulon, France, 10-11 Mars 1995.
14. Westerhaus, M. 2005. Infectious Ideology: Narratives of HIV Transmission in HIV. Master’s Thesis. Harvard University Department of Anthropology.

NGO Reports
1. AVSI. Situation Analysis Report: A Desk Review of HIV/AIDS Studies in the North and Proposed Response for the CHAP/CAP and NACAES Process. 2005.
2. Lokach, O. & DFP, G. Utilization of Antiretroviral Therapy (ARVs) in Gulu District: A presentation to members of Parliament at the HIV/AIDS regional forum in Northern Uganda. October 26, 2005.
3. Health Alert Uganda & Save the Children Uganda. Gulu Baseline: Children Living with AIDS. Presentation given in January 2006.
4. World Health Organization (2005). Health and Mortality Survey among Internally Displaced Persons. Geneva: WHO.
5. Medecins Sans Frontieres. Life in Northern Uganda: All Shades of Grief and Fear. December 2004.
6. Liu Institute for Global Issues and Gulu District NGO Forum. A Generation At Risk: Acholi Youth in Northern Uganda. October 2005.
7. Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children. No Safe Place to Call Home: Child and Adolescent Night Commuters in Northern Uganda. July 2004.
8. Gulu District Sub Working Group on SGBV. Suffering in Silence: A Study of Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) in Pabbo Camp, Gulu District, Northern Uganda. January 2005.
9. Accorsi S. Coping with the impact of recurrent crises. Analysis of epidemiologic and service data from Lacor Hospital, Gulu (Northern Uganda) over a 12-year period (1992-2003). Echo 2004: 1-40.
10. Hauck, Volker. Resilence and high performance amidst conflict, epidemics and extreme poverty. ECDPM. Discussion Paper No 57A. September 2004.
11. World Vision. Pawns of politics: Children, Conflict, and Peace in Northern Uganda. 2004. (Kampala: World Vision International).

Ebola
1. Francesconi P, Yoti Z, Declich S, Onek PA, Fabiani M, Olango J, Andraghetti R, Rollin PE, Opira C, Greco D, Salmaso S. Ebola hemorrhagic fever transmission and risk factors of contacts, Uganda. Emerg Infect Dis. 2003 Nov;9(11):1430-7.
2. Harden, Blaine. When Ebola Came to St. Mary’s. New York Times, February 18, 2001.
3. Okware SI, Omaswa FG, Zaramba S, Opio A, Lutwama JJ, Kamugisha J, Rwaguma EB, Kagwa P, Lamunu M. An outbreak of Ebola in Uganda. Trop Med Int Health. 2002 Dec;7(12):1068-75.
4. Mupere E, Kaducu OF, Yoti Z. Ebola haemorrhagic fever among hospitalised children and adolescents in northern Uganda: epidemiologic and clinical observations. Afr Health Sci. 2001 Dec;1(2):60-5.
5. Hewlett BS, Amola RP. Cultural contexts of Ebola in northern Uganda.
Emerg Infect Dis. 2003 Oct;9(10):1242-8.
6. Lamunu M, Lutwama JJ, Kamugisha J, Opio A, Nambooze J, Ndayimirije N, Okware S. Containing a haemorrhagic fever epidemic: the Ebola experience in Uganda (October 2000-January 2001). Int J Infect Dis. 2004 Jan;8(1):27-37.
7. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Outbreak of Ebola hemorrhagic fever Uganda, August 2000-January 2001. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2001 Feb 9;50(5):73-7.
8. Wendo C. Caring for the survivors of Uganda's Ebola epidemic one year on.
Lancet. 2001 Oct 20;358(9290):1350.

Malaria
1. Francesconi P, Fabiani M, Dente MG, Lukwiya M, Okwey R, Ouma J, Ochakachon R, Cian F, Declich S. HIV, malaria parasites, and acute febrile episodes in Ugandan adults: a case-control study. AIDS. 2001 Dec 7;15(18):2445-50.
2. Kolaczinski JH, Ojok N, Opwonya J, Meek S, Collins A. Adherence of community caretakers of children to pre-packaged antimalarial medicines (HOMAPAK) among internally displaced people in Gulu district, Uganda.
Malar J. 2006 May 15;5:40.

Traditional Healing
1. Accorsi S, Fabiani M, Ferrarese N, Iriso R, Lukwiya M, Declich S. The burden of traditional practices, ebino and tea-tea, on child health in Northern Uganda.
Soc Sci Med. 2003 Dec;57(11):2183-91.
2. Iriso R, Accorsi S, Akena S, Amone J, Fabiani M, Ferrarese N, Lukwiya M, Rosolen T, Declich S. 'Killer' canines: the morbidity and mortality of ebino in northern Uganda. Trop Med Int Health. 2000 Oct;5(10):706-10.

General
1. Westerhaus, M. “Uganda: an uncivil war.” Student BMJ. Volume 13. April 2005: 166-67
2. St. Mary’s Hospital. (2004). Annual Report for 2003-2004. Gulu: St. Mary’s Hospital Publication.
3. Finnegan, A. Rx for Survival: Dispatches from the Field: True Health Warriors – Dr. Barbara Nattabi. Part of PBS series Rx for Survival, 2005.
4. Lett RR, Kobusingye OC, Ekwaru P. Burden of injury during the complex political emergency in northern Uganda. Can J Surg. 2006 Feb;49(1):51-7.

