JUBA PEACE TALKS
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ACTION ALERT 11/10/2006
Dear friends,
It is the third largest humanitarian crisis in the world. More than a million displaced people in northern Uganda are waiting hopefully for an announcement of peace. They want attacks to stop, so that they can live without fear. They want to leave the crowded camps where many of them have been for years. They want their kidnapped children back.
BACKGROUND
During the last twenty years, millions of people in northern Uganda have suffered through the upheaval of a brutal conflict between the rebel group the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and the Ugandan government. Attacks have forced a current count of 1.6 million people to leave their homes and migrate to camps. There, overcrowding, poor sanitation, poverty and other factors are contributing to high levels of disease including HIV/AIDS.
The LRA has attacked and massacred communities and abducted more than 30,000 children to be used as child soldiers, laborers and sexual slaves, where many remain to this day. To avoid this fate, tens of thousands of children have walked miles every night to sleep in the relative safety of urban centers. The UN reports that at the peak of these migrations, 40,000 children made this walk every night.
Lutheran World Relief has been active in northern Uganda since 1983, promoting health through HIV/AIDS education and provision of clean drinking water and improved sanitation, as well as working to strengthen rural livelihoods and stabilize the food supply. The organization has worked with both the displaced population in the north and with vulnerable communities elsewhere in the country.
Much more is needed, however, than simply attending to the outcomes of the conflict. LWR looks with hope on the current peace talks in Juba in South Sudan, which are being called the best chance yet for peace in this horrific situation. An August 26th ceasefire declared there between the Government of Uganda and the LRA was renewed on November 1st. While this is encouraging, the talks remain fragile.
LWR Public Policy Manager Rebecca Phares recently returned from a fact-finding visit to northern Uganda. “It’s clear that the people of this region are yearning for peace,” she said. “We must now use our unique privilege to call on our government, asking them to support the people of northern Uganda at this truly critical time.”
TAKE ACTION
With the broader humanitarian and advocacy community, LWR calls for sustained U.S. public, logistical and financial support, not only for the peace talks but also for the long process of reconstruction. We suggest that constituents contact their legislators, asking that the U.S.:
- issue a public statement in support of the Juba peace process, encouraging dialogue and respect for the negotiated agreements;
- increase humanitarian assistance for affected communities;
- offer financial and logistical support for both the peace talks and for indispensable long-term reconstruction;
- encourage the safe and voluntary return of displaced Ugandans; and
- provide financial support for the demobilization and the vital reintegration of former LRA fighters into Ugandan society.
Be numbered among those important voices that direct our government to act in this window of opportunity! Please call or email your legislators today.
To find your legislators’ contact information, visit http://www.house.gov/ and http://www.senate.gov/.
The capitol switchboard number is 202-224-3121.
PRAYER REQUEST
Please pray that a deep and lasting peace with justice be achieved for the marginalized people of northern Uganda, and that the people of this area would find healing from the many difficult memories and injuries they carry.
Pray also for those in positions of power who are able to enact changes in this region, that they would have wisdom and compassion, and that their work would result in positive and lasting change and stability.
THANK YOU!
Your prayers are important, and your messages to Congress are heard. Thank you for taking the time to be a part of this opportunity for northern Uganda!
WHO IS LWR? Lutheran World Relief, an international nonprofit organization, works to end poverty and injustice by empowering some of the world's most impoverished communities to help themselves. With partners in 35 countries, LWR seeks to promote sustainable development with justice and dignity by helping communities bring about change for healthy, safe and secure lives; engage in Fair Trade; promote peace and reconciliation; and respond to emergencies. LWR is headquartered in Baltimore, Md. and has worked in international development and relief since 1945.
Lutheran World Relief is a ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS), individuals and parish groups in international relief, development, advocacy and social responsibility.
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