Blog
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Govt. and LRA sign agreement on 3rd agenda item: “reconciliation & accountability”
The Ugandan government and LRA have reportedly signed an agreement on agenda item #3 (of 5) on "reconciliation and accountability." "We signed the agreement on reconciliation and accountability late last night, which moves us one step closer to a final peace agreement," Martin Ojul, head of the LRA delegation said. The third agenda item is supposed to set out principles for dealing with war criminals -- a thorny subject for a rebel group notorious for beating civilians to death, mutilating victims and kidnapping children. Posted June 3, 2008 by admin in News & Analysis -
Justice & Reconciliation Project urges truth-telling processes for north Uganda
The Justice & Reconciliation Project has a new website and has released two new reports. The first, "The Cooling of the Hearts: Community Truth-Telling in Acholi-land," examines community-level mechanisms that might facilitate a process of truth-telling at that level in northern Uganda. Posted June 2, 2008 by admin in News & Analysis -
LRA will not release children & women ‘in captivity’ until peace agreement signed
The LRA's second-in-command Vincent Otti has said the rebel group will not release children and women under their captivity. Otti said all those under captivity will come out with them after the signing of the final peace agreement between the LRA and the government. "Releasing children for what? Have they been in prison? Posted June 1, 2008 by admin in News & Analysis -
Refugee Law Project produces new briefing paper on IDP population movements
The Kampala-based Refugee Law Project has published a new Briefing Paper from its recently completed Rapid Assessment of Population Movements in Gulu and Pader districts, northern Uganda. "The assessment reveals ongoing doubts about whether the Juba peace process will result in a durable peace, and correspondingly tentative movements out of the mother camps. Posted May 31, 2008 by admin in News & Analysis -
“Real crisis in Uganda is Karamoja, not the North” – new UNICEF representative
Keith McKenzie, UNICEF's new Uganda representative, said yesterday that the northeastern region of Karamoja is in greater crisis than war-torn northern uganda. "The real crisis in Uganda is Karamoja, not the north," McKenzie said. "The peace talks, considerable security, resettling people from the camps and other improvements have made a difference. Yet there is still a deteriorating situation in Karamoja and some of the districts in western Uganda are even worse than the North," he said. Posted May 30, 2008 by admin in News & Analysis -
A case study in contradictions
The ongoing crisis in northern Uganda and efforts to end the two-decade conflict bring to the surface a number of dynamics and tensions at play in the region.
One such dynamic is the simultaneous, and sometimes contradictory, desire for both peace and justice.
The two words have been thrown around quite a bit since the International Criminal Court issued indictments for four LRA commanders and since peace talks started last summer. And the debate over which of the two should be given priority has been ongoing.
Posted May 29, 2008 by admin in News & Analysis -
Juba talks, rains help boost food security in northern Uganda and Karamoja
Improved security due to the Juba peace talks, along with the onset of the rainy season, has improved food security in northern Uganda. However, there remains moderate to high levels of food insecurity among IDPs in the region, and most still rely on humanitarian assistance for the bulk for their food needs. Uganda Posted May 28, 2008 by admin in News & Analysis -
U.S. Government “in constant, behind-the-scenes contact” with parties at Juba talks
The United States government has saluted Riek Machar and Joachim Chissano for their efforts in trying to resolve the northern conflict. Speaking at the opening of the Gulu USAID office, U.S. Ambassador Steven Browning said his government supports the Juba peace process as a means to end the war. "At the moment, much hope rests in the peace talks between the government of Uganda and LRA in Juba," Browning said. "We appreciate the efforts of the mediators to facilitate the talks and ultimately to resolve the conflict. Posted May 27, 2008 by admin in News & Analysis
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LRA accepts responsibility for war crimes it committed in northern Uganda
The LRA has accepted responsibility for war crimes it committed in northern Uganda over the past twenty years. The acceptance of responsibility came as negotiations Posted May 26, 2008 by admin in News & Analysis -
Foreign Policy magazine ranks Uganda as number 15 in Failed States Index
Foreign Policy magazine has released its 2007 Failed States Index, which ranks "177 states in order of their vulnerability to violent internal conflict and societal deterioration." Uganda was ranked 15th, right after Burma and before Bangladesh. Uganda's poor ranking can largely be attributed to the continued instability and displacement in northern Uganda. Read more at the Failed States Index. Posted May 25, 2008 by admin in News & Analysis -
Ugandan MP invites Queen and heads of state to visit war-torn north at CHoGM
Arua county MP Samuel Odonga Otto has written to Her Majesty the Queen of England and other Commonwealth Heads of State inviting them to visit northern Uganda during the November CHoGM summit. In a June 12 letter to the Commonwealth Secretariat in London with a blind copy to the British High Commission in Kampala, Otto states that such a visit would showcase Uganda in its totality and its unity in diversity. Posted May 24, 2008 by admin in News & Analysis -
Ugandan government, LRA continue work on domestic alternatives to the ICC
The head of the Ugandan government Posted May 23, 2008 by admin in News & Analysis