Northern Uganda health homepage

Despite the difficult circumstances, there are those who are fighting back against disease in northern Uganda. A committed staff of healthcare professionals operate St. Mary’s Hospital, a 481 bed hospital just outside of Gulu town. In addition to providing excellent treatment for malaria and malnutrition, the hospital operates an HIV/AIDS clinic that currently oversees antiretroviral therapy for 1300 patients with HIV. Other hospitals in Gulu, Kitgum, and Pader also work to confront the perpetual presence of disease. Local and international non-governmental organizations work tirelessly to prevent and treat disease among IDP camp residents and those living in the towns of northern Uganda. Together, these organizations (some of which are listed below and about whom further information can be accessed) are working to hold disease at bay. It is a battle which is won at times and lost at others. Listed below are further resources on healthcare issues in northern Uganda.

Northern Uganda health homepage

Organizations working in the area
Lacor Hospital – Founded in 1959 and located 6km outside of Gulu District, the hospital serves as the primary provider of inpatient healthcare for Gulu District and serves as a referral hospital for all of northern Uganda. In addition to inpatient care, they provide outpatient care at the hospital and operate two outlying health centers in the IDP camps of Pabbo and Opit. The hospital is routinely cited as one of the best hospitals in Uganda. HIV surveillance and extensive research activities are also part of the hospital’s work.

Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontičres (MSF) – MSF runs a number of projects in northern Uganda. In Gulu, they have set up a shelter for night commuters on the backside of Lacor Hospital that can accommodate up to 4000 children per night. At the shelter, MSF provides adult supervision and provides basic medical care. In Pader and Kitgum districts, MSF runs psychosocial programs for individuals who have been traumatized by the war. Further, MSF provides support for any outbreaks of disease in northern Uganda, as with the cholera epidemic in Pabbo IDP Camp in 2004.

The AIDS Support Organization (TASO) – Located in Gulu town, TASO provides HIV counseling and testing, care, prevention, and treatment. Although located in town, TASO also attempts to work in the IDP camps.

Comboni Samaritan – Located just outside of Gulu Town, Comboni Samaritan serves as an advocacy and support organization for people having HIV/AIDS. Comboni provides psychosocial support to patients enrolled in Lacor Hospital’s HIV treatment program that currently has 1300 people receiving antiretroviral treatment. Other activities include support groups and income generating projects for people having HIV/AIDS and their families.

UPHOLD – UPHOLD works throughout Uganda to improve access to and use of the full continuum of prevention, care and support services and other healthful behaviors to prevent and mitigate the spread of HIV and AIDS. Additionally, they work to prevent the spread of other communicable diseases. In northern Uganda, they are working to distribute mosquito nets to children living in the IDP camps in northern Uganda.

World Food Programme – the World Food Programme provides large-scale food deliveries to IDP camp residents throughout northern Uganda. These efforts aim to curb the high rates of malnutrition seen in northern Uganda because of the limited opportunities for farming due to the insecurity.

World Health Organization – the WHO opened an office in Gulu town in 2005. Much of their work thus far has focused on coordinating epidemic responses to meningococcal (2006) and cholera (2006) outbreaks.

World Vision – In northern Uganda, World Vision works to address the needs of formerly abducted children. Opened in 1995, their Children of War Center in Gulu provides formerly abducted children with temporary shelter, HIV/AIDS education, food, medical treatment, psychosocial counseling, vocational training, spiritual nurture, and facilitates a smooth reunion of the children with their families. More than 11,000 children and adults have passed through the center.

St. Joseph’s Hospital – Catholic hospital just outside of Kitgum that provides a variety of medical and surgical services.

Dr Ambrosoli Memorial Hospital – Located in Kalongo in Pader District, this Catholic hospital works to provide a variety of medical and surgical services.

Beyond these organizations, numerous local NGO’s provide a myriad of health services throughout Gulu, Kitgum, and Pader including HIV/AIDS care and prevention for adults and children, malarial treatment and prevention, vaccinations, and other emergency health care services. In addition, Gulu and Kitgum town each have a government hospital that offer medical and surgical services at no cost.

War also results in tremendous suffering due to traumatic wounds and psychological trauma. The surgical wards of hospitals in northern Uganda are full of soldiers and civilians who have suffered bullet wounds and landmine injuries. The government hospital in Gulu town operates a busy orthotic workshop to try and keep pace with the high number of limb amputations. Equally overwhelming are the mental scars of witnessed violence and the hopelessness associated with a twenty-year war. An MSF survey conducted in Pader town found that 62% of women interviewed contemplated suicide []. Although unstudied, common sense indicates that depression and post-traumatic stress disorder are common on in northern Uganda. Yet, like most resource-poor settings where limited funding is directed by the urgency of treating life-threatening infectious diseases or traumatic wounds, facilities in northern Uganda are woefully inadequate for addressing the psychological consequences of widespread violence.

Northern Uganda health homepage

[1] MSF-Holland. Pader: A Community in Crisis: A Preliminary Analysis of MSF-Holland’s Baseline Mental Health Assessment in Pader. Uganda: MSF-Holland. October 2004.

