Today, Resolve Uganda joined its partners in launching an ambitious campaign targeting Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma
- aka "Dr. No", the lone Senator blocking Senate passage of the historic LRA Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act. As Senator Coburn continued his one-man campaign to prevent the bill from passing, four more Republicans signed on as cosponsors.
The Good: Senator Inhofe of Oklahoma spoke on the Senate floor Tuesday, urging his colleagues to support the LRA Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act and criticizing fellow Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn for obstructing the bill.
The Bad: The US envoy to the UN expressed concern about the flow of increasingly sophisticated weaponry into Southern Sudan amid tensions in advance of the national elections in April. Most analysts agree that some of the weapons are coming directly from northern Sudan, raising concerns that the government in Khartoum is renewing ties to the LRA.
The Ugly: Far from being a crumbling force struggling to survive as is claimed by some officials, Enough Project research is uncovering increasingly brutal LRA attacks in DR Congo.
Regional Security
- Kicking off a blog reflection series as Resolve Uganda Director of Advocacy Paul Ronan travels to areas of central Africa affected by LRA violence, Ronan reports in his first post from South Sudan: "There are high stakes for efforts to protect the tentative peace in the area, but so is the commitment amongst many local leaders to seeing them succeed."
- Enough Project researcher Ledio Cakaj published two briefs documenting a resurgence of LRA violence in the DR Congo. With rebel attacks affecting communities in incredibly remote areas, reports of the violence are not reaching media sources. In one attack last December alone, LRA fighters abducted upwards of 300 people.
Situation in Northern Uganda
- Uganda's nascent war crimes court is considering bringing in a number of foreign judges to assist in trials for top LRA leaders. A bill currently before the Ugandan parliament would encourage lower-level fighters -- many of whom were abducted -- to instead utilize traditional justice practices.
- More than 300 people lost their homes in a fire in Gulu on Tuesday. What began as a small cooking accident quickly spread because of the crowded living conditions of people who continue to live in camps for the internally displaced.
International Community
- Several US Senators, including Senators Feingold, Brownback, and Kerry sent a letter to the US Ambassador to the UN regarding the violence in South Sudan. They urged the Security Council to prioritize civilian protection from the LRA and other groups, and stressed the need for continued engagement in the run-up to the referendum election.
- The International Criminal Court president met with internally displaced people in Amuru, northern Uganda, and cited a lack of international cooperation from the member states as a major impediment to carrying out arrest warrants against Kony and other LRA leaders.