Found on http://www.pledgebank.com/helpuganda:

"I will donate $10 to the Uganda Civil Action Network (www.ugandacan.org) to stop war and child abduction in northern Uganda but only if 20 other people will too."

— Rebekah Heacock, college student in Lawrence, KS

Deadline to sign up by: 30th September 2005
4 people have signed up, 16 more needed

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It took the world less than a day to spread the Paris Hilton sex tape. It took us twenty years to hear about the tens of thousands of children in northern Uganda who face war, abduction to serve in the LRA rebel army, forced prositution, hunger, AIDS, homelessness and worse.

Which is more important?

Well put. Who's going to step up?

Reuters AlertNet reports that Yoweri Museveni, Uganda's president, called neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and United Nations (UN) peacekeepers "sponsors of terrorism" for failing to disarm the Lord's Resistance Army rebels that recently moved into the northeastern jungles of DRC. President Museveni further said Uganda will take action if the UN peacekeepers continue to fail to disarm the rebels. Read the article at Reuters AlertNet.

According to The New Vision, Uganda foreign affairs minister, Sam Kutesa, addressed the 60th session of the UN General Assembly last week. A statement issued by Uganda's Permanent Mission at the UN said Kutesa said that the Lord's Resistance Army rebels fighting in the north "have been defeated and can no longer terrorize, maim and kidnap civilians." Kutesa is quoted to have said, "Peace has returned to northern Uganda." He further asked the international community for help to address the humanitarian crisis situation.

The BBC News reports that the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) will disarm and return to Uganda a group of Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels. The group of the rebels, whom crossed into northeastern DRC last week, had surprise talks with United Nations officials. Read more at the BBC.

An editorial in Reuters Alertnet today says that the end of the LRA rebellion may be very imminent. Impending International Criminal Court (ICC) warrants calling for his arrest, his second-in-command Vincent Otti's flight last week to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and increasing military pressure from the Ugandan and Sudanese governments all seem to prophesize an end to the 19-year guerrilla war. However, many are skeptical of claims that the LRA will soon be defeated, noting that the group has managed to survive for 19 years.

The editorial portrays the impending ICC arrest warrants as positive development in the pursuit of ending the rebellion, quoting a Western diplomat as saying that "indictments would effectively end any chance he has to negotiate now, or move" and "no one wants to host an individual sought by the ICC." Uganda-CAN urges the ICC and all interested parties to open a true dialogue with the people of northern Uganda to ensure such a move is really the best way to move towards peace. Many people, including chief government negotiator Betty Bigombe and many Acholi religious leaders, think emphasis should be placed on peace before justice. They believe that the Ugandan amnesty program for LRA rebels is best method to achieve peace, and that a recent initiative by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue arrest warrants for high-ranking LRA commanders will deter them from surrender and prolong the war. Read more at AllAfrica.com about the views of northern Ugandans about trying to balance reconciliation, justice, and sustainable peace in the region.

The Daily Monitor reports of the Uganda's military's report that the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) killed seven soldiers of the Southern Sudanese Liberation Army forces and seven civilians in an ambush at Teretenya in southern Sudan. The army spokesman further said the Ugandan army has killed eight rebels in four separate encouters over the last week.

The Daily Monitor reports today that Joseph Kony, leader of the Lord's Resistance Army, is moving towards northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This comes days following the movement of two of Kony's senior commanders, Vincent Otti and Abdema, to the DRC.

The New Vision reports that President Museveni demands immediate extradition of Lord's Resistance Army leader Joseph Kony and remnants of his army that have recently crossed into the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

There are reports that sixty fighters led by Kony's second-in-command Vincent Otti recently fled northern Uganda and southern Sudan to cross into northeastern DRC. The Uganda People's Defense Forces (UPDF) claimed the rebels are hiding in Garamba game park in the DRC.

Mark Pritchard, a British Member of Parliament, has called for the offering of a financial reward for the capture of LRA leader Joseph Kony, reports AllAfrica.

