New US Sudan policy: Commendable, but lacking on LRA

LRA attacks in South Sudan have increased dramatically in the past several months, killing hundreds of people and contributing to rising tensions between North and South Sudan. A new strategy for addressing the crises in Sudan released by the Obama Administration this week is a welcome step towards stronger US support for peace there, but lacks an adequate plan to address the impact ongoing LRA attacks are having on the country’s struggle to overcome decades of conflict.

For the past ten months the Obama Administration has responded slowly to LRA attacks and other growing threats to peace in Sudan, and has increasingly drawn fire from discontented US Sudan activists. Fortunately, this week the Administration showed signs of addressing these shortcomings, releasing its long-awaited Sudan policy strategy. Though concerns remain that Sudan is too low on Obama’s foreign policy priority list, the strategy represents the most comprehensive and transparent US approach to Sudan in recent memory.

Perhaps most importantly, the policy outline highlights the need for a renewed focus to implement the extremely fragile Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), which ended decades of war between North and South Sudan. This renewed US interest in the CPA is welcome news for communities affected by ongoing LRA attacks. The signing of the agreement in 2005 was a key factor in reducing the support given by the Sudanese government to LRA fighters, who for over a decade used weapons from Khartoum to terrorize communities in northern Uganda (and southern Sudan). However, in recent years as the explosion of the Darfur crisis drew US attention away from South Sudan, implementation of the CPA has slowed and LRA attacks have increased in intensity.

Unfortunately, President Obama’s strategy for bolstering the CPA has a gaping hole. While it commits the the US to help prevent future conflicts and disarm civilians in South Sudan, the strategy fails to recognize the danger posed to the CPA by the recent surge in LRA attacks and other outbreaks of fighting in South Sudan that have displaced hundreds of thousands of people. This threat will increase dramatically if fears that the Sudanese governement is renewing its support of the LRA and other militias are confirmed. Until the new US Sudan policy is bolstered by a robust strategy to stop ongoing violence and assist newly displaced persons, the ability of Obama Administration to play a decisive role in reviving the CPA and achieving peace in Sudan will remain in serious doubt.