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Agencies Demand UN Action in Uganda

The New Times (Kigali)
NEWS
November 16, 2005
Posted to the web November 16, 2005

By Daniel Sabiiti & Agencies
Kigali
Aid agencies working in the troubled northern region of Uganda have urged the
UN Security Council (UNSC) to pass a resolution demanding the protection of
people affected by the insurgency recently. NGOs claim that over 1,000
civilians are dying of conflict-related incidents each week. Their demand comes
one day after a British tourist was murdered by rebels on Tuesday.
The call also came as Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni met UNSC members who
were touring Africa's restive Great Lakes region. A spokesperson for Save the
Children admitted the motion had not been planned, and was meant to take
advantage of the UN tour of the region.
"It's not unprecedented," the spokesperson told ISN Security Watch on
Wednesday. "We do it in quite a few places where we feel that our voices are
not being heard. When we work together, our voices are a little louder;
especially when dealing with the UN, where we struggle to be heard, something
like this can be more effective."
However, a spokesman for one of the NGOs not party to the coalition, who wished
to remain anonymous, had a number of reservations as to the practical measures
that could be adopted by the UNSC.
He said the inter-agency statement was vague. "What are they actually asking of
the Security Council? Pass what resolutions? Are they suggesting that troops
should be deployed? It's all very unclear at the moment. I would be very
interested to learn what practical measures the UN can adopt in Uganda."
"Almost 20 years of war in northern Uganda have seen nearly two million people
driven from their homes and over 25,000 children kidnapped and forced to fight
for the rebel group, the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). Yet the UN Security
Council has never passed a resolution on northern Uganda," said the coalition
of agencies, which include Care International, Oxfam, and Save the Children.
"We discussed the situation, and we were made to understand that strong
progress has been made. There are still some difficulties, and we are still
looking at the humanitarian situation," Jean-Marc de la Sabliere, France's
ambassador to the UN, said
"This is a humanitarian situation that is a concern for all of us," he added.
Over 50 NGOs petitioned the UNSC to act urgently in Uganda and described the
conflict in northern Uganda as the "world's worst case of mass child abuse".
According to reports, every week, 20 children are kidnapped by the LRA and
recruited to fight in their ranks.
In a strongly worded statement by Oxfam, the UN was accused of double
standards. "If it was happening in Europe, the UN Security Council would have
acted years ago. Instead, the 20-year silence of the Security Council has
condemned thousands to death."
"The UN Security Council must take firm action and challenge the Ugandan
government to protect its own people. If the government cannot do this, then
the Security Council must agree to a resolution which commits the international
community to protecting the millions suffering in sub-Saharan Africa's longest-
running war," said John Reinstein, the Deputy Director of Save the Children in
Uganda.

   

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