"The reward should not be more than US$1m (about sh1.8b). It will motivate those around Kony to hand him over," he said. "We were appalled by what we saw in the camps. This unimaginable suffering should be put to an end and the perpetrators brought to book," he further commented.

Pritchard made the remarks after he and several other British MPs concluded their trip visiting northern Uganda. The visit comes on the heels of a recent report released by the World Health Organization which claims that over 1000 excess deaths occur per week in Uganda's northern region as a result of the conflict. An editorial in today's Daily Monitor notes that the report implies that up to a million people have perished in the two decades of violence.

The recently released Human Rights Watch report detailing UPDF and LRA human rights abuses against civilians in northern Uganda has received widespread coverage in news outlets around the world. The report was covered by CNN, BBC, The Guardian Unlimited, and in newspapers in over 12 states in the US. Uganda-CAN welcomes the attention on the conflict in northern Uganda, and hopes it will spark renewed international willpower to support the peace process and end the conflict.

The New Vision reports that the SPLA has deployed hundreds of soldiers in the town of Yei in southern Sudan in response to LRA attacks last week along the recently opened Juba-Yei road. 150-200 LRA soldiers are reported to be in the area.

A British parliamentarian, Mark Pritchard, has suggested that a reward of no more than one million US$ be offered in return for the capture of Joseph Kony, the leader of the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). Pritchard was traveling with a larger delegation of British parliamentarians, who said they would urge the British government to do more to assist IDPs in the region. Read more at the People's Daily Online.

A report from the International Organization for Migration, released on ReliefWeb, reports that many of the children living in IDP camps in northern Uganda suffer from especially high rates of HIV/AIDS and rarely get the necessary support and assistance they need. Though HIV prevalence rates have fallen to 4% throughout much of Uganda, the rate is between 11-16% in Gulu district. They also are disproportionately vulnerable to sexual and gender-based violence. The report pointed to the presence of Ugandan military personnel near the camps as contributing to the high rates of abuse, violence, and HIV transmission. Other reports have detailed how many IDP women, unable to support themselves or their families economically, are forced into prostitution, often for UPDF soldiers.

In light of this report and the recently released Amnesty International report detailing human rights abuses by the UPDF in northern Uganda, Ugandan-CAN hopes to generate thoughtful discussion about the role of the Ugandan military in the region as part of its broader Special Inquiry into the Role of the Ugandan government in northern Uganda.

Uganda's New Vision reports that Vincent Otti, Kony's second-in-command of the LRA, has crossed the Nile and headed into eastern Congo. Kony is thought to have crossed the Nile further north, and is now based at an unknown location in southern Sudan. The article further reports that only one LRA group remains in Uganda, comprised of approximately 30 fighters near the town of Kalongo in Pader district.

Otti and his group of fighters is blamed for the recent attack on the southern Sudanese town of Yei on the western side of the Nile. A press release from the Lord's Resistance Army Information Bureau, based in London, claims that such a crossing of the Nile would be impossible, however, and that the LRA has been blamed for an attack that it did not commit. SudanTribune has the press release here.

Meanwhile, AllAfrica reports that the Sudanese government has agreed to participate in trilateral operations against the LRA, utilizing Ugandan, northern and southern Sudanese troops against the rebel group. Defense ministers from the two countries will soon meet to discuss details. US State Department Special Envoy to Sudan Roger Winter is thought to have played a key role in lobbying the Government of Sudan to expel the LRA from Sudan so that reconstruction in the country's war-ravaged southern region can commence.

This coming weekend, September 23-25, is the weekend of prayer and action for northern Uganda. Please see the prayer newly posted on the weekend website here, written by a leader in the Acholi Religious Leaders Peace Initiative.

One month from this weekend will be the Global GuluWalks, when groups in cities around the world will walk in solidarity with night commuter children. 35 cities have registered to walk so far! To register a walk in your area, email Adrian at adrian@guluwalk.com, and visit guluwalk.com for more details.