The extreme density of IDP camps in northern Uganda creates a climate particularly ripe for the spread of infectious disease. Malaria, both a treatable and preventable disease, is the leading killer of children. Insecurity prevents adequate distribution of mosquito nets for malarial prevention and obstructs effective treatment of children sick with the illness. Likewise, viral and bacterial diarrhea, malnutrition, tuberculosis, cholera, and meningitis can move quickly amongst a population living in close proximity. In 2006, outbreaks of both cholera and meningitis struck IDP residents in northern Uganda.
Following malaria, HIV/AIDS accounted for the second highest cause of death (13.5% of all deaths) in all camps surveyed by the 2005 WHO study. HIV surveillance amongst pregnant women in Gulu demonstrated a sharp decline in HIV prevalence until 1996, when the prevalence leveled off around 12% and has stayed around that number since [1]. Surveillance among pregnant women in Kitgum and Pader reported an HIV prevalence among pregnant women in Kitgum to be 9.9% at St. Joseph’s Hospital and 7.8% at Kitgum Government Hospital. The same report observed an HIV prevalence of 4.6% in Pader at Kalongo Hospital [2]. In 2004-05, the Ugandan government conducted a sero-behavioral survey that randomly tested individuals residing in households across the country. The survey demonstrated an HIV prevalence of 8.0% for men and 10.5% for women between the ages of 15-49 in the North Central region, which included Apac, Gulu, Kitgum, Lira, and Pader districts. The overall prevalence for both sexes in the North Central region was 9.4%, which tied Uganda’s Central region for the highest prevalence in the country [3]. While controversy exists over the relationship between the war and HIV transmission, it is clear that HIV/AIDS has had a significant impact on the population.

While much of this information on health in northern Uganda remains under the radar screen of most, much of the world heard about the outbreak of Ebola virus in 2000-01 [4]. Perhaps due to its reputation as a vicious killer, the virus grabbed world headlines when it spread amongst the population of northern Uganda, killing 224 people, many of whom were healthcare workers. Again, the crowded conditions of the camps and inadequate disease surveillance programs likely contributed to the rapid spread of the virus amongst the population.

For those who evade these risks to their health and manage to live into their later years, other diseases, such as cancer, cardiac disease, diabetes, hypertension, and pneumonia, will eventually impact their lives. It is often overlooked that such diseases, common in high-income countries, are also present and must be given attention in conflict-torn regions such as northern Uganda. When the tremendous mortality associated with infectious disease is peeled back, more chronic disease looms. The adult outpatient clinic at St. Mary’s Hospital sees many cases of high blood pressure, diabetes, and other long-term disease seen in older populations. However, treatment options are limited due to the difficulties associated with obtaining medication for these conditions.

Northern Uganda health homepage


[1] Fabiani, M., Nattabi, B., Ayella, E.O., Ogwang, M., and Declich, S. (2006) Differences in fertility by HIV serostatus and adjusted HIV prevalence data from an antenatal clinic in northern Uganda. Tropical Medicine and International Health 11 (2), 182-7.
[2] Ciantia, F. (2004). HIV Seroprevalence in Northern Uganda: The Complex Relationship Between AIDS and Conflict. Journal of Medicine and the Person, 2 (4), 172-175.
[3] Ministry of Health – Uganda. Uganda HIV/AIDS Sero-Behavioral Survey 2004-2005. March 2006. Maryland, USA: ORC Marco.
[4] Harden, Blaine. When Ebola Came to St. Mary’s. New York Times, February 18, 2001. Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/library/magazine/home/20010218mag-ebola.html

For the past 20 years, the people of northern Uganda have been caught in the midst of a war between the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and the Ugandan government. More than 1.7 million people have been forced into squalid internally displaced persons (IDP) camps. More than 30,000 children have been abducted by the LRA, coerced to become soldiers and sex slaves. The war and displacement have profoundly disrupted the provision of healthcare in the region. Malaria, TB, and AIDS gather a more forceful pathogenicity in a setting where medication and access to clinics and hospitals is inaccessible. The lack of sanitation, crowded conditions, and diminished access to medicines and medical facilities lead to poor health outcomes. A World Health Organization health and mortality survey conducted in the IDP camps in July 2005 reported a crude mortality rate (CMR) of 1.54 deaths/10,000/day, which translates into nearly 1000 excess deaths per week [1].

The poor health situation in northern Uganda is intimately connected to the negligence of the Ugandan government and international community to the humanitarian and human rights crisis in northern Uganda. Both the Ugandan government and the world have failed in their responsibility to protect to the people of northern Uganda from the violence, economic insecurity, and ravages of infectious diseases that are prevalent in the region. For more information about the health situation in northern Uganda's IDP camps, click the links below or download the information as pdf.

Infectious Diseases / HIV/AIDS

Mental Health and Psychological Trauma

Local and International Responses to the Health Crisis

Health Resources

The information contained in these Webpages was prepared by:
Mike Westerhaus, MD, MA (master's in medical anthropology)
Internal Medicine Resident
Brigham and Women's Hospital
Department of Medicine
75 Francis St.
Boston, MA 02130
e-mail: michael_westerhaus@yahoo.com

[1] World Health Organization (2005). Health and Mortality Survey among Internally Displaced Persons. Geneva: WHO.

1981

Claiming a fixed 1981 election, Yoweri Museveni forms a rebel group, later to be called the National Resistance Movement/Army (NRM/A), with the aim to overthrow the Ugandan government.

1986

The 1985 Nairobi Peace Accord between the northerner-dominated central government and the southerner-dominated NRM/A, led by Yoweri Museveni, is abrogated by the NRA and fighting resumes.

(26 January) NRA rebels take Kampala and install Yoweri Museveni as president.

Northerners in the civil service and military flee to northern Uganda and Sudan after the new NRM government dismisses them. They start the Uganda People's Democratic Movement/Army (UPDM/A) to oppose the invading NRA force trying to solidify its control over Uganda. Fighting is contained to Acholiland.

1987

(November) An Acholi spiritualist, Alice Lakwena, leads UPDA and other rebels on a march to Kampala to overthrow Pres. Museveni. They are defeated.

