Press Release Talking Points

PRESS RELEASE TALKING POINTS 

  • The Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), which formed in Uganda 24 years ago, is now committing atrocities and abducting children across areas of South Sudan, DR Congo, and Central African Republic, often targeting schools and churches.
  • Since the brutal Christmas Day massacres of 2008 in Congo -- when the LRA slaughtered over 800 Congolese villagers during holiday celebrations -- the LRA has killed over one thousand more people, abducted nearly 2,000 others and forced over 300,000 others to flee their homes in vulnerable areas. In one brutal massacre just months ago, they killed 321 people and abducted 250 more.
  • Based on the estimates of killings, the LRA’s violence far outpaces other violent conflicts in the region, yet it gets far less attention.
  • Joseph Kony, the leader of the LRA, and two other remaining commanders are wanted for war crimes and crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court. Having rejected a peace process and evaded capture by regional governments for decades, these senior LRA commanders are the biggest obstacle to peace.
  • The LRA Disarmament & Northern Uganda Recovery Act (S.1067 & H.R. 2478) seeks greater leadership from President Obama in permanently ending LRA violence and helping affected families to rebuild their lives.
  • Due to extraordinary leadership in Congress and the efforts of thousands of activists across the country -- largely young people -- this bill is cosponsored by 65 Senators and 201 Represenatives, which is the most for an Africa-specific bill since at least 1973, according to the Congressional Research Service.
  • The tremendous public and Congressional support for this bill has given the Obama Administration a mandate to take robust steps to lead multilateral efforts protect children and families from LRA attacks and permanently stop the rebel group’s violence.
  • It now up to the President to make use of this mandate. The legislation requires the President to devise an interagency strategy to deal with this crisis; this strategy should include greater US support to regional efforts to protect children and families from further attacks, and increased efforts to help LRA abductees to escape and return home.
  • However, to be truly robust, the President’s strategy must also include a plan to work with the international community and regional governments to apprehend Joseph Kony and his cadre of top commanders. Current efforts to apprehend these leaders are not working, and are creating dire consequences for vulnerable civilians. These terrorists must be brought to justice.
  • In the coming months we will be looking for President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to demonstrate the US leadership needed to see this crisis resolved and to help affected communities recover.
  • This legislation also authorizes humanitarian funding for communities across central Africa victimized by the LRA and assistance to help with recovery and reconciliation efforts in northern Uganda, which are equally important.

QUESTIONS? Feel free to contact Paul Ronan, Director of Advocacy, at paul@resolveuganda.org, with any further questions.