World Vision: U.N. Security Council Cannot Ignore Uganda Crisis Any Longer
One of the largest Christian relief and development organizations in the world strongly urged the U.N. Security Council to take action in Uganda, a country which world leaders say is ‘‘neglected’’ and ‘‘forgotten.’’
One of the largest Christian relief and development organizations in the world strongly urged the U.N. Security Council to take action in Uganda, a country which world leaders say is ‘‘neglected’’ and ‘‘forgotten.’’
On Monday, the U.N. Security Council met to hear evidence from humanitarian chief Jan Egeland on the situation in northern Uganda, among other issues. Among the groups at the hearing was World Vision (WV), which called on members of the Security Council to agree on a resolution on how to help end the 20-year conflict in northern Uganda – a conflict WV said is “shockingly neglected by the international community.”
“Leaders of the international community cannot ignore this crisis any longer. The U.N. Security Council must put the issue onto its agenda,” James Odong, National Peace Building Coordinator for World Vision Uganda, said at the U.N. Security Council. “The U.N. Security Council must put the issue onto its agenda. It must focus on bringing a just end to this war – and agree a resolution which, as well as condemning the activities of the LRA, makes the protection of civilians, particularly children, a priority.” Odong was himself a former abductee.
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Uganda has faced internal conflicts for the past 20 years, and there has been at least 25,000 children abducted by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) to serve as child soldiers or provide sexual services; children make up 85 percent of the LRA. The civil conflict has also lead to the internal displacement of millions of Ugandan. Each week, 1,000 in northern Uganda civilians die from war-related deaths.
Recently, the security situation has deteriorated further with a number of attacks on aid workers and the killing of a tourist. Yet the biggest victims of the LRA are the civilians living in the regions and surrounding countries where the rebel groups frequently operate from.
The most recent attack occurred on Saturday, according to a Sudanese People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) spokesman. The spokesman informed that the LRA rebels killed 10 civilians on their way back to Sudan from Uganda, World Vision reported.
“It has been clear for some time that the conflict poses a threat to regional peace and security – with the LRA operating in both the Democratic Republic of Congo and Southern Sudan – both countries that are seeking to recover from their own violent past. This gives all the more reason why the UN Security Council must act now,” Odong said.
World Vision recently released a report on the conflict titled, “Pawns of Politics,” which details the disturbing impact that the conflict has had on the African nation. However, WV believes that with the help of the international community, the Government of Uganda, and other regional governments – peace is possible.
