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Hon. Sam Kutesa Attends Ministerial Meeting at Geneva

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hon. Sam Kutesa attended a one-day meeting this Monday in Geneva organized by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees on March 20, 2006. The. main subject of the meeting was the humanitarian situation in Northern Uganda with reference to the internally displaced persons.

A Ministerial Meeting on Northern I Uganda was convened in Geneva. It was attended by high level delegations from New York and capitals of Uganda's key development partners.

This was an indication that there was 'commitment to supporting Uganda's efforts to deal with the impact of the brutal war in N orthern Uganda caused by a terrorist organization, the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) on the people.

The LRA under the leadership of Kony and his "mythical" powers and the so called "ten commandments" has terrorized Ugandans in the North of the country causing deaths, abductions and displacement of innocent civilians. The current humanitarian crisis was a result ofthe huge influx of 1.5 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) since the late 2002.

The Government of Uganda has taken a I number of strong response measures to deal with the atrocities and the humanitarian crises caused by the LRA terrorist organization.

The Uganda Peoples Defence Force (UPDF) has substantially strengthened its ground and air capacity to fight the LRA and protect the Internally Displaced People's Camps (IDPCs) in Uganda and i to deal with the LRA in Southern Sudan under a joint protocol with Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) and Sudanese Armed Forces.

The Ugandan Government has undertaken and participated in a number of initiatives on the peaceful resolution or the LRA conflict including the latest Bigombe Peace Initiative. Although a few LRA commanders have surrendered out of these efforts, these peace efforts have not led to a comprehensive peace agreement largely because the LRA has no political agenda except carrying out terrorist activities on behalf of its backers and supporters.

The Uganda Government has implemented humanitarian response measurers to deliver basic social services such as health, education and water and sanitation. Between 40-60% of IDPs have been resettled in Teso and Lango sub-regions.

As security around IDP camps has improved, more people have been decongested to parish levels allowing for better provision of social services and more access to land for productivity and less reliance on food handouts.

During the UN Security Council debate in New York on the Great Lakes Region, January 2006, the question of LRA came up and Uganda's government decision was to establish a high level government - led Joint Country Coordination and Monitoring Mechanism to support the Government's strategy and Plan of Action to address the humanitarian situation and post-conflict reconstruction and development in Northern Uganda. Uganda government has, therefore, decided to put in place short-medium and long-term strategic plan of action for Northern Uganda .

There are thematic issues to be dealt with by that mechanism as follows:

• Protection
• Humanitarian assistance
• Peaceful resolution of Conflict/ Reconciliation
• Resettlement and Re-integration ofIDPs
• Disarmament, Demobilization, Return, Resettlement and Re-integration (DDRRR) of ex-combatants
• Post-Conflict reconstruction in Northern Uganda.

The Joint Country Coordination and Monitoring Committee (JCCMC) would bring together a range of actors from the key 4 stakeholders categories:

• The Government of Uganda
• Uganda's Development Partners
• The United Nations
• Civil Society Organizations.

The mechanism would consist of the following components:-

• A Joint Country Coordinating and Monitoring Committee (JCCMC) chaired by the Prime Minister to take critical decisions and coordinate action in the six thematic areas. This will, therefore be a small and effective committee composed of about 20 representative members from the key stakeholders categories.
• The Sub-Committees are expected to involve more stakeholders and undertake the coordination and implementation work and to report to the JCCMC for decisions and;
• A Secretariat in the office of the Prime Minister with adequate staffing and resources to support both the JCCMC and its Sub-Committees.

The concerted efforts between government, UN and the Development Partners of Uganda would greatly enable the JCCMC to provide the high-level coordination and support"to implement the national strategy and Plan of Action on Northern Uganda.

The Government plan of action on Northern Uganda includes the following components:

• Launching and operationizing the high­ level Government led Joint Country Coordination Mechanism (JCCMC).
• Finalizing of writing and adoption of the Recovery and Development Plan (RDP) for Northern Uganda, as well as initiation of its implementation. Government and all agencies will use RDP as an entry point for supporting the attainment of the medium-long­ term objectives of peace, recovery, post-conflict reconstruction and development. The on-going programs such as the National IDP Policy and NUSAF will be integrated into the RDP.
• Arranging a pledging/donor conference on the Recovery and Development Plan for Northern Uganda.
• Governmentcommitrnentto increasing funding for Programmes and Projects for Northern Uganda through the National Budget and other National Resources.
• Increasing the presence of civilian police and strengthening the civilian justice system/transitional justice in Northern Uganda.
• trengthening the capacity ofU ganda Peoples Defence Force (UPDF) to wipe out the remnants of the LR.A. and protect the IDP camps, and resettlement areas in Northern Uganda.
• Allowing voluntary return of IDPs through accelerated IDP camps decongestion as well as other ways so as to ensure security of people and property (strengthen justice, law and order).
• Improving service delivery thereby reducing mortality, morbidity challenges, illiteracy etc.
• Strengthening government leadership in the delivery of social services through capacity building and instituting mechanisms for motivation and retention of professional staff by the Local Governments in the affected districts.

It can be re-interated that LRA is a threat to regional peace and security in Uganda, Southern Sudan and the DRC. Uganda calls upon the International Community to put pressure on the DRC and Sudan to disarm and apprehend the LRA rebels and for the UN Security Council to mandate MONUC and UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) to participate in concerted efforts to disarm the LRA, arrest the indicted LRA leadership and hand them over to the International Criminal Court (ICC)

Uganda calls for the speedy implementation of UNSC resolution 1653 (2006). If the LRA leadership is arrested and taken to the Hague, the humanitarian situation in Northern Uganda would improve and enable us to focus on resettlement, rehabilitation, post-conflict reconstruction and development challenges in a relatively short time.

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