(November) Joseph Kony gathers support from remaining insurgents to form the rebel group that would later become the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA).

1988

(June) The Gulu Peace Accord is signed, bringing most of the Uganda People's Democratic Army (UPDA) out of the "bush." The peace agreement gives amnesty to the combatants and begins a discussion of a new constitution and a northern reconstruction program.

1990

(July) The Addis Adaba Accord is signed, integrating more UPDM/A into the NRM central government. Though some stay in the bush, the UPDM/A ceases to exist.

1991

The Ugandan government launches Operation North, a military campaign attempting to end the rebel conflict. The operation generates significant resentment after the arrest of several popular northern politicians.

1993

Betty Bigombe attempts peace negotiations with Joseph Kony and the LRA for the first time.

1994

Pres. Museveni calls off peace negotiations on the eve of an agreement and declares a seven-day ultimatum for the rebels to surrender.

The Sudanese government begins funding the LRA.

1995

Uganda ratifies a new Constitution. The NRA becomes the national army, the Uganda People's Defense Forces (UPDF).

1996

(9 May) Pres. Museveni returns to office in Uganda's first direct presidential election.

The Ugandan government announces policy to move rural northern Ugandans into IDP camps in order to better protect them and stop LRA rebels from raiding rural crops.

1997

Kacoke Madit, an organization seeking to push the government toward ending the war is formed by a group of Acholi Diaspora in Europe and Canada. In April the group holds a conference in London attempting to allow the LRA to form a political wing and articulate its political agenda.

Traditional and religious leaders come together to form the Acholi Religious Leaders' Peace Initiative, and begin pressuring the Ugandan government for peace talks.

(May) The community of Sant'Egidio, a Catholic lay group out of Rome, meets with the government and rebels to facilitate peace talks which fail because of the LRA's lack of a clear, sanctioned political wing.

1999

The Carter Center facilitates the 1999 Nairobi Accord between Sudan and Uganda, which begins to normalize relationships and end hostilities between the two.

2000

The Ugandan government passes the Amnesty Act, giving amnesty to LRA rebels who surrender and denounce the rebellion.

2001

Yoweri Museveni is elected to his second term as President of Uganda.

(December) The United States declares the LRA an official terrorist organization.

2002

(March) Sudan, Uganda sign agreement aimed at containing the LRA, active along their common border, partly because of pressure from the US. Following this, the Ugandan government launches Operation Iron Fist which forces LRA rebels from Sudan into northern Uganda, making the area more unstable. Kony evades capture.

(September) Pres. Museveni states the war will be finished before March 2003.

(December) Joseph Kony, on Radio MegaFM in Gulu, expresses his willingness to engage in peace talks with the government.

2003

The LRA insurgency spreads to the Lango and Teso regions.

(January) Joseph Kony rings Honorable Norbert Mao of Gulu municipality, asking for ceasefire talks with UPDF officers outside of Uganda.

(February) Archbishop Odama makes public a letter from Vincent Otti of the LRA calling for an international mediator for peace talks.

(April) Tolbert Nyeko of the LRA calls Dr. Fabbio Riccardi of Sant’Egidio to express LRA willingness to go for peace talks abroad. The initial stages of the talks fall apart and attacks continue.

(July) Acholi Religious Leaders Peace Initiative writes open letter to US President George W. Bush calling for a more active US role in the peace process.

2004

(February) Pres. Museveni rejects intervention by the United Nations, saying he favors third party intervention by Sant'Egidio.

(February) Over 300 people killed in an LRA attack on the Barlonyo IDP camp in Lira district.

(April) Jan Egeland, UN Under-Secretary-General on Humanitarian Affairs, briefs the UN Security Council on the situation in northern Uganda. The next day Pres. Museveni makes a statement expressing readiness for peace talks with the LRA in mutually-agreed safe areas under international monitoring.

(December) LRA spokespersons declare their willingness to end the conflict, however on December 31, a scheduled signing of cessation falls apart after the LRA says they are not ready to sign.

2005

(February) LRA Brigadier Sam Kolo surrenders to the UPDF, widening the gap of communication between the government and the LRA.

(June) Uganda Conflict Action Network is launched, calling for responsible foreign policy toward the conflict in northern Uganda with consideration of the linkages in the Great Lakes Region of Africa.

President Museveni expresses willingness to continue peace talks and Bigombe resumes contact with LRA officials, including Joseph Kony himself.

(August) The death of Sudanese VP and former SPLM leader John Garang threatens renewed instability in southern Sudan and hurts efforts to curb LRA activity there.

(August) World Health Organization releases a report that reveals over 1,000 people die every week in northern Uganda’s IDP camps from disease, violence, and starvation.

(September) Human Rights Watch releases a report detailing atrocities commited by both the Lord's Resistance Army and the Ugandan army against the civilian population of northern Uganda. The Ugandan government denies the allegations of military misconduct.

(September) LRA deputy chief Vincent Otti and 300 LRA rebels flee to the DR Congo, sparking tensions between Uganda and the DR Congo about the best way to disarm the rebels. Though Otti later leaves, some LRA rebels continue to carry out attacks in the region.

(October) The International Criminal Court (ICC) issues arrest warrants for Joseph Kony and four other top LRA commanders, sparking both hope for an end to the conflict and fears that the warrants will slow the peace process.

(22 October) Tens of thousands march in Global GuluWalk Day in over 35 cities worldwide, calling attention to
the “night commuters” and child victims of northern Uganda.

