PUBLIC LAW 108–283—AUG. 2, 2004

NORTHERN UGANDA CRISIS RESPONSE ACT

118 STAT. 912 PUBLIC LAW 108–283—AUG. 2, 2004

Public Law 108–283

108th Congress

An Act

To require a report on the conflict in Uganda, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of

the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Northern Uganda Crisis Response

Act’’.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

Congress makes the following findings:

(1) The United States and the Republic of Uganda enjoy

a strong bilateral relationship and continue to work closely

together in fighting the human immunodeficiency virus and

acquired immune deficiency syndrome (‘‘HIV/AIDS’’) pandemic

and combating international terrorism.

(2) For more than 17 years, the Government of Uganda

has been engaged in a conflict with the Lord’s Resistance Army

that has inflicted hardship and suffering on the people of

northern and eastern Uganda.

(3) The members of the Lord’s Resistance Army have used

brutal tactics during this conflict, including abducting and

forcing individuals into sexual servitude, and forcing a large

number of children, estimated to be between 16,000 and 26,000

children, in Uganda to serve in such Army’s military forces.

(4) The Secretary of State has designated the Lord’s Resistance Army as a terrorist organization and placed the Lord’s

Resistance Army on the Terrorist Exclusion list pursuant to

section 212(a)(3) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8

U.S.C. 1182(a)(3)).

(5) According to Human Rights Watch, since the mid-1990s

the only known sponsor of the Lord’s Resistance Army has

been the Government of Sudan, though such Government

denies providing assistance to the Lord’s Resistance Army.

(6) More than 1,000,000 people have been displaced from

their homes in Uganda as a result of the conflict.

(7) The conflict has resulted in a lack of security for the

people of Uganda, and as a result of such lack, each night

more than 18,000 children leave their homes and flee to the

relative safety of town centers, creating a massive ‘‘night commuter’’ phenomenon that leaves already vulnerable children

subject to exploitation and abuse.

Northern Uganda

Crisis Response

Act.

Aug. 2, 2004

[S. 2264]

PUBLIC LAW 108–283—AUG. 2, 2004 118 STAT. 913

(8) Individuals who have been displaced by the conflict

in Uganda often suffer from acute malnutrition and the mortality rate for children in northern Uganda who have been

displaced is very high.

(9) In the latter part of 2003, humanitarian and human

rights organizations operating in northern Uganda reported

an increase in violence directed at their efforts and at civilians,

including a sharp increase in child abductions.

(10) The Government of Uganda’s military efforts to resolve

this conflict, including the arming and training of local militia

forces, have not ensured the security of civilian populations

in the region to date.

(11) The continued instability and lack of security in

Uganda has severely hindered the ability of any organization

or governmental entity to deliver regular humanitarian assistance and services to individuals who have been displaced or

otherwise negatively affected by the conflict.

SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

It is the sense of Congress that the Government of the United

States should—

(1) work vigorously to support ongoing efforts to explore

the prospects for a peaceful resolution of the conflict in northern

and eastern Uganda;

(2) work with the Government of Uganda and the international community to make available sufficient resources to

meet the immediate relief and development needs of the towns

and cities in Uganda that are supporting large numbers of

people who have been displaced by the conflict;

(3) urge the Government of Uganda and the international

community to assume greater responsibility for the protection

of civilians and economic development in regions in Uganda

affected by the conflict, and to place a high priority on providing

security, economic development, and humanitarian assistance

to the people of Uganda;

(4) work with the international community, the Government of Uganda, and civil society in northern and eastern

Uganda to develop a plan whereby those now displaced may

return to their homes or to other locations where they may

become economically productive;

(5) urge the leaders and members of the Lord’s Resistance

Army to stop the abduction of children, and urge all armed

forces in Uganda to stop the use of child soldiers, and seek

the release of all individuals who have been abducted;

(6) make available increased resources for assistance to

individuals who were abducted during the conflict, child soldiers, and other children affected by the conflict;

(7) work with the Government of Uganda, other countries,

and international organizations to ensure that sufficient

resources and technical support are devoted to the demobilization and reintegration of rebel combatants and abductees forced

by their captors to serve in non-combatant support roles;

(8) cooperate with the international community to support

civil society organizations and leaders in Uganda, including

Acholi religious leaders, who are working toward a just and

lasting resolution to the conflict;

118 STAT. 914 PUBLIC LAW 108–283—AUG. 2, 2004

(9) urge the Government of Uganda to improve the professionalism of Ugandan military personnel currently stationed

in northern and eastern Uganda, with an emphasis on respect

for human rights, accountability for abuses, and effective

civilian protection;

(10) work with the international community to assist

institutions of civil society in Uganda to increase the capacity

of such institutions to monitor the human rights situation

in northern Uganda and to raise awareness of abuses of human

rights that occur in that area;

(11) urge the Government of Uganda to permit international human rights monitors to establish a presence in

northern and eastern Uganda;

(12) monitor the creation of civilian militia forces in

northern and eastern Uganda and publicize any concerns

regarding the recruitment of children into such forces or the

potential that the establishment of such forces will invite

increased targeting of civilians in the conflict or exacerbate

ethnic tension and violence; and

(13) make clear that the relationship between the Government of Sudan and the Government of the United States cannot

improve unless no credible evidence indicates that authorities

of the Government of Sudan are complicit in efforts to provide

weapons or other support to the Lord’s Resistance Army.

SEC. 4. REPORT.

(a) REQUIREMENTS.—Not later than 6 months after the date

of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit a

report to the appropriate congressional committees on the conflict

in Uganda.

(b) CONTENT.—The report required by subsection (a) shall

include a description of the following:

(1) The individuals or entities that are providing financial

and material support for the Lord’s Resistance Army, including

a description of any such support provided by the Government

of Sudan or by senior officials of such Government.

(2) The activities of the Lord’s Resistance Army that create

obstacles that prohibit the provision of humanitarian assistance

or the protection of the civilian population in Uganda.

(3) The practices employed by the Ugandan People’s

Defense Forces in northern and eastern Uganda to ensure

that children and civilians are protected, that civilian complaints are addressed, and that any member of the armed

forces that abuses a civilian is held accountable for such abuse.

(4) The actions carried out by the Government of the United

States, the Government of Uganda, or the international community to protect civilians, especially women and children, who

have been displaced by the conflict in Uganda, including women

and children that leave their homes and flee to cities and

towns at night in search of security from sexual exploitation

and gender-based violence.

(c) FORM OF REPORT.—The report under subsection (a) shall

be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified

annex.

(d) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DEFINED.—In

this section, the term ‘‘appropriate congressional committees’’ means

PUBLIC LAW 108–283—AUG. 2, 2004 118 STAT. 915

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—S. 2264:

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 150 (2004):

May 7, considered and passed Senate.

July 14, 19, considered and passed House.

Æ

the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on International Relations of the House of Representatives.

Approved August 2, 2004.