In light of recent claims that the Government of Uganda (GoU) is guilty of genocide by its neglect in northern Uganda, the Uganda Conflict Action Network is commissioning a legal study to determine the nature of abuses. Uganda-CAN will consult with various legal experts in the United States and Uganda to determine if the GoU is guilty of genocide, crimes against humanity or war crimes. Each of these legal categories mandate specific punitive action by the global community.

The war in northern Uganda is the second worst humanitarian crisis in the world with more than 1,000 excess deaths each week. The 20-year-old war, now Africa’s longest running conflict, has displaced more than 1.7 million people in the most squalid camps. Yet, the most horrifying part of the war is that children have been the primary victims. More than 30,000 of them, as young as seven, have been abducted and forced into child soldiering and sexual slavery. In the IDP camps, 50% of the people are children under 15 years. 48% of the children in northern Uganda are stunted from chronic malnutrition. 737 schools, 60% of total in the region, are not functioning as a result of the war. Finally, each night, up to 40,000 of these children, some as young as toddler, are forced to leave their rural homes and walk up to twelve kilometers to sleep on streets and avoid kidnapping.

Uganda-CAN hopes to soon report on the findings of this legal study.

The Uganda Conflict Action Network is making a push to get more than 3,000 signatories on our online petition, at which point it will be delivered to President Bush, the U.S. Senate and Congress. Sign the petition today and get your friends to sign!

Wisconsin NPR's show Here on Earth has named Sunday's feature on northern Uganda its podcast of the week. The show includes an interview with Uganda-CAN director Peter Quaranto about the need for U.S. engagement to help end the 20-year old war. Click here to listen to the podcast.

Today, Uganda-CAN director Peter Quaranto and former child soldier and now Fulbright scholar Charles Bongomin spoke on Wisconsin Public Radio's program Here on Earth with Jean Feraca. The program focused on the plight of child soldiers in the war in northern Uganda. Quaranto advocated international action as the way to end the war. He said that, with U.S. presidency of the U.N. Security Council this month, now would be a perfect time to put forth a resolution to finally address this forgotten crisis. For more information, including the podcast of the show, click here.

With the general elections less than three weeks away, the Uganda Conflict Action Network has created a Election Guide Web page. This special feature not only presents the stated positions of the presidential candidates toward the war in northern Uganda, but also provides links to Uganda-CAN's 2006 platform for peace in northern Uganda. Click here to visit this page.

The Uganda Conflict Action Network has released its "platform for peace" in an Op/Ed published in today's Daily Monitor. In the editorial, written by conflict analyst Paul Ronan, Uganda-CAN responds to critics that contend we do not have a substantive plan for ameliorating the crisis in northrn Uganda. The editorial reads, "We do not shy away from this challenge for two reasons. First, we believe that the status quo is simply unacceptable. At present, over 1.7 million people remain confined in internally displaced persons' camps and there are more than 1,000 excess deaths each week related to the war. Second, our investigation and research shows that better policy by the government can expedite a resolution to this war and relief for the people of northern Uganda."

The editorial then lays out our policy proposal to the Government of Uganda for how we believe it can better promote peace and reconciliation. The plan calls for implementing a more effective security strategy that prioritizes civilian protection, supporting the work of Betty Bigombe to vitalize a peace process and welcoming action by the international community, particularly the United Nations Security Council. The article concludes, "True commitment to ending the war in northern Uganda will require a substantive and sustained plan towards conflict transformation and reconciliation. Let's hope and demand that the future leaders of Uganda finally bring such robust commitment to bear."

Read the full text here.

Or, read the text of the article and Uganda-CAN's guide to the upcoming presidential elections in Uganda by clicking here.