A coalition of 34 American religious, humanitarian, and political advocacy organizations have sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, calling for more sustained attention to the war in northern Uganda.

"Establishing a secure environment requires urgent leadership from the U.S. Government to put in place a comprehensive regional approach that addresses LRA cross-border movements and prioritizes a resolution to the conflict, while simultaneously ensuring civilian protection, humanitarian access, and the reintegration of former combatants," reads the two-page document.

The U.S. government is involved in northern Uganda on several levels, offering limited diplomatic support to peace mediator Betty Bigombe, providing humanitarian assistance, sponsoring a reconciliation project called Northern Uganda Peace Initiative, and training Ugandan defense forces in counter-insurgency operations to increase their effectiveness against LRA combatants. These efforts, however, are felt by many civil society groups to pale in comparison to the gravity of the crisis; moreover, the U.S. has been weak in its support for efforts to end the conflict peacefully.

Read the document in its entirety and view the list of endorsing organizations here.

Reuters AlertNet reports that Archbishop John Baptist Odama spoke before the United Nations Security Council last week, imploring the international community to finally intervene in Uganda’s 20-year war, a protracted conflict marked by mass kidnappings of children and the indiscriminate killing of civilians.

"Some people described this war as the unforgotten war. To many others, this war is largely the most unknown war on the globe," H.E. Msgr Odama, the Archbishop of Gulu in northern Uganda, stated before the Security Council in New York. "I come here to bring the cry of the children, the cry of their dear mothers, and the cry of the families of dear children to the ears of the people who matter," Archbishop Odama said.

Archbishop Odama said that the conflict has been kept out of the international public’s eye in part due to the relatively low number of direct casualties, estimated at 200,000 people since 1986. The Ugandan government has also continuously labelled the war as a small internal conflict that it is slowly bringing under control. But the recent killing of eight UN peacekeepers in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo by LRA rebels belies that claim.

Archbishop Odama called upon the United Nations to prevail upon the warring factions to bring them into dialogue. He asked that the UN serve as mediator to bring about a lasting cease-fire, monitor claims of human rights violations, and oversee the reconciliation process and steps toward keeping a peace. He also asked that the UN establish a “Peace Corridor,” not only to be able to enforce peace agreements, but also to enable humanitarian agencies to reach the civilian population.

IRIN News reports that Britain has contributed US $11.8 million to fund emergency health, nutrition and HIV/AIDS projects in strife-torn northern Uganda, United Nations agencies said on Monday. The World Health Organization (WHO), the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) announced in a joint statement that the funds would be used to speed up humanitarian efforts in war-affected districts.

Wednesday, U.S. Ambassador-designate to Uganda Steven A. Browning told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that he will work to advance U.S. goals in the country. Browning praised Uganda for economic growth and its approach to combating the HIV/AIDS epidemic. But Uganda still "faces significant challenges where it should make greater efforts," he said -- in resolving the conflict with the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), in advancing good governance by allowing opposition groups to participate fully in the electoral process and in fighting corruption. Uganda-CAN looks forward to working with Ambassador Browning to promote greater U.S. involvement in civilian protection and mediation towards peace in northern Uganda.

The United Nations Security Council will be holding an open debate on Peace, Security and Development in the Great Lakes tomorrow at 10:00 AM in the Security Council Chambers. Uganda-CAN hopes that finally the UN Security Council will break their silence and take action to address the longstanding crisis and war in northern Uganda.

Reuters AlertNet reports that the UN Security Council has issued a statement condemning the LRA attack on UN soldiers in the DR Congo that killed eight Guatemalan peacekeepers on Monday. The UN force in the DR Congo, MONUC, has stepped up operations to disarm rebel groups in recent months to prepare for elections slated for June. The statement read in part, "The LRA have conducted a long-running and vicious insurgency in northern Uganda which has caused the death, abduction and displacement of thousands of innocent civilians in Uganda, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo"

However, the UN Security Council's strong words are tragically ironic in light of its inexcusable negligence of the conflict in northern Uganda over the past 20 years. Despite two decades of fighting, 25,000 abducted children, and massive displacement, the UN Security Council has never passed a resolution addressing the conflict in northern Uganda. Until it ends its unconscionable silence concerning the crisis, the UN Security Council's rhetoric decrying the continued suffering in the region will ring hollow.

