Weekly Roundup Oct. 31 – Nov. 6: LRA/N. Uganda legislation scheduled for crucial vote next week
Over the past six months we've
achieved steady progress towards passing the landmark LRA and northern
Uganda legislation currently before Congress. Powered by grassroots
organizing across the country, our movement has raised the profile of
this issue and convinced 28 Senators and 125 Representatives to sign
their name to this bill. Next week the bill could get one step closer
to President Obama's desk when the Senate Foreign Relations committee
votes on whether to approve the bill and send it to the full Senate.
Stay tuned!
The Good: The Senate Foreign Relations committee is set to vote on the LRA and northern Uganda legislation next Tuesday, November 10th.
The Bad: A US-funded study found that over 700,000 people in northern Uganda are "food insecure."
The Ugly: Anti-homosexuality legislation in Uganda's Parliament threatens the human rights of all Ugandan citizens, according to a coalition of Ugandan civil society groups.
Regional Security
The Good: The Senate Foreign Relations committee is set to vote on the LRA and northern Uganda legislation next Tuesday, November 10th.
The Bad: A US-funded study found that over 700,000 people in northern Uganda are "food insecure."
The Ugly: Anti-homosexuality legislation in Uganda's Parliament threatens the human rights of all Ugandan citizens, according to a coalition of Ugandan civil society groups.
Regional Security
- Charles Arop, a top-ranking LRA commander, reportedly surrendered to Ugandan military forces
in northeastern DR Congo this week. Arop is believed to be responsible
for the "Christmas Massacre" attacks on the Congolese town of Faradje
last year. According to Ugandan officials, 42 members of the LRA have surrendered since July.
- TIME debuted a video documenting the story of two South Sudanese children who were abducted by LRA rebels but were able to escape and return home.
- The International Crisis Group released a report today on how to address LRA violence, calling for more robust diplomatic efforts to conduct negotiations with senior LRA commanders aimed at encouraging high-level defections from the rebel group.
Situation in Northern Uganda
- The Inter Press Service examines how the revival of the Acholi tradition of wango'o, the practice of gathering around the fire in the evening to tell stories, is helping to "[repair] the battered fabric of shared stories that make a collection of people a community" in northern Uganda.
International Community
- Howard Wolpe, US special envoy for Africa's Great Lakes
region, promised this week the US would do more to help end conflicts
in central Africa in the coming months. He highlighted the LRA as an increasing source of instability in eastern DR Congo and discussed ongoing talks about strengthening the ability UN peacekeepers to prevent LRA attacks.
- Four members of Congress cosponsored the LRA Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act this week, including Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY), a member of the House Africa subcommittee, and Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Robert Menendez, members of the Senate Foreign Relations committee.