(Oct. – Nov.) A series of LRA ambushes on foreigners and staff of international relief groups, the first in nearly two decades of war, kills at least six people. The attacks, causing a temporary halt of aid to IDPs in northern Uganda, are thought to be a response to the issue of ICC arrest warrants for top LRA commanders in October.

(December) LRA deputy chief Vincent Otti expresses interest in rekindling peace talks and even facing trial at the ICC, but the Ugandan government dismisses the possibility and reaffirms its commitment to a military solution. Some northern Ugandans urge the government to accept the LRA’s offer to negotiate, while others express fear that the LRA’s offer is insincere.

2006

(23 January) Eight UN peacekeepers are killed during a battle with LRA rebels in the DR Congo. 15 rebels are also killed.

(25 February) Yoweri Museveni announced as the winner of presidential elections in Uganda, extending his two-decade-old rule of Uganda for another six years.

(16 March) UPDF officials announce that LRA leader Joseph Kony has fled southern Sudan and joined his deputy Vincent Otti in Garamba National Park in the northeastern DR Congo. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni later threatens to invade the DR Congo if LRA rebels based there attack Uganda.

(24 March) The UN Security Council passes a resolution that "strongly condemn(s) activities of militias and armed groups such as the LRA, which continue to attack civilians and commit human rights abuses in Sudan."

(25 March) A coalition of 50 aid agencies working in northern Uganda release a report saying 131 people die each day (and almost 1,000 each week) in northern Uganda from violence, disease, and malnutrition.

(21 April) Officials from southern Sudan offer to mediate between the Ugandan government and LRA rebels.

(29 April) Over 50,000 people around the US participate in "Global Night Commutes" in support of peace in northern Uganda.

(7 June) Uganda-CAN delivers a petition with 8,744 signatures to the U.S. President and key members of Congress demanding that they take the lead in ending the war in northern Uganda.

(5 July) President Museveni announces Joseph Kony and other LRA leaders indicted by the ICC will be granted amnesty by the Ugandan government if they respond positively to the Southern Sudan mediated talks and abandon terrorism. The ICC insists that the indicted rebel leaders must be prosecuted.

(14 July) Uganda’s government and LRA rebels formally opened talks to end the 20-year war in northern Uganda in Juba. The talks are mediated by the Southern Sudanese government. Museveni later sets at September 12th deadline for the conclusion of the talks.

(22 August) LRA top leader Joseph Kony formally approaches the Central African Republic (CAR) government to plead for asylum.

(26 August) The Ugandan government and LRA leaders sign a truce calling for the cessation of hostilities in Juba, setting up future talks for a more comprehensive peace agreement. As part of the truce, LRA rebels begin to move towards assembly points in southern Sudan.

(1 September) A group of U.S. senators send formal letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, urging the U.S. government to break its silence and support the Juba peace talks.

(17 September) LRA leaders Joseph Kony and Vincent Otti reportedly "assemble" with 1,600 fighters at one of the points designated by Cessation of Hostilities (CoH) Agreement.

(23 September) U.S. Senate, led by Senator Russ Feingold, passes resolution supporting the Juba peace talks.

(5 October) European Parliament resolves to support Juba peace process.

(9-10 October) Over 700 U.S. advocates gather in Washington D.C. for historic Northern Uganda Lobby Day & Symposium to lobby U.S. Congress to fully support peace talks.

(19 October) UNHCR reports that the calm resulting from the Juba talks has allowed 300,000 IDPs to return home, and could allow as many as 500,000 to return before the end of the year.

(21 October) Over 30,000 people in 82 cities in 15 different countries walk in global GuluWalk Day.

(30 October) In surprise move, the Government announces that all IDPs will return home by December 31st.

(1 November) Parties in Juba agree to extend CoH Agreement.

(4 December) UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan announces his appointment of former-Mozambican president Joachim Chissano as special envoy to northern Uganda.

(7 December) CoH Monitoring Team finds that both Government and LRA guilty of violating the agreement.

(9 December) For the first time in 20 years, Joseph Kony meets his mother in a good will gesture by the Government.

2007

(12 January) LRA refuses to return to peace talks in Juba, claiming mediator to be prejudiced. The LRA delegation demands a new venue if talks are to continue.

On August 26th, 2006 the Government of Uganda and the Lord’s Resistance Army delegations signed an agreement for a cessation of hostilities. To reach this important stage, both sides have come a long way from when the talks began in the Southern Sudan city of Juba on July 14. Below is a snapshot of the progress of the talks as compiled by Emmanuel Gyezaho of The Daily Monitor.

LRA position on July 14
1. Ceasefire - We demand that an immediate and comprehensive ceasefire agreement be signed for cessation of hostilities so that all the stakeholders may freely move and consult towards the attainment of a comprehensive peace agreement.
2. IDP Camps - We demand that our people living in sub-human conditions in the IDP camps should immediately be repatriated back to their villages and homes. The government designedly created these camps. An independent commission appointed by the sponsors should be entrusted with the management of such resettlement.
3. Land - After the theft of our livestock, the only valuable asset we have left is land. We demand that sale of all rural land be suspended until the issue of compensation is addressed and the population put in a position to make a judicious decision.
4. Compensation - We demand comprehensive compensation for all the losses suffered as a result of civil strife and or state instigated schemes. In particular, we demand that the government accepts full responsibility for the cattle rustling that swept all the livestock and destruction of homesteads and other properties in northern and eastern Uganda.
5. The army - The present army does not reflect a national character. It is ethnic, partisan and pledges its loyalty to President Museveni personally and not to the nation. We demand its total disbandment so that an internationally supervised recruitment is done taking into account regional balance and integration of those in the LRA and other armed opposition.
6. Political persecution - The north and east should not be politically persecuted and marginalised for any perceived wrong committed by any past regime. We demand a proportionate power-sharing arrangement that takes care of regional and population balance of the country.
7. Development - The north and east have been left out from the formula of development for the last 20 years of NRM administration. We demand that a specific formula be agreed upon to redress the imbalance.
8. Equal opportunities - The government has openly developed a sectarian scheme to award State House scholarships to children from favoured ethnic groups. We demand a definite formula be agreed upon for proportionate employment opportunities for all qualified people from all regions and ethnic groups.
9. Language use - We demand that we should move away from our national vocabulary, demeaning attitude designed to insult and demonise our people as an ethnic group and to sow seeds of hatred and disunity in the country as a way of promoting national unity.

