After two periods of extended civil war, stretching a total of 37 years and leaving over 2 million dead, this past Saturday, July 9th, the South Sudanese people won their fight for self-determination with formal recognition on the world stage as the independent Republic of South Sudan.
Last week, a key House subcommittee debated how the U.S. should be engaging the situation in Sudan, where tensions are escalating dangerously. As South Sudan gears up to claim independence, the hearing provided a chance for different parties to highlight concerns about destabilizing factors in the South, including the LRA.
One of the panel members was Bishop Eduardo Hiiboro Kussala of the South Sudanese diocese of Tambura-Yambio. We have had the privilege of meeting Bishop Kussala on a number of occasions, and he penned an open letter last year regarding LRA violence and the implementation of the LRA Strategy.
When asked about the LRA, Bishop Eduardo reaffirmed their threat to his community, saying:
“The LRA issue is a devastating factor in my diocese […] a potential danger and time bomb for the South Sudan and the region. Any terrorist oriented group can use them or buy them to destabilize not only Sudan, but the whole region […] because of the atrocities that continue to be carried out to date, with no solution from both the regional government in my area and the international community. We feel forgotten in that aspect. So an effort to end this rebel movement has to be regional, national, and international.”
One of our Congressional champions, Representative Ed Royce (R-CA), echoed the Bishop’s concern later in the hearing by challenging the current U.S. Special Envoy to Sudan on what was being done by the administration in regards to the LRA.
“The fact that we have not been able to get across to the Khartoum government that this kind of support, this kind of using the LRA to destabilize South Sudan, means that just explaining this to them may not be working. So, what is the Administration prepared to do in light of this in order to get some results here? And maybe also by the way, I mean, we’ve given the authorization, myself and Congressman McGovern on that legislation. You’ve got the green light on taking Kony out, what is being done to take Kony out?”
The Envoy, Ambassador Princeton Lyman, responded by talking about a recent meeting of central African governments impacted by the LRA and the African Union, where a new regional strategy was agreed upon. He finished by stating that “we’ve made it very clear to Khartoum that any support of the LRA is a threat to any kind of normal relations [with the United States].”
We’re glad to see that those inside the halls of Congress aren’t staying quiet about the LRA. Let’s make sure we aren’t either. Follow our friends at Enough Project and SDC/GI-Net for more on the political situation in Sudan.
- Liz
After spending two weeks in Kampala, I’m finally set to leave on the first leg of my research trip. Tomorrow I leave on an overnight bus to Juba, the capital of soon-to-be-independent Southern Sudan. After a day in Juba, I’ll head straight to Yambio and Nzara, the major towns in Western Equatoria, the region of Southern Sudan most affected by LRA attacks over the past three years. There I’ll get a chance to reconnect with Sr. Giovanna, Theresea’s children and many others I met last year.
I’ll be posting more on all that over the next few weeks, but for those of you wondering what exactly I’m doing here (or even suspecting I might be pulling a Tracy Jordan), here’s a quick overview of what I’m hoping to accomplish over the next four months:
Get a better understanding of what’s happening: The LRA deliberately targets areas that are largely ungoverned and disconnected from roads and communications networks, making it extremely difficult for anyone to know exactly what’s happening on the ground. The lack of road and communications networks also makes travel in this region tricky, but I plan to visit communities in areas of Southern Sudan, Congo and Central African Republic that have been affected by LRA violence over the past two years. I’ll have to take planes, buses, 4x4s, helicopters, and motorbikes to find them, but I plan on talking with all sorts of people, including local community leaders, international humanitarian staff and government officials.
Evaluate President Obama’s LRA strategy: Over the past two years tens of thousands of us worked to pass legislation that required President Obama to create the first-ever White House strategy to address this crisis. That strategy, released in November, has now been in implementation phase for over six months. During my trip, I hope to get a better sense of how exactly this strategy is – or isn’t – helping to stop LRA violence and help affected communities recover so far.
