Washington, D.C. 15 Apr 2005 - Anne Richard, the IRC's vice president of government relations and advocacy, briefed the Human Rights Caucus of the House of Representatives Thursday on the toll the war between the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and the Ugandan government is taking on the civilian population in northern Uganda.
Richard told the representatives that the number of Ugandans displaced from their homes has almost tripled in the last two years, to about 1.4 million. Human rights abuses - including forced abduction, murder, rape, and the use of children as combatants by both sides—are pervasive.
Richard cited an urgent need to facilitate a peaceful resolution to the conflict, provide protection for civilians, and ensure that significant funding is available for humanitarian programs. She quoted an IRC colleague who said the situation in northern Uganda is worse than Darfur, where the ongoing humanitarian crisis has received far more public attention and international aid, and offered several recommendations:
"Perhaps one approach is to build on growing interest among US officials, media and public in Sudan and the Darfur crisis and try to adopt a broader, regional perspective,” Richard said. “We should consider how to help people on both sides of the Sudan/Uganda border. Without a doubt, though, the key is greater U.S. support for peace and protection programs."
Testimony: An Update on the Conflict in Northern Uganda - April 14, 2005
