An In-Depth Look at the Lord's Resistance Army

TAKE ACTION: HELP PASS THE LRA DISARMAMENT AND NORTHERN UGANDA RECOVERY ACT

Thanks to activists like you who have been contacting your Members of Congress to co-sponsor the Lord's Resistance Army Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act of 2009, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in mid-November passed the bill out of committee and are working to bring it to the Senate floor. Read the press release.

On Tuesday, May 19th, Senators Russ Feingold (D-WI) and Sam Brownback (R-KS) introduced a bill that would recommit the United States to helping bring about a conclusive end to the more than 20-year reign of terror by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and to supporting northern Ugandans rebuild their communities. This important piece of legislation will be a key piece in bringing peace and stability to an area in central Africa long plagued by this violent insurgency. The House companion bill is HR 2478.

READ The reaction to HR 2478 from Enough and other leading groups in the Human Rights community.

READ the blog post further outlining Senate Bill 1067.

TAKE ACTION today by calling your Senators and member of Congress (202-224-3121) and ask them to cosponsor Senate Bill 1067 or HR 2478 to help end the 20-year reign of terror by the Lord’s Resistance Army in central Africa.

READ Law & Order: SVU actress Mariska Hargitay and Enough Co-founder John Prendergast's article on the Huffington Post

Rarely in human history has such a small group of people caused so much suffering for so many as is the case with the Lord’s Resistance Army, or LRA, in central Africa—for over two decades in northern Uganda and southern Sudan, and now in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Central African Republic.

An NBC Law and Order: Special Victims Unit episode that aired on Tuesday, March 31st, dramatically portrayed the experience of several (fictional) survivors of LRA-related violence in northern Uganda. Enough's Co-founder John Prendergast worked closely with Dr. Neal Baer, executive producer of NBC’s Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and the SVU writing team on the episode called “Hell." Click here to read a press release about the episode.

On this special page, Enough has created a collection of resources on the Lord’s Resistance Army which we hope you will find useful. We also profiled several survivors of LRA-related violence whose stories we found inspiring. We hope you will TAKE ACTION and join Enough in calling for the Obama administration to immediately appoint a special envoy to central Africa’s Great Lakes region to end the cycle of violence against civilians perpetrated by the Lord’s Resistance Army.

SURVIVORS: Snapshots from a 22-Year War

(Click above to view the slideshow)

This slideshow profiles several survivors of the brutal 22-year long war in northern Uganda waged by the Lord’s Resistance Army, a rebel group. The LRA fled northern Uganda in 2006, but they continue to wreak havoc and cause unimaginable suffering in neighboring countries. These stories are intended to give a few meaningful snapshots of what thousands of people have experienced at the hands of the LRA, while highlighting their perseverance and strength.

Spotlight on a Community Leader

Victor Ochen is the Director of the African Youth Initiative Network in Uganda. He spent much of his childhood in several different internally displaced persons camps in northern Uganda, and during the war, members of his family were abducted by the LRA. Despite the challenges and tragedies he has experienced, Victor and his team at AYINET are working hard to help people in northern Uganda recover from the effects of war and build a peaceful society that—in his words—“promote tolerance, reconciliation, forgiveness, and development.”

Click here to read Enough’s full profile of Victor’s story and his work in northern Uganda.

To learn more about Victor’s organization, African Youth Initiative Network, or AYINET, please visit AYINET’s website.

Wanted: The Leaders of the LRA

This interactive slideshow presents the history of the LRA with a special focus on its senior leadership, who are wanted by the International Criminal Court.

Powerpoint version (5.22 MB)

Take Action: The LRA in Central Africa

(Click above to view the slideshow)

Led by ruthless war criminal Joseph Kony, the LRA has caused immense suffering in central Africa’s Great Lakes region over twenty year. This slideshow provides a brief background on the origins of the LRA and the group’s devastating crimes against people throughout central Africa. It also shows you how you can TAKE ACTION and contribute to efforts to end the LRA’s campaign of violence and bring a lasting peace to the region.

Jeff Korondo: An Acholi Artist Advocating for Reconciliation in Northern Uganda

Jeff Korondo is an Acholi artist and musician from northern Uganda. Click here to read the translated lyrics of "Okwera Nono," a song that encourages forgiveness and reintegration of former LRA soldiers.

Learn more about the LRA: Key Resources from Enough and Partners

Led by Joseph Kony, the LRA has caused enormous suffering in northern Uganda for over two decades. The LRA has now moved out of northern Uganda and is terrorizing communities and committing human rights abuses in neighboring southern Sudan, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Central African Republic. The LRA’s long and complex history can sometimes seem overwhelming, but if you are looking to learn more, we have some great resources for you.

Below are Enough’s strategy papers on northern Uganda and the LRA:

No Excuses: The End of the Lord's Resistance Army is in Sight (January 2009)
A New Peace Strategy for Northern Uganda and the LRA (May 2008)
The Answer to the Lord’s Resistance Army (June 2007)
Let’s Make A Deal: Leverage Needed in Northern Uganda Peace Talks (August 2007)
What to do about Joseph Kony (October 2007)
A Diplomatic Surge for Northern Uganda (December 2007)

For more background information, check out Enough’s Northern Uganda page, Uganda-based Fulbright scholar Jon Marino’s Northern Uganda 101 recommendations, and the New York Times topic page on the LRA. These BBC resources—a profile and a Q and A on the LRA—were written before the LRA moved their base of operations out of northern Uganda and into neighboring countries, but they do provide helpful background information.

For the latest on developments related to the LRA and northern Uganda, visit (and stay tuned to) the Enough Said blog. Also see Human Rights Watch’s report on the recent LRA attacks in northern Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Genocide Intervention Network’s education alert concerning the same attacks.

Finally, also check out this “in-depth look” at the LRA and this photo slideshow of night commuting (which was, sadly, a very common practice during the war in northern Uganda).

On June 22^nd and 23^rd, Enough teamed up with Invisible Children and Resolve Uganda to organize one of the biggest days of lobbying on Capitol Hill. The How it Ends lobby days event brought over 1700 activists to D.C. who were committed to finally bringing an end to the decades-long reign of terror perpetrated by the Lord’s Resistance Army in central Africa. Enough was there to listen to the stories of the young activists before they met with their Congressmen.