Figure out what’s next: As I talk to people about what’s happening now, I’ll also be asking them what they think the US should be doing to implement the strategy. As advocates, it’s crucial that we have a better understanding of how local communities are being affected by the conflict and how they want the the international community to respond before we knock on President Obama’s door with our recommendations for how he can help end this conflict once and for all.
Stay tuned….
Paul
“WE CAN’T BE SURE WHO KILLED US: JRP/ICTJ RELEASES A NEW REPORT ON MEMORIALIZATION IN NORTHERN UGANDA”
By Lindsay McClain
It was the Rwot Moo [the anointed, hereditary clan chief] who first thought about organizing this memorial service. He was of the view that after we lost very many people in Atiak, something should be done in their memory. He also thought that since children of many tribes were killed in the massacre, this could make them annoyed with the people of Atiak… That is the reason that we invite all these people who lost their children in the massacre, so that they are able to learn exactly what happened and know that it was not in our wish that these things happened…
-Male survivor explaining why Atiak holds a memorial service for the 1995 massacre
On March 4th, the Justice and Reconciliation Project (JRP), in partnership with the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ), launched a new report on memory and memorialization in northern Uganda in an effort to share how memorials impact communities who suffered during conflict. Memorialization is an important factor in efforts to rebuild communities and provide reparation and remedy for gross violations of human rights.
The report, titled “We Can’t Be Sure Who Killed Us: Memory and Memorialization in Post-Conflict Northern Uganda,” examines the role memorialization has played in northern Uganda’s transitional justice (TJ) process. (more…)
One week ago, two Senators led the charge to ensure the president’s strategy to stop the violence committed by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) has the funding it needs to be implemented.
Agreeing that the strategy is meaningless without a fiscal commitment to ensure it is put into action, 
the following Senators have added their signatures to the letter to Patrick Leahy and Lindsey Graham, their colleagues on the Senate appropriations subcommittee for foreign affairs.
Thank you, Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Christopher Coons (D-DE), James Inhofe (R-OK), Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), Joseph Lieberman (I-CT), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).
If you are a constituent of any of these Senate champions, please take a moment to follow the link above to send them a quick thank you for taking action.
– Paul
Senators Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and John Boozman (R-AR) led the charge in ensuring funding for President Obama’s strategy to stop the violence committed by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and help the affected communities rebuild. These two champions released a letter to their colleagues on the Senate appropriations subcommittee for foreign affairs asking them to dedicate the necessary resources to ensure the strategy becomes a reality and serves the purpose Congress intended. Here they explain why they choose to champion the LRA strategy.
Remember your nightly bedtime routine as a child? Those innocent moments of brushing teeth, reading a book and saying our prayers before turning out the light are what many children in central Africa dream about when they actually have the opportunity to sleep. The stories children in Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), South Sudan and across central Africa tell sound like a scene from a horror movie- hiding from ‘bad guys’ in fear of being abducted, murdered or displaced from their families. Unfortunately, this is reality for thousands of people in this region, and the ‘bad guys’ are the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA).
(more…)
Senators Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and John Boozman (R-AR) led the charge in ensuring funding for President Obama’s strategy to stop the violence committed by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and help the affected communities rebuild. These two champions released a letter to their colleagues on the Senate appropriations subcommittee for foreign affairs asking them to dedicate the necessary resources to ensure the strategy becomes a reality and serves the purpose Congress intended. Here they explain why they choose to champion the LRA strategy.
Remember your nightly bedtime routine as a child? Those innocent moments of brushing teeth, reading a book and saying our prayers before turning out the light are what many children in central Africa dream about when they actually have the opportunity to sleep. The stories children in Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), South Sudan and across central Africa tell sound like a scene from a horror movie- hiding from ‘bad guys’ in fear of being abducted, murdered or displaced from their families. Unfortunately, this is reality for thousands of people in this region, and the ‘bad guys’ are the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). (more…)
Last November Africa-watchers across the country applauded President Obama’s release of the first-ever comprehensive US strategy to help stop the violence perpetrated by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and assist affected communities in rebuilding.
