I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2478 

To support stabilization and lasting peace in northern Uganda and areas 

affected by the Lord’s Resistance Army through development of a regional strategy to support multilateral efforts to successfully protect 

civilians and eliminate the threat posed by the Lord’s Resistance Army 

and to authorize funds for humanitarian relief and reconstruction, reconciliation, and transitional justice, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 19, 2009 

Mr. MCGOVERN (for himself, Mr. ROYCE, and Mr. MILLER of North Carolina) 

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 

Foreign Affairs 

A BILL 

To support stabilization and lasting peace in northern Uganda and areas affected by the Lord’s Resistance Army 

through development of a regional strategy to support 

multilateral efforts to successfully protect civilians and 

eliminate the threat posed by the Lord’s Resistance 

Army and to authorize funds for humanitarian relief 

and reconstruction, reconciliation, and transitional justice, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Lord’s Resistance 

3 Army Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act 

4 of 2009’’. 

5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

6 Congress makes the following findings: 

7 (1) For over 2 decades, the Government of 

8 Uganda engaged in an armed conflict with the 

9 Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in northern Uganda 

10 that led to the internal displacement of more than 

11 2,000,000 Ugandans from their homes. 

12 (2) The members of the Lord’s Resistance 

13 Army used brutal tactics in northern Uganda, in14 cluding mutilating, abducting, and forcing individ15 uals into sexual servitude and forcing a large num16 ber of children and youth in Uganda, estimated by 

17 the Survey for War Affected Youth to be over 

18 66,000, to fight as part of the rebel force. 

19 (3) The Secretary of State has designated the 

20 Lord’s Resistance Army as a terrorist organization 

21 and placed the Lord’s Resistance Army on the Ter22 rorist Exclusion list pursuant to section 212(a)(3) of 

23 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

24 1182(a)(3)). 

25 (4) In late 2005, according to the United Na26 tions Office for Coordination of Humanitarian AfVerDate Nov 24 2008 02:33 May 20, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2478.IH H2478

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1 fairs, the Lord’s Resistance Army shifted their pri2 mary base of operations from southern Sudan to 

3 northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, and the 

4 rebels have since withdrawn from northern Uganda. 

5 (5) Representatives of the Government of 

6 Uganda and the Lord’s Resistance Army began 

7 peace negotiations in 2006, mediated by the Govern8 ment of Southern Sudan in Juba, Sudan, and signed 

9 the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement on August 

10 20, 2006, which provided for hundreds of thousands 

11 of internally displaced people to return home in safe12 ty. 

13 (6) After nearly 2 years of negotiations, rep14 resentatives from the parties reached the Final 

15 Peace Agreement in April 2008, but Joseph Kony, 

16 the leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army, refused to 

17 sign the Final Peace Agreement in May 2008 and 

18 his forces launched new attacks in northeastern 

19 Congo. 

20 (7) According to the United Nations Office for 

21 the Coordination of Humanitarian Relief, the new 

22 activity of the Lord’s Resistance Army in north23 eastern Congo and southern Sudan since September 

24 2008 has led to the abduction of at least 711 civilVerDate Nov 24 2008 02:33 May 20, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2478.IH H2478

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1 ians, including 540 children, and the displacement of 

2 more than 160,000 people. 

3 (8) In December 2008, the military forces of 

4 Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and 

5 southern Sudan launched a joint operation against 

6 the Lord’s Resistance Army’s bases in northeastern 

7 Congo, but the operation failed to apprehend Joseph 

8 Kony, and his forces retaliated with a series of new 

9 attacks and massacres in Congo and southern 

10 Sudan, killing an estimated 900 people in 2 months. 

11 (9) The escalated activity of the Lord’s Resist12 ance Army over recent months and the inability of 

13 military operations to stop them or protect civilians 

14 has perpetuated fears amongst communities in 

15 northern Uganda that the rebels could cross back 

16 into Uganda in the future, which complicates ongo17 ing recovery efforts. 

