Advocates for peace and development in northern Uganda have long pushed for greater U.S. involvement in a resolution to the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) crisis. It is a conflict that remained largely hidden from the international community for over two decades, despite the brutality and scale of the rebel group’s tactics. Only recently did it gain enough public visibility to garner attention by U.S. policymakers, making the signing of the Northern Uganda Recovery and Lord’s Resistance Army Disarmament Act (Public Law 111-172) on May 24, 2010 all the more significant. For the first time, the United States declared holistic support for sustainable peace and grassroots development throughout northern Uganda. It is also the first time the President has made a commitment to using government resources to actively pursue the LRA for their crimes.

The law is likely to have ripple effects throughout the region, particularly in the Democratic Republic of Congo where the LRA are presently stationed. Though the LRA terrorized the people of northern Uganda for decades, they now flow seamlessly between DRC, South Sudan, and Central African Republic, allowing for relative peace in their old stomping ground. Therefore, the legislation President Barack Obama signed in May essentially addresses two separate yet intertwined issues: it focuses on recovery in northern Uganda while also providing support for apprehending, disarming, and/or demobilizing LRA fighters in the affected countries.

Though the provisions for development, government accountability, and transitional justice are to be commended and will certainly benefit northern Ugandans, efforts to apprehend and disarm the LRA could be disastrous for people throughout the Great Lakes Region. The law’s language stipulates that the U.S. will “provide political, economic, military, and intelligence support for viable multilateral efforts to protect civilians from the Lord’s Resistance Army, to apprehend or remove Joseph Kony and his top commanders from the battlefield in the continued absence of a negotiated solution, and to disarm and demobilize the remaining Lord’s Resistance Army fighters.” Though it prioritizes a negotiated resolution to the crisis, the reality of U.S. foreign policy is such that the military will likely take up the reins, putting the people of DRC at further risk of violence.
 
In December 2008, the United States military command for Africa (AFRICOM) lent approximately $1 million in fuel and satellite phones to the Ugandan military to execute an attack against the LRA in Garamba National Park, DRC. Dubbed “Operation Lightning Thunder,” the mission was poorly planned and executed, leaving Congolese civilians vulnerable to retaliatory attacks by the LRA. Not only was the mission detrimental to the population it sought to protect, it also failed to achieve its main objective – ousting LRA leader Joseph Kony from his post. In light of this and several other failed military operations, it would behoove President Obama to withhold use of AFRICOM to resolve the LRA conflict.

In fact, northern Uganda experienced its highest level of stability during a phase of peace negotiations that began in July 2006. After nearly two years of relative calm, a peace agreement was tentatively reached in April 2008. Unfortunately, Kony failed to sign the final document and instead began rebuilding his ranks through child abductions in DRC and CAR. The failure of the peace process may be attributed to many factors, though the most often-cited is that the International Criminal Court (ICC) retained its arrest warrant against Joseph Kony throughout the negotiations, providing a disincentive for Kony to come out of the bush. Rather than actively enforcing the warrant or working strategically to defer the warrant and pursue an alternate path to justice, the international community stalled. The result was further instability in Congo and a disastrous U.S.-supported military attack.

It is therefore imperative that the U.S. government and the international community remain committed to a non-violent resolution to the LRA conflict. Africa Action has joined the Acholi Religious Leaders Peace Initiative (ARLPI), Ugandan religious groups, and other U.S. and international NGO’s in calling on President Obama to develop a strategy that does not involve a military option. Since the signing of the bill on May 24, Obama has 180 days to produce a plan for ending LRA violence in the region. It is a tall order for such a complicated and protracted conflict, particularly when the President is distracted with numerous other high-priority foreign policy issues. We will continue to monitor the evolution of an LRA strategy and will push for a peaceful resolution to the crisis.

Beth Tuckey is an intern in the executive office at Africa Action
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