Lord's Resistance Army Disarmament And Northern Uganda Recovery Act Of 2009

Floor Speech

Lord's Resistance Army Disarmament And Northern Uganda Recovery Act Of 2009

* Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my strong support for S. 1067, the LRA Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act.

* I am grateful for the leadership that has brought this important legislation--which I am pleased to cosponsor--to the floor and to bring visibility, focus, and renewed attention and resources to what some have called an Invisible Conflict.

* For too long, the Lord's Resistance Army, LRA, has been conducting a campaign of violence and terror against the people of northern Uganda which has spread to southern Sudan and parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic.

* In each of these areas, the LRA is destroying lives and communities. Women and children are particularly targeted by this vicious group and have suffered harsh abuses and atrocities at the hands of the LRA and its ruthless leaders.

* Joseph Kony, the man directing this group's atrocious and senseless violence, and two other LRA commanders are wanted for war crimes and crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court. The ICC indictment lists 33 charges against him including murder, enslavement, sexual enslavement, rape, intentionally directing attacks against civilian population, and the forced enlisting of children into the rebel ranks.

* Just last week, media reports indicated that the UN is investigating new allegations of a previously unreported LRA attack in February in a very remote part of the Democratic Republic of Congo that killed over 100 people.

* Unfortunately, unless more attention and resources are paid to stopping the LRA, we will probably only continue to hear more similar disheartening and tragic reports in the coming months and weeks.

* It is clear that current efforts to apprehend Kony and other LRA leaders are not working and vulnerable civilians in the region continue to pay the price with their lives for that failure. These terrorists must be brought to justice. The international community needs to step up its efforts to rid the affected communities of this threat and help them rebuild and recover. The U.S. can and must play a key role in that effort.

* The bill before us today, S. 1067--the LRA Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act, makes U.S. policy very clear: to work vigorously for a lasting resolution to the conflict in northern and eastern Uganda and other areas terrorized by the LRA and to eliminate the threat posed by the Lord's Resistance Army to civilians using the political, economic, military, and intelligence tools available to our nation in a comprehensive and multilateral effort that will result in greater protection of innocent civilians and lead to the capture of Joseph Kony and other commanders of the LRA.

* This bill is the work of exemplary leadership from colleagues from both sides of the aisle including Congressman JIM MCGOVERN who has been a long time champion for ending conflict and promoting peace.

* This legislation is also the result of the hard work of thousands of activists across the country--young and old--including from my district as well who want to ensure justice and peace for the many victims of the LRA.

* The bill would give the administration a strong mandate to act swiftly and effectively to lead multilateral efforts to protect children and families from LRA attacks and put a permanent end to these atrocities.

* It would require the U.S. to create a strategy working with our international allies on a viable plan to protect civilians from LRA attacks, support the capacity of local authorities to maintain the rule of law, prevent conflict, and diplomatically engage on a regional basis to address the threat posed by the LRA.

* Lastly, it would express support for U.S. efforts and funding to assist the people of Uganda and the Government of Uganda in rebuilding and recovery projects in areas of northern and eastern Uganda heavily affected by fighting with the LRA and authorize humanitarian aid aimed directly at the families and communities that have been and continue to be victimized by the LRA, including the children pressed into service as soldiers by the LRA.

* The tremendous suffering caused by the LRA cannot end soon enough. I urge my colleagues to vote yes on this bill.

Source