The Daily Vision reports that at least 15 LRA rebels and eight UN peacekeepers died yesterday in a battle in the northeastern DR Congo. The UN peacekeeping force in the DR Congo, MONUC, was on a reconnaissance mission in Garamba National Park when they clashed with the rebels. LRA rebels have been hiding in the park since last October.

Meanwhile, over 20,000 thousand Congolese have fled into western Uganda in recent days as renewed fighting has broken out between Congolese rebels and the Congolese army. Read more at Reuters AlertNet.

Earlier today Bishop Ochola, a retired Bishop of the Diocese in Kitgum, Uganda, an area in northern Uganda whose people are suffering from the consequences of war, delivered a heartfelt speech in the Capital Building about the influence of the West in the war in Uganda. Bishop Ochola has a deep connection to the war not only because of his ethnic ties, but also because he lost his wife and daughter to the war. Throughout the speech there were times where he could not speak, and times when he cried because of the emotional pain that he has suffered throughout these years.

"The Conspiracy of Silence is a Sin" was the overarching theme of his speech. Bishop Ochola compared the response from the West thus far to the genocide in Rwanda that occurred a little over ten years ago, claiming that the world has abandoned the Acholi people just as the Tutsis were forgotten. “We will witness in Uganda what the world witnessed in Rwanda in 1994.” He spoke for his people saying that they are aware they have been abandoned. With tears in his eyes he claimed that the world is keeping quiet while we are losing 1,000 of our children every week. “The world looks on as these children are being abducted, killed, and forced to be instruments of death; killing their own relatives, stripping them of their humanity.” Ochola continued explaining that conditions in the camps are killing more than the armed conflict.

As Bishop Ochola was explaining the horrors that people are facing in northern Uganda, he also challenged the role of the government of Uganda and international governments in their role of protecting the Acholi people. Bishop Ochola did not place the blame solely on Museveni or any individual actor, but he did place emphasis on the Parliament of Uganda. He claimed that the Parliament of Uganda is using Museveni as a scapegoat to escape responsibility for the suffering of their people. Parliament does not want to take a proactive approach to bringing peace because of politics and not because of tribal differences.

The one person who Ochola did praise for their work regarding the peace process is Betty Bigombe. He outlined her attempts to initiate peace talks between the LRA and the government of Uganda. He appealed to the international community to stand behind Bigombe who has been the primary stronghold for peace talks for the war. Bishop Ochola recognized her as being the only person who has dedicated a concerted effort to bring together the LRA and the government of Uganda.

As Ochola brought his speech to a close, he appealed to the international leaders to stop chasing Kony and focus of stopping the war and protecting the Acholi people, which will coerce everything else to fall into place. He continued by saying that a Medicines Sans Frontier report stated that if the conditions in the north continue, the Acholi people will be heading for extinction. He closed by saying that the Acholi people are putting their faith in God’s hands because he will not abandon them. When people are forced to live in such horrid conditions, the afterlife is all that they have to look forward to.

Eight Guatemalan soldiers who were part of the UN mission to the Democratic Republic of the Congo were killed this morning in battle with the LRA. The soldiers were tracking LRA movements in a national park when they were engaged by 50-60 LRA forces, reports BBC.

The death of the peacekeepers will likely act as a morale boost to the LRA, who have suffered heavy losses recently and have been dismissed as defeated by the government of Uganda. Political fallout from the event is also sure to take place; Uganda's President Museveni has been requesting permission for his military to reenter the DRC (Uganda invaded during DRC's civil war in the late 1990's, and illegally extracted some of the country's vast mineral resources) ever since LRA movement to the country was first reported several months ago. The development is also likely to spark debate regarding the role of the international community in the conflict, which has remained conspicuously silent about northern Uganda. As the LRA represent a severe threat to regional security and the government of Uganda has proven unable and unwilling to deal with the rebel group effectively, UN intervention is needed urgently.

An op/ed in the Stanford Progressive argues that the US must become more actively engaged in working for peace in northern Uganda. The op/ed calls for the US to appoint a high-level special envoy to northern Uganda that will pressure all actors involved to end the war. To read the entire op/ed, click here.

