Washington, DC — Nearly two thousand citizens from across the country will converge on the U.S. Capitol June 23rd to urge their elected officials to pass landmark legislation focused on ending violence against civilians carried out by Joseph Kony?s Lord?s Resistance Army (LRA) rebel forces in central Africa. The lobby efforts are part of a two-day event aimed at increasing pressure on President Obama to address the 23-year violent conflict and provide urgent assistance for affected families and communities.

The event, called How It Ends, is the biggest lobby day in U.S. history focused on an African issue. Preceding the lobby meetings, there will be a symposium held at the Washington Convention Center that will feature a keynote address from Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the Lead Prosecutor for the International Criminal Court headquartered in The Hague, as well as comments from senior Obama Administration officials and other noted experts, celebrities, and policymakers.

Over the past two decades, LRA forces led by Ugandan leader Joseph Kony have kidnapped over 66,000 children and civilians, forcibly enlisting many as soldiers in the LRA. During the height of the war, 1.8 million Ugandans were displaced.  In December 2008, after Kony walked away from peace negotiations, regional governments launched a U.S.-backed military offensive that failed to apprehend top rebel commanders or protect civilians from reprisal attacks. Kony responded by dispatching LRA fighters to commit a new wave of brutal atrocities against vulnerable civilians. LRA fighters killed over 1000 civilians and kidnapped more than 500 children from their homes and schools in a few short months. On Christmas Day alone, LRA forces massacred over 200 Congolese civilians, deliberately targeting families gathered to celebrate the holiday.

“We’ve seen the devastating consequences of half-hearted efforts to end this conflict. The U.S. now has a responsibility to make sure that doesn’t happen again, which is why these people are coming to D.C., “ said Michael Poffenberger, Executive Director of Resolve Uganda. “They’re here to raise the bar for the Obama Administration and make sure that the U.S. is giving its full support to the kind of real solutions that can actually end this violence permanently and keep abducted children and vulnerable communities safe from further violence.”

Last month, a bipartisan group of Senators and Representatives introduced the Lord?s Resistance Army Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act, legislation that would require the Obama Administration to develop a regional strategy to protect civilians in central Africa from attacks by the LRA and commit the United States to increase support to economic recovery and transitional justice efforts in Uganda.

“It?s crucial that Congress passes this bill and focuses their attention on the immediate violence being committed by Kony?s forces,” said Paul Ronan, Resolve Uganda?s Senior Policy Analyst. “But at the same time, the U.S. can help achieve lasting peace by increasing support for millions of people in northern Uganda who finally have the opportunity to move past decades of violence and insecurity. Peace and recovery must go hand in hand. That?s the message these lobbyists will bring to Capitol Hill.”

More details can be found at: www.howitends.tv

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

The war between the rebel LRA and Ugandan government began in 1986, and has been characterized by widespread abuse of human rights by both sides. Thousands of people have been killed during the war, and tens of thousands abducted by the LRA and exploited as child soldiers and sex slaves.

LRA forces moved their base of operations to eastern DR Congo in 2005, from where they have pillaged communities and abducted children in DR Congo, South Sudan, and Central African Republic.

Recent peace talks between the LRA and Ugandan government began in August 2006 and broke down in mid-2008 with rebel leader Joseph Kony refusing to sign the final agreement negotiated on his behalf, opting instead to resume attacks on civilians in the region. The governments of Uganda, with support from the U.S. and regional governments, launched a surprise military operation against the LRA on December 14th, aiming to capture LRA leader Joseph Kony or pressure him to sign the peace agreement. The operation failed to capture any top rebel commanders, and lacked measures to protect civilians from the reprisal attacks from Kony?s forces that took place immediately thereafter.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Joseph Kony, Dominic Ongwen and Okot Odhiambo and two since deceased commanders in 2005.

Resolve Uganda is a U.S.-based coalition of humanitarian, faith-based and advocacy organizations working to get U.S. political leaders to take the steps that will permanently end the war in northern Uganda. For more information, go to www.resolveuganda.org