18 (10) Despite the refusal of Joseph Kony to sign 

19 the Final Peace Agreement, the Government of 

20 Uganda has committed to continue reconstruction 

21 plans for northern Uganda, and to implement those 

22 mechanisms of the Final Peace Agreement not con23 ditional on the compliance of the Lord’s Resistance 

24 Army. 


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1 (11) Since April 2008, recovery efforts in 

2 northern Uganda have moved forward with the fi3 nancial support of the United States and other do4 nors, but have been hampered by a lack of strategic 

5 coordination, logistical delays, and limited capacity 

6 of the Government of Uganda. 

7 (12) Continued economic disparities between 

8 northern Uganda and the rest of the country and a 

9 failure to take meaningful steps toward reconcili10 ation and accountability, if unchanged, risk perpet11 uating longstanding political grievances and fueling 

12 new conflicts. 

13 SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

14 It is the policy of the United States to work vigor15 ously for a lasting resolution to the conflict in northern 

16 and eastern Uganda and other affected areas by— 

17 (1) eliminating the threat posed by the Lord’s 

18 Resistance Army to civilians and regional stability 

19 through political, economic, military, and intelligence 

20 support for a comprehensive multilateral effort to 

21 protect civilians in affected areas, to apprehend or 

22 otherwise remove Joseph Kony and his top com23 manders from the battlefield, and to disarm and de24 mobilize Lord’s Resistance Army fighters; and 


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1 (2) further supporting comprehensive recon2 struction, transitional justice, and reconciliation ef3 forts as affirmed in the Northern Uganda Crisis Re4 sponse Act of 2004 (Public Law 108–283) and sub5 sequent resolutions, including Senate Resolution 

6 366, 109th Congress, agreed to February 2, 2006, 

7 Senate Resolution 573, 109th Congress, agreed to 

8 September 19, 2006, Senate Concurrent Resolution 

9 16, 110th Congress, agreed to in the Senate March 

10 1, 2007, and House Concurrent Resolution 80, 

11 110th Congress, agreed to in the House of Rep12 resentatives June 18, 2007. 

13 SEC. 4. REQUIREMENT OF A REGIONAL STRATEGY FOR DIS14 ARMING THE LORD’S RESISTANCE ARMY. 

15 (a) REQUIREMENT FOR STRATEGY.—Not later than 

16 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

17 President shall develop and submit to the appropriate 

18 committees of Congress a regional strategy to guide 

19 United States support for multilateral efforts to protect 

20 civilians from attacks by the Lord’s Resistance Army, to 

21 eliminate the threat to civilians and regional stability 

22 posed by the Lord’s Resistance Army, and to enforce the 

23 rule of law and ensure full humanitarian access in LRA24 affected areas. 


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1 (b) CONTENT OF STRATEGY.—The strategy should 

2 include the following: 

3 (1) A viable plan to protect civilians from at4 tacks by the Lord’s Resistance Army and eliminate 

5 the threat posed by the Lord’s Resistance Army, 

6 while building institutions in the affected areas that 

7 can help to maintain the rule of law and prevent 

8 conflict in the long term. 

9 (2) An interagency framework to plan, coordi10 nate, and execute all diplomatic economic, intel11 ligence, and military elements of United States pol12 icy across the region regarding the Lord’s Resist13 ance Army. 

14 (3) A description of the type and form of diplo15 matic engagement to work with regional mecha16 nisms, including the Tripartite Plus Commission and 

17 the Great Lakes Pact, and to coordinate the imple18 mentation of United States policy toward the Lord’s 

19 Resistance Army across the region. 

20 (4) A description of how this engagement will 

21 fit within the context of broader efforts and policy 

22 objectives in the Great Lakes Region. 

23 (5) A framework to evaluate the progress and 

24 effectiveness of the United States strategy toward 


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1 eliminating the threat posed by the Lord’s Resist2 ance Army. 