Today's Daily Monitor reports that a top LRA commander, known only as Capt. Ocheing, has been killed. The UPDF said that he was killed 30km northwest of Pader district in Olim.

In response to the LRA's attack deep into southern Sudan on Tuesday, the SPLA (Sudan People's Liberation Army) responded today with a military offensive to drive the LRA out of Sudan. Deputy chairman of the southern Sudan government Riek Machar said that the operation was only a defensive measure and expressed hope that the Ugandan government and LRA could come to a peaceful settlement. Read more at the Sudan Tribune.

Sam Kutesa, Uganda's Foreign Minister, discussed the conflict in northern Uganda in an interview with allafrica.com yesterday. He blamed the longevity of the war on Sudan's military support and harboring of LRA rebels in southern Sudan. However, Kutesa expressed hope that improvement's in relations between the governments of Sudan and Uganda, the end of Sudanese support for the LRA, and the recent peace agreement ending the civil war in southern Sudan will lead to a prompt end of the LRA rebellion. He said that the Ugandan government is pursuing several avenues of ending the rebellion; continuous military pressure, peace talks through Betty Bigombe, pending international arrest warrants through the International Criminal Court, and an amnesty program for rebels who surrender themselves.

Although Uganda-CAN is also hopeful that LRA rebellion will end soon, we urge the Ugandan government to acknowledge its own role in perpetuating the conflict through its stubborn commitment to a military solution as the primary means of ending the conflict. Also, we urge the government to realize that even if the LRA rebellion does end, the potential for conflict will remain high until it addresses the grievances of all northern Ugandans- inadequate aid to IDPs, political marginalization, military human rights abuses, and fears that IDPs will be unable to return to their land once the conflict ends.

Reauters AlertNet reports that the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) has joined the recent multitude of international humanitarian bodies calling for increased aid and attention to the predicament of displaced persons in northern Uganda. Martin Mogwanja, the UNICEF envoy to Uganda, also called for renewed commitment to the peace talks between the Ugandan government and LRA, saying "the mediation process needs to move forward to come to a ... ceasefire so that security can be restored and eventually a sustained peace." In recent weeks representatives from the World Food Programme, the World Health Organization, Netherlands, the IRC, and now UNICEF have all strongly urged the international community and Ugandan government to act decisively to assist IDPs and commit to the peace process.

Ugandan-born Canadian Senator Mobina Jaffer has called on Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin to focus more on the war in northern Uganda. Jaffer, also Canada’s special envoy to the peace process in Darfur, urged Ugandan-Canadians to write Martin, commenting that it was a letter-writing campaign that compelled him to respond to Darfur conflict. Read more at the New Vision.

"Around the world, children face all manner of depredations, but the stories we heard in northern Uganda may be among the most horrific ever told. Without more international support for the peace process and civilian protection, the region's children will be condemned to continue living out their dark fairy tale of abduction, torture, rape and murder. A happy ending is possible, but it will require much more commitment from the Bush administration to these forgotten children," report John Prendergast and Don Cheadle in a recent editorial printed in the International Herald Tribune.

Prendergast and Cheadle, who just returned from visiting northern Uganda, spell out in the piece exactly why now is a ripe moment for grabbing peace, and what needs to happen to catalyze the end of the war. Their thoughts agree with Uganda-CAN: visible U.S. support for the Bigombe peace mediations, coordination with the SPLM to expel the LRA from Sudan, and exploration of the possibility of deploying an international force to protect civilians will all help considerably. Read more here.

Despite being widely-criticized for his sluggish response to the effects of Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf States, according to one op-ed writer in Uganda's Daily Monitor President Bush's reaction to the crisis could teach President Museveni how to handle the conflict in northern Uganda much more effectively.

The article demonstrates three key actions taken by Bush that Museveni has avoided.

First, Bush admitted that the federal government's response should have been better, and has ordered an investigation into the situation. Museveni, on the other hand, has never acted to investigate the reasons why the war has not ended in twenty years. Numerous corporations and army leaders have been shown to be profiteering from the war, and yet no action has been taken.

