Resolve

This legislation received widespread support from influential people and organizations from around the world. From NGOs to Ugandan politicians to US policymakers, there is a growing consensus that the international community can no longer wait to respond to the threat posed by Joseph Kony and the needs of people impacted by this conflict.

US Policymakers:

Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI, Chairman of the US Senate's Committee on Africa): “When I traveled to northern Uganda, I saw the effects of the LRA’s brutality in the faces of the Ugandan people living in displacement camps. We must not allow Joseph Kony and the LRA, who have forced children to do unspeakable acts and destroyed the lives of millions, to continue their reign of terror. The strategy required by this bill would address the conditions in northern Uganda that originally gave rise to the LRA and if unchanged, could re-ignite violence in the north.” (19 May 2009)

Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS): “For more than two decades, Joseph Kony and the LRA have terrorized the people of northern Uganda.  In 2008, the mayhem and devastation crossed borders and spread throughout Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, and Central Africa Republic.  More than 900 people were killed, and tens of thousands were displaced throughout the region.  We in the global community must act now.  I am pleased to support this bipartisan legislation that I am hopeful will help to bring long-term, sustainable peace to those who have suffered under Joseph Kony and the LRA." (19 May 2009)

Senator James Inhofe (R-OK): "...I'm very excited that finally that finally we have the attention of people here in the United States, and that it is to join in and go after this animal named Joseph Kony. In the past 18 years the LRA has captured over 20,000 kids. I've been up there in northern Uganda. I've been up to Gulu. And I have watched these kids after they have been dismembered, after they cut their lips off and cut their ears off and all of this... This is the first time we've actually had the opportunity to bring this issue, to let it surface." (17 November 2009, click for full text) 

Rep. James McGovern (D-MA, Co-Chair fo the US House Human Rights Commission): “For over two decades the Lord's Resistance Army has terrorized central Africa, attacking civilians and abducting children from northern Uganda to eastern DR-Congo to southern Sudan. The introduction of this bill demonstrates the growing consensus on the need for greater U.S. leadership to disarm top LRA leaders and permanently end this violence. At the same time, it will ensure that the U.S. steps up to aid communities affected by the most recent LRA attacks and assist in long-term recovery efforts in northern Uganda.” (19 May 2009)

Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA, former Chair of the US House Committee on Africa): "This bill rightly targets LRA leader Joseph Kony. Kony's removal is essential to peace in the region.It is fashionable to blame conflict in Africa on poverty and other environmental factors, but sometimes just getting rid of one person does make a big difference. History is full of captivating leaders with bad ideas who do great damage. It’s a lesson I learned from West Africa, where Liberian president Charles Taylor, ran a gangster regime that brought havoc to neighbouring Sierra Leone. After his hard-fought removal, the region is peaceful. Kony’s removal won’t guarantee peace — but it will make it possible." (19 May 2009)

Rep. Brad Miller (D-NC): "The LRA has abducted more than 20,000 children over the past decade for forced conscription and sexual exploitation.  Almost 90 percent of the LRA’s soldiers are children, some as young as eight. They are brutalized and forced to commit atrocities on each other and on their own siblings." (19 May 2009)

NGOs:

Over twenty humanitarian, faith-based, human rights and advocacy organizations publicly endorsed the legislation.

Human Rights Watch

Enough Project

Resolve Uganda

International Rescue Committee

Invisible Children

Refugees International

AVSI

Global Action for Children

Lutheran World Relief

United States Fund for UNICEF

Women's Refugee Commission

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Genocide Intervention Network

Refugee Law Project, Uganda

Gulu NGO Forum, Uganda

Dungu/Doruma Justice and Peace Commission, Democratic Republic of Congo

Comboni Sisters, South Sudan

Azande Community World-wide Organisation, UK-South Sudan

Mbomu Charitable Organization, Sudan

Ibba Charitable Organization, South Sudan

Azande Women Organization, South Sudan

Hope Sudan Organization, South Sudan

Eso Development Organization, South Sudan

Nabanga Development Agency, South Sudan

Civil Society Leaders: 

Leaders from northern Uganda and the surrounding region have begun to speak out on behalf of the people trapped by this conflict, expressing support for increased involvement from the United States.

Father Benoît Kinalegu of the Dungu/Doruma Justice and Peace Commission in DR Congo: “We continue to live in fear of LRA attacks and of our children being abducted. We are praying for help and protection and hope U.S. lawmakers will hear our cries."

Morris Ogenga Latigo, northern Ugandan Parliamentarian: “The bill shows that the US now understands the conflict and that’s a good response. The effort is welcome for us from the north... It also shows our government’s failure in responding to needs of people in northern Uganda. The Uganda government is incapable of responding in a way that the north deserves."

Humanitarian Leaders:

John Prendergast, Co-Founder of the Enough Project: “Given the catalytic involvement of the U.S. military in Operation Lightning Thunder—and the horrific aftermath of this operation—the U.S. government now has a responsibility to help end the threat posed by Joseph Kony once and for all. One man should not be allowed to terrorize millions of people in four Central African countries.  The bill is a crucial first step in galvanizing immediate and effective U.S. action.”

Steve Coll, President of the New America Foundation: "The bill essentially would require the Obama Administration to come up with a plan to finish the mission that the Bush Administration tried and failed to execute last year... It’s always good to see senators and congressmen use their bully pulpits to make noise about obscure but important subjects involving human-rights abuses"