Ugandan Government position toward LRA on July 16
1. Renounce and abandon all forms of terrorism
2. Cease all forms of hostilities
3. Dissolve, and hand over all arms and ammunition together with their inventory
4. Assemble in agreed locations for demobilisation, disarmament and documentation
5. The offer being given is amnesty to all combatants, which shall be guaranteed upon successful conclusion of the talks
6. All the former combatants will be re-integrated into civilian productive life and those who wish and qualify, will be integrated into the UPDF
7. Those who wish to go back to school including vocational institutions will be given assistance
8. Resettlement assistance will be given to those who opt to settle back into civilian life
9. The government will engage the cultural and religious leaders and all stakeholders in a bid to reconcile the combatants with their community [mato oput].
LRA position on July 18, as discussions on agenda one -
ceasefire - open
1. Both parties shall cease all forms of hostilities including, but not limited to, ensuring that their fighting forces do not attack each other in whatever location the forces may be. For the avoidance of doubt, the UPDF shall not follow the LRA in their positions outside the country wherever they may be located; and the GoU shall declare a free corridor and zone in some sub-counties in Gulu and Kitgum districts bordering the Southern Sudan, to facilitate free movement to designated areas.
2. No person is arrested and or prosecuted on the ground of any allegation of association, collaboration with or membership of LRA.
3. No party shall engage in any mutually hostile propaganda.
Kabushenga of the government’s Media Centre in Kampala responds: The position of the government is that there is no ceasefire. We should go for dialogue and then peace.
Govt delegation rejects calls of a cessation of hostilities. Dr Ruhakana Rugunda, the leader of the government delegation, says in a statement: “The LRA abused [past cessation of hostilities] opportunities to, among others, recruit and arm their fighters, reorganise their forces, treat the sick, unearth buried arms and ammos, loot and stock food, rejuvenate collaborators networks, continue with the hostilities unabated.
A repeat of the above shall definitely not be allowed this time round.”
Kony asks talks mediator Riek Machar, the vice president of South Sudan, to relay to Kampala some of his demands including a visit by his mother Nora Oting and relatives of some of his top commanders.

July 24: Relatives of LRA fighters leave for Juba en route to the rebel base of Garamba in northeastern DR Congo as talks take a break after 10 days of activity. Kony’s mother Nora Oting fails to travel due to illness. Rugunda returns to consult President Museveni.
Museveni says no power-sharing with the rebels.
Kony says he will not accept any UPDF officers on the Uganda government peace team in Juba

July 28: Kony meets his ‘wives’ plus a large delegation from Uganda led by Lt. Col. Walter Ochora as part of a confidence-building move to spur on the talks

July 31: Dr Machar demands Otti’s presence at the next round of talks

August 3: Machar toughness his stance against the LRA and asks them to disclose their deployments in southern Sudan and northern Uganda despite Kampala’s insistence that there will be no ceasefire. Rumours that the LRA have called off talks circulate in the media.
l Otti insists that he will not travel to Juba for the second round of talks for fear the International Criminal Court would have him arrested to answer war crimes charges. “Why is Riek making my presence in Juba a condition? There must be something hidden. After all there are no guarantees that I wont be arrested.”

August 4: Kony orders a unilateral ceasefire
Rugunda responds: “We will wait and see what it means on the ground because the previous ceasefires have been abused.”

August 5: Kony writes to Speaker Ssekandi asking that the Amnesty Law covers him and his top aides. It is announced that talks resume on Monday, August 7.
Talks hit a snag: All five fighters on the LRA delegation quit the talks citing security reasons leaving the LRA delegation stripped of the representatives of the armed wing.

August 8: Machar invites Gulu District Chairman Norbert Mao and a host of community leaders to the talks.

August 9: Talks eventually resume but then the LRA team walks out insisting that the government also reciprocates by declaring a cessation of hostilities.
Kampala describes the walkout as unfortunate.

August 10: The government describes the LRA childish, with military chief Aronda Nyakairima saying the UPDF would pound Kony. The government demands that the rebels release women and children in their captivity.
Rugunda presents position paper on ceasefire and demands the LRA to provide relevant information on its forces and equipment spelling out in precise detail the strength and positions of the forces, full particulars of members of the forces, inventories of arms and ammunitions and other military equipment. He gives the rebels one week to make this information available. He proposes the creation of a ceasefire monitoring team composed of 10 members led by a senior official appointed by the Government of South Sudan. The others would be two representatives from the LRA, UPDF, SPLA and one each from the African Union, United Nations, and the Core Group. He also spells out proposed assembly points for the LRA in case of mutual cessation of hostilities. The points are “Waligo in Kitgum District and Nabanga under the control of the SPLA in Southern Sudan.”