Second, Bush declared a state of emergency for the region affected by the hurricane. Museveni, on the other hand, has quashed attempts by the Ugandan Parliament to declare the North a disaster area, which would bring more international attention and assistance to northerners in serious need.

Finally, Bush asked for and welcomed support from the international community, while Museveni has constantly denied needing such support, to the detriment of people suffering in the North. Read more at AllAfrica.

Read the op-ed of Sverker Finnstrom, author of Living with Bad Surroundings: War and Existential Uncertainty in Acholiland, Northern Uganda, about the political crisis that accompanies the humanitarian prevalent in northern Uganda in the Daily Monitor.

Reuters AlertNet reports that a major international humanitarian agency, the International Rescue Committee (IRC), has joined a chorus of other prominent international voices in calling for increased attention to the grave plight of IDPs in northern Uganda. Representatives from the World Food Programme, the World Health Organization, Netherlands, and now the IRC have all strongly urged the international community and Ugandan government to act decisively to help IDPs in the wake of a report released two weeks ago that revealed 1,000 die every week from violence, disease, and starvation in the congested camps. This surge in international attention is especially important amidst news that regular contact has resumed between LRA head Joseph Kony and the lead government negotiator, Betty Bigombe. Uganda-CAN supports these efforts and is working to encourage this gathering momentum towards peace and rebuilding in northern Uganda.

Today's Sudan Tribune reports that Uganda's national army, the UPDF, wants permission to conduct operations against the LRA further north in Sudan. Under a current agreement they are allowed to pursue the LRA up to the "Red Line", which extends along Jeba-Jabuleni-Tolit road in southern Sudan. The UPDF spokesman, Maj. Shaban Bantariza, said that Josephy Kony his LRA forces have fled north of the Red Line to avoid combat with the UPDF.

Today’s Sudan Tribune reports that Josephy Kony, the leader of the LRA, and Betty Bigombe, the chief negotiator of the Ugandan government, have resumed regular phone contact within the past two weeks. They had not communicated since tentative peace talks failed in February 2005. Bigombe said that Kony seemed open to dialogue and that “the direct involvement of Kony is critical to the peace process, and the resumption of direct contact represents a new step in the dialogue process with the LRA". The Ugandan government, though expressing interest for renewed peace talks, has continued to conduct military operations against the LRA, saying that the LRA has failed to prove its commitment to peace in recent months.

Today’s New Vision reports that Sudanese religious leaders from the Sudan Ecumenical Forum are seeking the intervention of a UN peacekeeping force for southern Sudan and northern Uganda. They expressed concern that the LRA’s growing activity in southern Sudan will cause even more suffering as millions of southern Sudanese begin returning to their homelands following the peace agreement signed earlier this year ending a decades-long civil war there. The leaders also called on the Ugandan government to purse an end to the war through peaceful means.

The Sunday Monitor reports that the World Food Programme (WFP) director in Uganda, Mr. Ken Davies, and the Dutch Ambassador to Uganda, Ms. Yoka Brandt, have urged the Ugandan government to provide more funds to acquire food for displaced people in northern Uganda. Mr. Davies said that the IDPs will need half of their foods needs from external sources at least until July 2006. He also said that the WFP, which provides food aid to 90% of official displaced persons’ camps in northern Uganda, is currently short 125,000 tons of food for that period.

Spokesman for the Ugandan military Shaban Bantariza recently announced on a public radio show that the war in the North is nearing its end, reports ReliefWeb.

Having chased Kony deep into central Sudan following a number of recent combat victories over LRA forces, Bantariza claimed that remaining LRA forces are merely splinter factions and are being dealt with by the Ugandan military. Over 90% of the region is now secure, he said.

Over the twenty-year course of the war, an imminent end has been announced on numerous occasions. Though a military end to the conflict would allow the return of refugees and the beginning of a new era of peace and development in northern Uganda, deeper issues of division and nation-building remain to be engaged by the Government of Uganda if it is to see a truly lasting peace.

