Global Policy Forum

In a statement to the press, Security Council President Gunter Pleuger expresses Council members' concern over the humanitarian situation in Northern Uganda. Following a private briefing by Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs Jan Egeland, the Council demanded the Lord's Resistance Army cease its violent action immediately and called on the Ugandan government to protect displaced persons. Council members did not suggest Security Council action on Uganda, but showed support for humanitarian organizations tending to the needs of the civilian population. (UN)

In support of the protection of children in armed conflict, the Security Council adopted Resolution 1460, calling on all parties involved in military conflict to halt the recruitment of children. The resolution further calls on countries to respect international humanitarian law relating to the rights and protection of children in armed conflict and reminds the UN of its pledge to include specific provisions for the protection of children in peacekeeping missions. Resolution 1460 is especially relevant to Uganda, where the Lord's Resistance army has kidnapped thousands of children and trained them as child soldiers, exposing them to gruesome fighting in a struggle against the Ugandan government.

Ongoing violence and 1.5 million internally displaced persons are only two consequences of Northern Uganda's 19-year-long civil war. But the International Crisis Group believes peace "may yet be possible" if the government, the international community and rebels can work towards a peace plan. This report outlines a peace strategy that includes mediation, reintegration of rebels and a more trustworthy government.

This International Crisis Group (ICG) briefing sees an opportunity for peace, but warns that hopes could crumble if the Ugandan government and the LRA don't negotiate seriously to conclude a definitive ceasefire. With a peace deal brokered in Sudan and reduced Sudanese support of the LRA, the Ugandan government's unilateral ceasefire further adds to an opportunity for conflict resolution. The ICG calls on the international community to increase mediation efforts and on the UN and the African Union to prepare to deploy troops to monitor a ceasefire.

This Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) report provides background information to the crisis in northern Uganda and brings the suffering of the local population into the spotlight through a number of personal accounts. Much of the population has been displaced and lives in abysmal conditions in unprotected camps. With widespread violence against women and children in particular, MSF calls for better cooperation between the government and the humanitarian community and a clear strategy to address the ongoing abuses.

The Security Council will finally address the war in northern Uganda in a briefing on humanitarian issues in Africa. Despite the fact that the war in northern Uganda is one of the longest-running conflicts in Africa, the Security Council has yet to pass a resolution condemning the atrocities of the Lord's Resistance Army. NGOs and humanitarian groups hope that the meeting will pave the way for a UN intervention in the conflict. (Monitor)

It is time for the Security Council to pass a resolution condemning Uganda's war with the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), said Dennis McNamara, the UN Special Advisor on Internal Displacement. For twenty years, the LRA rebels have mutilated civilians and kidnapped more than twenty thousand children, who are forced to act as soldiers or sex slaves. McNamara notes that the government of President Yoweri Museveni should also be condemned for "failing in its obligation" to assist and protect refugees who fled the fighting. (Reuters)

According to the Executive Director of Oxfam International, the Security Council has failed to address the 19-year conflict between the Ugandan government and the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). As a result of the Council's inaction, LRA fighters have expanded their operations in both Congo and Sudan, turning the situation into a "humanitarian crisis of enormous proportions." (International Herald Tribune)

Addressing humanitarian crises in Africa, UN Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs Jan Egeland urged the Security Council to step up its involvement in mediation efforts to end the war in Uganda. Egeland spoke of a "window of opportunity" and saw no alternative to a peaceful resolution to the conflict. The emergency relief coordinator condemned the "inbuilt discrimination" in the lack of response to Uganda's humanitarian catastrophe, stressing that "there should be the same attention to northern Uganda as to northern Iraq." (BBC)

British aid agency Oxfam has called on the Security Council to pressure the Ugandan government to resume peace talks with the rebels and has urged the Council to ensure the protection of civilians. Increased violence in Northern Uganda brought negotiations to a standstill in February 2005. Despite President Yoweri Museveni's claims that the Lord's Resistance Army rebels are "on the verge of defeat," the conflict will unlikely come to an end without outside pressure. (AlertNet)

Despite the end of an 18-day ceasefire between the Ugandan government and the LRA, Uganda's Minister of Information James Nsaba Buturo stressed that "the door for talks will remain open." The surrender of moderate LRA Chief Spokesman Sam Kolo has slowed down the peace process, but the Ugandan government says it will respect those rebels who are willing to negotiate. (Integrated Regional Information Networks)

Emma Naylor, Head of Oxfam in Uganda has sharply condemned the Security Council's negligence of the country's 18-year old civil war. She called on the UN to ensure the peace talks do not come to a halt, allowing violence to resume. UN Chief of Humanitarian Affairs Jan Egeland called on the Council to back Uganda's mediator Betty Bigombe, but the Council has not put Northern Uganda on its agenda. (Reuters)

This article describes Ugandans' frustration at another failed peace attempt in Northern Uganda, which has destroyed religious leaders' hopes that the government would extend its unilateral ceasefire and consider further negotiations. According to civilians, the Ugandan Government pressured the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) into accepting an agreement while threatening to kill rebel leaders. (Integrated Regional Information Networks)

Ugandan expatriates have organized a protest at the UN headquarters in New York to draw attention to the conflict in Northern Uganda and urge the UN to take action. African Trans Atlantic Alliance Director Peter Okema deplores the world body's "selective justice," drawing attention to the humanitarian crisis in Darfur whilst ignoring widespread and ongoing human rights violations in Northern Uganda. (The Monitor-Kampala)

In a briefing to the Security Council, UN Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs Jan Egeland called the crisis in Uganda "a moral outrage" and urged the Ugandan government to take action. In comments following the briefing, Egeland stressed that the international community will unlikely take measures as long as it is preoccupied with crises in Iraq, Afghanistan and Sudan. (New Vision)

Aid agencies suggest that the steady flow of outside aid discourages the Ugandan government from bringing an end to the country's 18 year-old civil war. Ugandan President Museveni has given Lord Resistance Army (LRA) leader Joseph Kony free reign, they argue, and has turned a blind eye to LRA atrocities which have caused large-scale displacement. The crisis has failed to generate media attention, allowing Museveni to justify the elimination of political opposition as part of the "fight against terrorism" as he sits back and pockets donations. (AlertNet)