Today, our champions in Congress stepped up to the plate to help implement the President’s strategy. Recognizing the strategy is meaningless without a fiscal commitment to ensure it is put into action, these champions released letters to their colleagues on the Senate and House appropriations subcommittees for foreign affairs asking them to dedicate the necessary resources to ensure that the strategy becomes a reality and serves the purpose Congress intended.
“As you prepare the FY2012 Appropriations bill, we urge you to ensure the United States Government has sufficient resources to help end the atrocities committed by the LRA, protect innocent civilians, and stabilize a region of Africa that is critical to U.S. national security interests,” wrote Senators Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and John Boozman (R-AR). Our long-time champion Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) joined them on the letter today as well.
Similarly, Representatives Jim McGovern (D-MA3) and Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE1) wrote the leaders on the House appropriations subcommittee for foreign affairs, saying, “Resources invested in ending this conflict now will not only save innocent lives, but also reduce the need for expensive emergency humanitarian aid and promote stability in one of Africa’s most volatile regions.”
We are thankful to these champions and look forward to encouraging other Members of Congress to join in signing this letter (more coming soon on this).
– Paul
p.s. If you if live in a state or district represented by our Congressional champs, take a quick second to click on their names above and write a quick thank you!
Last November Africa-watchers across the country applauded President Obama’s release of the first-ever comprehensive US strategy to help stop the violence perpetrated by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and assist affected communities in rebuilding.
Today, our champions in Congress stepped up to the plate to help implement the President’s strategy. (more…)
“They handcuffed me and beat me with a [glass] Coke bottle. They beat my friend too. They hit him in the ears a lot. As they were talking they would slap me, saying “tell us where the gun is,” hitting me in the ankles, face, ears and elbows. We went to the RRU office. They took my money from me – about 70,000 shillings [about US$30]. They took us back to our home – searched the house and started torturing me again.”
– Ugandan man testifying about his time in the custody of Ugandan police Rapid Response Unit
Our friends at Human Rights Watch released a report yesterday documenting how the Ugandan police Rapid Response Unit (RRU) frequently operates outside the law by carrying out torture, extortion, and in some cases, extrajudicial killings. Human Rights Watch called for Ugandan authorities to urgently open an independent investigation into the unit’s conduct and activities and hold accountable anyone responsible for human rights violations.
After two weeks of concerts and advocate workshops and more than 3,250 miles in the van, Brian Pappalardo, Resolve’s Organizing Fellow, took a few minutes to answer a few of my questions about the Resolve Tour.
Resolve: What was the best part of the first two weeks of the tour?
Brian Pappalardo: We knew going into it that this tour was a little bit of a crazy idea. We really had no idea what to expect. Even though we had been planning this tour for months, when the moment came where we were standing on stage in front of a group of people about to share our story, there were nothing but questions going through our heads. “Will they listen? Will they care?”
We intentionally booked this tour in a way that is very different than the way most non-profits or bands tour. We played a house show one night to a social justice club, and a 1,200 capacity rock venue the next night. Last week, we spoke on a local radio station and got invited to be special guests in a college class. Every situation so far has been so unique, and I hope that they continue to be unique. But underneath all of that, there is something so honest and just and human about sharing these stories. Every night people are moved to action that will help see an end to LRA atrocities and help see change in their local communities. We feel so honored to be a part of this movement. (more…)
Over the past two weeks, actors Ben Affleck and Mia Farrow and British news correspondent Martin Bell turned their attention to issues involving the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). As George Clooney often points out, sometimes a little celebrity attention will help direct others to an important issue. Based on news coverage, these three celebrities brought needed attention to communities targeted by the LRA.
On March 9, Ben Affleck, founder of the Eastern Congo Initiative, lent his star power to issues affecting Congo during an appearance before the House Africa subcommittee on Capitol Hill. 
Since the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) has increased attacks and atrocities throughout the region in recent months, the hearing became an opportunity to remind political leaders of the violence affecting these communities and how U.S. involvement can help end the crisis.
Meanwhile, in Juba, South Sudan, Mia Farrow and Martin Bell ended an 8-day visit via UNICEF where they witnessed the effects of LRA violence on the region and advocated for an increase in security for the children of the region. (more…)