Today’s Weekly Observer describes the recent three-day conference between cultural, religious, and political leaders of southern Sudan and northern Uganda in Nimule, Sudan as a success. Leaders from both sides declared that “the Kony menace should not derail us from being united, because we are the same people.” Despite recent LRA activity in southern Sudan, the conference was marked by cooperation and promises to work together to continue the regional peace efforts begun last January with the peace deal signed between the SPLA and the Sudanese central government.

Today’s New Vision reports that Salva Kiir, the head of the SPLA and current Sudanese VP, met yesterday with Pres. Museveni of Uganda for a one-day summit. They discussed the investigation into the death of former SPLA leader Dr. John Garang in a helicopter crash on August 30th in which foul play was suspected. Although many worried that Dr. Garang’s death would throw Sudan back into civil war, Kiir said that the SPLA was “satisfied with the progress of the investigation” and reaffirmed the SPLA’s commitment to peace.

Kiir and Museveni also discussed the LRA rebellion and agreed to hold joint operations to drive the rebels from their hiding places. While the new cooperation between Uganda and Sudan in working together against the LRA is encouraging, the two countries also need to support peaceful ways to resolve the conflict in light of the historical ineffectiveness of the military solution in defeating the LRA.

The Sudan People's Liberation Army has warned the southern Sudan-based Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) against terrorizing local people, saying that Sudan is now a country of peace. SPLA Brigadier General Johnson Juma Okot said, "We warn the LRA and its leadership that we in SPLA have laid down our guns for peace and development. If they don't talk peace with the Ugandan government like we did in our country, then we will soon show them the exit from Sudan." Read more at AllAfrica.com.

Today’s New Vision reports that the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), one of Uganda’s leading opposition parties, has called on the Ugandan government to disband the IDP camps in northern Uganda in light of a recent report which states that 1,000 IDPs die every week from disease and hunger. FDC spokesman Wafula Oguttu said that high rates of suicide among IDPs, 10-15 per week, is further evidence that the camps are taking a harsh and dehumanizing toll on northern Ugandans living in the camps.

President Museveni has lobbied the Government of Sudan to allow the Ugandan military to extend its operations against LRA rebels in southern Sudan, reports the New Vision. Previously, Ugandan forces were only allowed south of the Juba-Torit road. It is believed that Kony has retreated north of the road to regroup, along with an estimated 80 fighters.

"We used to fight Kony with only one dimensional force that only walks on foot, but now we have got multiple forces to fight Kony. If Gen. Bashir gives me permission to pursue Kony beyond the Red Line, it will only take me 30 minutes to finish him and his fighters," Museveni said.

Museveni has made similar claims in the past, met every time with failure to track down the evasive rebel leader. Meanwhile, further comments made by the President undermined the potential for a peaceful resolution of the conflict.

"Our stand on Kony has never changed. We have fought Amin and Obote and defeated them and we shall get Kony and he will pay for all his crimes," he said.

Fr. Carlos Rodriguez writes a troubling portrayal of the effects massive displacement has had on Acholi culture in today’s Weekly Observer. Fr. Rodriguez, a Catholic missionary who has been in Acholiland for 17 years and currently works with 50,000 IDPs, writes that IDP camps not only are havens for disease and malnutrition, but also have had caused a “slow death of family and culture”. Backbones of traditional culture, such as wang oo (informal education) and strong family ties, have been replaced by depression, promiscuity, alcholism, and staggering HIV/AIDS infection rates.

Today’s New Vision reports that about 50 religious, political, and cultural leaders from northern Uganda are meeting in Nimule, Sudan for a three-day conference to discuss regional peace and conflict issues. Leaders from Teso, Lango, West Nile, and Acholiland met in Gulu Tuesday and participated in an orientation before leaving to meet with their southern Sudanese counterparts. Among those participating is archbishop John Baptist Odama of the Acholi Religious Leaders Peace Initiative, a Uganda-CAN partner, who said that this week’s meeting was the fourth annual summit between the leaders of the two regions.