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Congressman Johnson Urges End to War in Uganda

Date: March 7, 2007
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Women Arts, Entertainment, and History


CONGRESSMAN JOHNSON URGES END TO WAR IN UGANDA

Congressman Hank Johnson (D-GA) and Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) recently co-authored and introduced H.Con.Res 80, a resolution urging warring parties in northern Uganda to commit to a political resolution of the brutal conflict.

This action was in response to warnings that both the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and Ugandan military forces have begun preparations for a return to full combat after the ceasefire expired on February 28th. Last year, the historic peace talks launched in Juba, Southern Sudan, produced a "Cessation of Hostilities" signed by both parties. At the time, it was hailed as the most significant sign of progress.

In two decades of violence between the criminal LRA and the government of Uganda, hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians have been killed and tens of thousands of children have been abducted, forced into combat, and subjected to torture and sexual violence. Former United Nations Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Jan
Egeland has called the crisis in northern Uganda "the biggest forgotten, neglected humanitarian emergency in the world today."

Rep. Johnson cautioned Members that if immediate action is not taken by the U.S. and the international community, the northern Ugandan peace talks and broader political reforms face imminent collapse, sparking a return to armed conflict that would devastate an already war-beaten population. The U.S. House had taken no action in recent years to address the crisis until Congressman Johnson introduced the resolution.

"Recent years have seen an American foreign policy that is divisive and destructive. It's time for the United States to return to its role as a peacemaker and an advocate for human freedom," Congressman Johnson, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, explained.

Rep. Johnson, Sen. Feingold, and Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) introduced the resolution, along with Senators Brownback (R-KS), Kerry (D-MA), Coleman (R-MN), Boxer (D-CA), Martinez (R-FL), Mikulski (D-MD), Collins (R-ME), Lautenberg (D-NJ), and Reps. Payne (D-NJ), Fortenberry (R-NE), Jackson-Lee (D-TX) and Shuler (D-NC).

http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/ga04_johnson/2007_03_07_uganda.html

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