August 12: UPDF kills LRA’s number three Raska Lukwiya throwing the talks into balance. But the government assures the LRA that Lukwiya’s death will not derail the process.

August 15: Museveni says he cannot betray Kony and hand him over to the ICC as LRA halt peace talks for three days to mourn Lukwiya

August 16: Sudan calls for a ceasefire as UPDF kills another rebel commander. Otti demands that South Africa replaces South Sudan as mediator. Otti says that Machar is not neutral and should hand over to Pretoria. Otti duly calls South Africa’s High Commission in Kampala.

August 18: Museveni rejects calls for a South African mediation. Salvar Kiir travels to Kampala.

August 19: Museveni changes tack by saying that the rebels should assemble in Southern Sudan as a condition for UPDF’s cessation of hostilities. Earlier he had said they assemble in Uganda and Sudan.

August 20: Sudan gets tough on the rebels handing down another precondition for a cessation of hostilities and demands that the LRA disclose their troop deployments in Sudan, DR Congo and Uganda to allow monitoring.

August 21: LRA present position paper on disarmament and say they are ready to disarm and assemble at designated points but demand that the UPDF declares its weapons of mass destruction. “We have never owned and we do not intend to own any weapons of mass destruction,” Capt. Paddy Ankunda, the government team’s spokesman, counters.

August 24: Rebels demand more political participation and say they want more Cabinet posts for the north and east urging for a fair distribution of national resources, with the two regions getting 30 percent of positions across the board.
Government quickly dismisses the demands.

August 25: Museveni further sets less stringent terms for cessation of hostilities: he requires LRA fighters to assemble at designated points in Southern Sudan, offers safe passage to the rebels, agrees to declare truce for 14 days renewable upon review, and mandates the SPLA to provide security at the assembly points.

August 26th: Ugandan government and LRA sign truce calling for cessation of hostilities.

(4 January) A military court martial in Lira District of northern Uganda sentences a local soldier to death for killing an IDP camp resident in December.

(13 January) The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, criticizes the UPDF for its human rights abuses in northern Uganda, saying military misconduct against civilians constitutes a "double violation" of human rights.

(23 January) Eight UN peacekeepers are killed during a battle with LRA rebels in the DR Congo. 15 rebels are also killed.

Uganda's Amnesty Commission announces that Uganda's amnesty law will be extended for an additional six months, allowing former rebels to surrender without prosecution and be given assistance reintegrating into society.

(31 January) A coalition of 34 American religious, humanitarian, and political advocacy organizations send a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, calling for more sustained attention to the war in northern Uganda. The Ugandan government condemns the letter.

The United Nations Security Council passes its first resolution with explicit mention of the crisis in northern Uganda, calling on the LRA to end its campaign of terror and regional governments to fulfill their responsibility to protect civilians.

(Jan.-Feb.) LRA attacks continue to cause displacement and death in northern Uganda.

(3 February) Steven Browning, the newly-appointed US ambassador to Uganda, says that he will urge the Ugandan government to end the LRA rebellion in northern Uganda.

(6 February) The United States Senate passes a resolution calling for increased attention to the crisis in northern Uganda.

(25 February) Yoweri Museveni announced as the winner of presidential elections in Uganda, extending his two-decade-old rule of Uganda for another six years.

(8 March) The Congressional Human Rights Caucus sponsors two events in Washington DC that highlight the ongoing crisis in northern Uganda.

(12 March) Founders of Uganda-CAN and GuluWalk visit northern Uganda to discuss with local leaders current international advocacy efforts directed at resolving the conflict.

(16 March) UPDF officials announce that LRA leader Joseph Kony has fled southern Sudan and joined his deputy Vincent Otti in Garamba National Park in the northeastern DR Congo.

(20 March) Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni threatens to invade the DR Congo if LRA rebels based there attack Uganda.

(24 March) The UN Security Council passes a resolution that "strongly condemn(s) activities of militias and armed groups such as the LRA, which continue to attack civilians and commit human rights abuses in Sudan."

(25 March) 50 aid agencies working in northern Uganda release a report saying 131 people die each day (and almost 1,000 each week) in northern Uganda from violence, disease, and malnutrition. The Ugandan government later calls the report "inaccurate" and President Museveni sharply criticizes NGOs working in northern Uganda.

(31 March) The GoU, with the assistance of the international community, launches the Joint Country Coordination and Monitoring Committee (JCCMC) on northern Uganda, dubbed a "Marshall Plan," for the people of northern Uganda.

(1 April) UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Jan Egeland declares the conflict in northern Uganda "the world's worst form of terrorism" during a visit to northern Uganda.

(14 April) The UPDF says it has stopped providing escorts to aid agencies operating in IDP camps, citing improved security conditions. Aid agencies say the decision is premature.

(18 April) Resettlement of IDPs in Lango and Teso sub-regions of northern Uganda begins, despite concerns that the LRA is still active in the region and that resettlement is poorly planned.

(21 April) Officials from southern Sudan offer to mediate between the Ugandan government and LRA rebels.

Uganda asks the UN to allow its troops enter the DR Congo to pursue LRA rebels there.

(29 April) Over 50,000 people around the US participate in "Global Night Commutes" in support of peace in northern Uganda.

(1 May) The UN says that reports of a Ugandan military raid into the DR Congo are "credible."

The UN Security Council adopts a resolution that "reaffirms….. the responsibility to protect populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity."

