IV 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 542 

Condemning the ongoing attacks by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) 

which have affected innocent civilians in Uganda, South Sudan, Central 

African Republic, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 12, 2009 

Mr. GARRETT of New Jersey (for himself, Mr. MORAN of Kansas, Mr. 

KISSELL, and Mr. MCGOVERN) submitted the following resolution; which 

was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Condemning the ongoing attacks by the Lord’s Resistance 

Army (LRA) which have affected innocent civilians in 

Uganda, South Sudan, Central African Republic, and 

the Democratic Republic of Congo, and for other purposes. 

Whereas for over two decades, the Government of Uganda 

has been engaged in an armed conflict with the Lord’s 

Resistance Army (LRA) that resulted in as many as 

200,000 civilian deaths from violence and disease, as well 

as the displacement of more than 1,600,000 people from 

eastern and northern Uganda; 

Whereas the LRA has also occupied and caused severe insecurity and humanitarian crises in northeastern DemoVerDate Nov 24 2008 00:05 Jun 13, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR542.IH HR542

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•HRES 542 IH 

cratic Republic of Congo and southern Sudan, and abducted innocent civilians in southeastern Central African 

Republic; 

Whereas Joseph Kony, the leader of the LRA, and several of 

his top commanders have been indicted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes 

against humanity, including rape, murder, enslavement, 

and sexual enslavement, and have forcibly recruited tens 

of thousands of children; 

Whereas in April 2008, after nearly two years of peace negotiations mediated by the Government of South Sudan, 

Joseph Kony refused to sign the Final Peace Agreement 

with the Government of Uganda; 

Whereas Joseph Kony subsequently refused to sign the Final 

Peace Agreement in May, September, and November of 

2008 despite continued efforts by mediators and civil society leaders to meet with him and clarify the terms of 

the agreement; 

Whereas in March of 2008, despite being engaged in negotiations to finalize the Final Peace Agreement, the LRA 

raided several villages in southeastern Central Africa Republic and southern Sudan, abducting 150 people, including 23 children; 

Whereas since September 2008, Joseph Kony has directed 

the LRA to engage in systematic, large-scale violence 

against innocent civilians in the Democratic Republic of 

Congo and South Sudan that has resulted in the— 

(1) deliberate killing of over 1,000 Congolese and 

Sudanese civilians until January 2009, which, according 

to research done by Genocide Intervention Network, conVerDate Nov 24 2008 00:05 Jun 13, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR542.IH HR542

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•HRES 542 IH 

stitutes the deadliest violence in Africa during that time 

period; 

(2) deaths of over 200 Congolese civilians on December 25, 2008, in a series of coordinated rebel attacks that 

targeted civilians gathering to celebrate Christmas, according to Human Rights Watch; 

(3) displacement of 150,000 Congolese and 36,000 

Sudanese civilians from their homes, many of whom do 

not have access to essential humanitarian assistance; and 

(4) abduction of over 450 children; 

Whereas military forces and United Nations peacekeepers in 

the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan have been 

unable to protect civilians from LRA attacks; 

Whereas the Ugandan military, working in conjunction with 

the militaries of the Democratic Republic of Congo and 

South Sudan, launched a regional military offensive, 

‘‘Operation Lightning Thunder’’, against LRA bases in 

Congolese territory on December 14, 2008; 

Whereas ‘‘Operation Lightning Thunder’’ did not adequately 

protect civilians in the Democratic Republic of Congo and 

South Sudan from LRA attacks, which dramatically increased in frequency and brutality after December 14, 

2008, and did not result in the capture of Joseph Kony 

nor pressure him to sign and abide by the Final Peace 

Agreement; and 

Whereas the United States military’s Africa Command provided logistical and technical support to regional militaries involved in ‘‘Operation Lightning Thunder’’: Now, 

therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 


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•HRES 542 IH 

1 (1) condemns the decision by Joseph Kony, the 

2 leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), to not 

3 sign the Final Peace Agreement with the Govern4 ment of Uganda and to instead order LRA rebels to 

5 resume large-scale attacks against innocent civilians; 

6 (2) expresses the support of the citizens of the 

7 United States for civilians in central Africa who 

8 have suffered from LRA attacks and abductions; 

9 (3) urges Joseph Kony to sign the Final Peace 

10 Agreement and ensure the LRA takes concrete, gen11 uine steps to abide by its terms, including halting all 

12 attacks on civilian populations; 

13 (4) urges the military forces of Uganda, the 

14 Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Re15 public, and South Sudan, as well as United Nations 

16 peacekeeping forces in the region, to protect civilians 

17 from further LRA attacks, ensure all offensive oper18 ations target only top LRA commanders and avoid 

19 endangering abducted children and noncombatants, 

20 and strengthen ongoing efforts to facilitate the de21 mobilization and reintegration of lower-level combat22 ants, captives, and noncombatants; and 

23 (5) calls for President Barack Obama to ap24 point a senior diplomat dedicated to addressing the 

25 destabilizing impact of LRA atrocities in the region, 


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•HRES 542 IH 

1 improving civilian protection, and working with re2 gional and international governments to find a per3 manent solution to the crisis. 

Æ 


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