3 (c) FORM.—The strategy under this section shall be 

4 submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classi5 fied annex. 

6 SEC. 5. HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE FOR AREAS OUTSIDE 

7 UGANDA AFFECTED BY THE LORD’S RESIST8 ANCE ARMY. 

9 (a) AUTHORITY.—In accordance with section 491 of 

10 the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2292) and 

11 section 2 of the Migration and Refugee Assistance Act of 

12 1962 (22 U.S.C. 2601), the President is authorized to 

13 provide assistance to respond to the humanitarian needs 

14 of populations in northeastern Congo, southern Sudan, 

15 and Central African Republic affected by the activity of 

16 the Lord’s Resistance Army. 

17 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

18 authorized to be appropriated $10,000,000 for fiscal year 

19 2010 to carry out this section. 

20 SEC. 6. ASSISTANCE FOR RECOVERY AND RECONSTRUC21 TION IN NORTHERN UGANDA. 

22 (a) AUTHORITY.—It is the sense of Congress that the 

23 President should support efforts by the people of northern 

24 Uganda and the Government of Uganda— 


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1 (1) to assist internally displaced people in tran2 sition and returnees to secure durable solutions by 

3 spurring economic revitalization, supporting liveli4 hoods, helping to alleviate poverty, and advancing 

5 access to basic services at return sites, specifically 

6 clean water, health care, and schools; 

7 (2) to enhance the accountability and adminis8 trative competency of local governance institutions 

9 and public agencies in northern Uganda with regard 

10 to budget management, provision of public goods 

11 and services, and related oversight functions; 

12 (3) to strengthen the operational capacity of the 

13 civilian police in northern Uganda to enhance public 

14 safety, prevent crime, and deal sensitively with gen15 der-based violence, while strengthening account16 ability measures to prevent corruption and abuses; 

17 (4) to rebuild and improve the capacity of the 

18 justice system in northern Uganda, including the 

19 courts and penal systems, with particular sensitivity 

20 to the needs and rights of women and children; 

21 (5) to establish mechanisms for the disar22 mament, demobilization, and reintegration of former 

23 combatants, including vocational education and em24 ployment opportunities; and 


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1 (6) to promote programs to address psycho2 social trauma, particularly post-traumatic stress dis3 order. 

4 (b) FUTURE YEAR FUNDING.—It is the sense of Con5 gress that the Secretary of State and Administrator of the 

6 United States Agency for International Development 

7 should work with the appropriate committees of Congress 

8 to increase assistance in future fiscal years to support ac9 tivities described in this section if the Government of 

10 Uganda demonstrates a commitment to transparent and 

11 accountable reconstruction in war-affected areas of north12 ern and eastern Uganda, specifically by— 

13 (1) finalizing the establishment of mechanisms 

14 within the Office of the Prime Minister to suffi15 ciently manage and coordinate the programs under 

16 the framework of the Peace Recovery and Develop17 ment Plan for Northern Uganda (PRDP); 

18 (2) increasing oversight activities and reporting 

19 to ensure funds under the Peace Recovery and De20 velopment Plan for Northern Uganda framework are 

21 used efficiently and with minimal waste; and 

22 (3) committing substantial funds of its own, 

23 above and beyond standard budget allocations to 

24 local governments, to the task of implementing the 

25 Peace Recovery and Development Plan for Northern 


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1 Uganda such that communities affected by the war 

2 can recover. 

3 (c) COORDINATION WITH OTHER DONOR NA4 TIONS.—The United States should work with other donor 

5 nations, on a bilateral and multilateral basis, to increase 

6 contributions for recovery efforts in northern Uganda and 

7 strengthen accountability mechanisms to ensure the trans8 parent and timely use of those funds. 