(16 May) LRA leader Joseph Kony sends a request through Southern Sudanese President Salva Kiir that he wants direct peace talks with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni. Museveni responds the next day, saying he will guarantee LRA leaders' immunity from the International Criminal Court (ICC) if they abandon the rebellion.

(17 May) Officials from the ICC state that Uganda "must arrest" Joseph Kony and the four other LRA leaders that were indicted by the court last October.

(22 May) A member of the Amuka militia in Lira district kills 12 IDPs and injures 26 others during a drunken rage

(May) The UPDF claims to have killed 226 LRA rebels and captured 100 others since January 2006.

(7 June) Uganda-CAN delivers a petition with 8,744 signatures to the U.S. President and key members of Congress demanding that they take the lead in ending the war in northern Uganda.

(June) The LRA and governments of Uganda and southern Sudan begin preparations for peace talks in Juba, southern Sudan. Ugandan President Museveni wavers between support for peace talks and endorsement of a military solution to the LRA rebellion. LRA attacks in the region continue.

(19 June) United States Assistant Secretary of State for Africa Jendayi Frazer visits Uganda and says that the U.S. government supports peace talks between the Uganda government and the LRA.

(5 July) President Museveni announces Joseph Kony and other LRA leaders indicted by the ICC will be granted amnesty by the Ugandan government if they respond positively to the Southern Sudan mediated talks and abandon terrorism. The ICC insists that the indicted rebel leaders must be prosecuted.

(14 July) Uganda’s government and LRA rebels formally opened talks to end the 20-year war in northern Uganda in Juba. The talks are mediated by the Southern Sudanese government. Museveni later sets at September 12th deadline for the conclusion of the talks.

(1 August) Although top LRA leaders refuse to travel to Juba to participate directly in peace talks for fear of being arrested, the Ugandan government delegation visits Joseph Kony at his hideout in the DR Congo.

(9 August) In deference to the ongoing peace talks in Juba, the UN Security Council agrees to delay a resolution that will coordinate a regional military response to the LRA.

(13 August) UPDF forces kill the LRA’s third senior-most commander, Raska Lukwiya, one of five top LRA commanders indicted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes. Further talks are temporarily delayed as the LRA mourns his death.

(18 August) LRA requests South Africa to "co-mediate" peace talks. The Ugandan government rejects the request.

(21 August) The UPDF warns that it will invade the DR Congo to attack LRA rebels if the ongoing Juba peace talks collapse.

(22 August) LRA top leader Joseph Kony formally approaches the Central African Republic (CAR) government to plead for asylum.

(26 August) The Ugandan government and LRA leaders sign a truce calling for the cessation of hostilities in Juba, setting up future talks for a more comprehensive peace agreement. As part of the truce, LRA rebels begin to move towards assembly points in southern Sudan.

(January) Betty Bigombe continues her efforts to maintain communication and openness between the LRA and government.

(February) LRA Brigadier Sam Kolo surrenders to the UPDF, widening the gap of communication between the government and the LRA.

(April) President Museveni meets with top military officials in Lira and Gulu to plan "the final push against the LRA."

(June) Uganda Conflict Action Network is launched, calling for responsible foreign policy toward the conflict in northern Uganda with consideration of the linkages in the Great Lakes Region of Africa.

President Museveni expresses willingness to continue peace talks and Bigombe resumes contact with LRA officials, including Joseph Kony himself.

(August) The death of Sudanese VP and former SPLM leader John Garang threatens renewed instability in southern Sudan and hurts efforts to curb LRA activity there.

(August) World Health Organization releases a report that reveals over 1,000 people die every week in northern Uganda’s IDP camps from disease, violence, and starvation.

(September) Human Rights Watch releases a report detailing atrocities commited by both the Lord's Resistance Army and the Ugandan army against the civilian population of northern Uganda. The Ugandan government denies the allegations of military misconduct.

(September) LRA deputy chief Vincent Otti and 300 LRA rebels flee to the DR Congo, sparking tensions between Uganda and the DR Congo about the best way to disarm the rebels. Though Otti later leaves, some LRA rebels continue to carry out attacks in the region.

(October) The International Criminal Court (ICC) issues arrest warrants for Joseph Kony and four other top LRA commanders, sparking both hope for an end to the conflict and fears that the warrants will slow the peace process.

(22 October) Tens of thousands march in Global GuluWalk Day in over 35 cities worldwide, calling attention to
the “night commuters” and child victims of northern Uganda.

(Oct. – Nov.) A series of LRA ambushes on foreigners and staff of international relief groups, the first in nearly two decades of war, kills at least six people. The attacks, causing a temporary halt of aid to IDPs in northern Uganda, are thought to be a response to the issue of ICC arrest warrants for top LRA commanders in October.

(November) The European Union issues a resolution calling for a peaceful end to the conflict.

(November) Sudanese and Ugandan militaries agree to conduct joint operations against the LRA in southern Sudan, where LRA attacks have been increasingly concentrated.

(December) LRA deputy chief Vincent Otti expresses interest in rekindling peace talks and even facing trial at the ICC, but the Ugandan government dismisses the possibility and reaffirms its commitment to a military solution. Some northern Ugandans urge the government to accept the LRA’s offer to negotiate, while others express fear that the LRA’s offer is insincere.

(December) Jan Egeland, the U.N. undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs, briefs the UN Security Council on humanitarian crises in Africa. He specifically cites the LRA rebellion, saying it threatens regional stability and the lives of millions.

(December) President Museveni and UPDF officials predict end of LRA rebellion by April 2006.