The United Nations Weekly Security Report for the week ending 8 January 2006 shows that contrary to the claims of many in the Government of Uganda, the war situation in northern Uganda is worsening. The report shows that significant numbers of Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels haved moved from Pader, Apac and Lira into Gulu district (Eastern and South-Eastern areas), owing to large-scale UPDF operations against them in Pader in addition to effects of the dry season (bush burning and water scarcity). At the moment, Gulu is the most LRA-active district.

The most striking finding of the report is that the number of people being abducted by the LRA is currently greater than the number of LRA being killed or surrendering. This paints a picture much different from that being reported by the UPDF and the mainstream Ugandan media.

Uganda-CAN believes this report shows the urgency of international action by the United Nations Security Council to push for civilian protection and mediation to address threats to peace and security in northern Uganda, and also in southern Sudan and DRC.

Following the successful completion of the Global Youth Summit in Uganda this month, youth from Canada, the United States and Uganda have issued an alliance action statement. It reads, "We the Ugandan, American and Canadian participants of the inaugural Global Kimeeza: US/Uganda Youth Summit, do affirm our moral responsibility in ending the extreme human suffering created and deepened by the conflict in Northern Uganda, a place where over twenty thousand children have been kidnapped, ninety percent of the population has been displaced, and eighty percent of the combatants are youth and children..." Visit their Web site to read the full text of the statement.

CNN.com reports that Louise Arbour, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, condemned the UPDF for its human rights violations in northern Uganda yesterday. Arbor is in the midst of a one-week trip to Uganda, the first ever by a UN human rights chief. She said that while the LRA is responsible for most of the human rights violations in northern Uganda, UPDF misconduct constitutes a “double violation” because it is a breach of trust and confidence….by an army [that is] supposed to protect the people.”

Arbour also said that she will confront President Museveni about the prevailing atmosphere of mistrust between civilians and authorities in northern Uganda. Additionally, she announced that the UN human rights body and the Ugandan government had signed an agreement that calls for it to set up offices in four of the districts affected by the war to support peace initiatives and monitor human rights. Read more at CNN.com.

AllAfrica.com reports that MSF (Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders) yesterday released its list of the ten most ignored humanitarian crises in world in 2005, including three crises in the Great Lakes region of Africa – northern Uganda, southern Sudan, and the DR Congo. Northern Uganda also suffers from another crisis on the list - the lack of research and development focused on adapting HIV/AIDS tools to impoverished locations.

An MSF official said, "Millions of people are struggling through crises in places that rarely, if ever, get mentioned in the U.S. news, and in our experience, silence is the best ally of injustice." To read the section of the MSF report dealing with northern Uganda, visit AllAfrica.com or click below.

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour will undertake an official mission to Uganda from 7 to 14 January 2006. The mission, the first by a High Commissioner for Human Rights, will focus on the general human rights situation in Uganda in keeping with her mandate; as well as on the protection of civilians, particularly Internally Displaced Persons; the implementation of economic, social and cultural rights; and the United Nations human rights presence in the country. In addition to Kampala, Ms. Arbour will visit Gulu in the north of the country and the Karamoja region, in northeastern Uganda.

Uganda-CAN hopes that the High Commissioner will use this visit to really examine the situation, which her colleague Jan Egeland called "the world's worst neglected humanitarian crisis." The time has come for the United Nations Security Council to finally act for peace in northern Uganda.

The Globe and Mail has published an editorial, titled "To intervene in Uganda," which decries the lack of action by the United Nations Security Council towards northern Uganda. The editorial reads, "Yet so far the Security Council has chosen to do nothing. Besides prolonging the misery of hundreds of thousands of people, this timidity is endangering the stability of an already fragile region. It also makes a mockery of the council's own resolutions to protect non-combatants, particularly women and children, caught up in armed conflicts."

It concludes, "The Security Council has scheduled a meeting for Jan. 27 to discuss recent developments in the Great Lakes region of Africa, including welcome moves toward peace and democracy. It would be an opportune time to put the spotlight on Uganda and its failure to suppress an insurgency that has destroyed countless lives and threatens the region's halting progress." Read the full text here.