9 (d) TERMINATION OF ASSISTANCE.—It is the sense 

10 of Congress that the Secretary of State should withhold 

11 bilateral assistance to the Republic of Uganda for the pur12 poses described under this section if the Secretary deter13 mines that the Government of Uganda is not committed 

14 to transparent and accountable reconstruction and rec15 onciliation in the war-affected areas of northern and east16 ern Uganda. 

17 SEC. 7. ASSISTANCE FOR RECONCILIATION AND TRANSI18 TIONAL JUSTICE IN NORTHERN UGANDA. 

19 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con20 gress that the President should support efforts by the peo21 ple of northern Uganda and the Government of Uganda 

22 to advance efforts to promote transitional justice and rec23 onciliation on both local and national levels, including to 

24 implement the following mechanisms outlined in the 

25 Annexure to the Agreement on Accountability and RecVerDate Nov 24 2008 02:33 May 20, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2478.IH H2478

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1 onciliation between the Government of Uganda and the 

2 Lord’s Resistance Army/Movement, signed at Juba Feb3 ruary 19, 2008, namely— 

4 (1) a body to investigate the history of the con5 flict, inquire into human rights violations committed 

6 during the conflict by all sides, promote truth-telling 

7 in communities, and encourage the preservation of 

8 the memory of events and victims of the conflict 

9 through memorials, archives, commemorations, and 

10 other forms of preservation; 

11 (2) a special division of the High Court of 

12 Uganda to try individuals alleged to have committed 

13 serious crimes during the conflict, and a special unit 

14 to carry out investigations and prosecutions in sup15 port of trials; 

16 (3) a system for making reparations to victims 

17 of the conflict; and 

18 (4) a review and strategy for supporting transi19 tional justice mechanisms in affected areas to pro20 mote reconciliation and encourage individuals to 

21 take personal responsibility for their conduct during 

22 the war. 

23 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

24 authorized to be appropriated $10,000,000 for each of fis25 cal years 2010 through 2012 to carry out this section. 


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1 SEC. 8. REPORT. 

2 (a) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 1 year after 

3 the submission of the strategy required under section 4, 

4 the Secretary of State shall prepare and submit to the ap5 propriate committees of Congress a report on the progress 

6 made toward the implementation of the strategy required 

7 under section 4 and a description and evaluation of the 

8 assistance provided under this Act toward the policy objec9 tives described in section 3. 

10 (b) CONTENTS.—The report required under section 

11 (a) shall include— 

12 (1) a description and evaluation of actions 

13 taken toward the implementation of the strategy re14 quired under section 4; 

15 (2) a description of assistance provided under 

16 section 5 and section 6; 

17 (3) an evaluation of bilateral assistance pro18 vided to the Republic of Uganda and associated pro19 grams in light of stated policy objectives; 

20 (4) a description of the status of the Peace Re21 covery and Development Plan for Northern Uganda 

22 and the progress of the Government of Uganda to 

23 take the steps outlined in section 6(b); and 

24 (5) a description of amounts of assistance com25 mitted, and amounts provided, to northern Uganda 

26 during the reporting period by the Government of 


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1 Uganda, each donor country, and all relevant organi2 zations. 

3 SEC. 9. DEFINITIONS. 

4 In this Act: 

5 (1) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON6 GRESS.—The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con7 gress’’ means the Committee on Appropriations and 

8 the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate 

9 and the Committee on Appropriations and the Com10 mittee on International Relations of the House of 

11 Representatives. 

12 (2) GREAT LAKES REGION.—The term ‘‘Great 

13 Lakes Region’’ means the region comprising Bu14 rundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, 

15 southern Sudan, and Uganda. 

16 (3) LRA-AFFECTED AREAS.—The term ‘‘LRA17 affected areas’’ means the territory affected by the 

18 activity of the Lord’s Resistance Army in the past 

19 and as of the date of the enactment of this Act, 

20 comprising all or parts of northern Uganda, south21 ern Sudan, northeastern Democratic Republic of 

22 Congo, and southeastern Central African Republic. 

Æ 


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