108TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2264

AN ACT

To require a report on the conflict in Uganda, 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,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Northern Uganda Cri5 sis Response Act’’.
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

2 Congress makes the following findings:

3 (1) The United States and the Republic of

4 Uganda enjoy a strong bilateral relationship and

5 continue to work closely together in fighting the

6 human immunodeficiency virus and acquired im7 mune deficiency syndrome (‘‘HIV/AIDS’’) pandemic

8 and combating international terrorism.

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

10 Uganda has been engaged in a conflict with the

11 Lord’s Resistance Army that has inflicted hardship

12 and suffering on the people of northern and eastern

13 Uganda.

14 (3) The members of the Lord’s Resistance

15 Army have used brutal tactics during this conflict,

16 including abducting and forcing individuals into sex17 ual servitude, and forcing a large number of chil18 dren, estimated to be between 16,000 and 26,000

19 children, in Uganda to serve in such Army’s military

20 forces.

21 (4) The Secretary of State has designated the

22 Lord’s Resistance Army as a terrorist organization

23 and placed the Lord’s Resistance Army on the Ter24 rorist Exclusion list pursuant to section 212(a)(3) of

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

26 1182(a)(3)).
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1 (5) According to Human Rights Watch, since

2 the mid-1990s the only known sponsor of the Lord’s

3 Resistance Army has been the Government of

4 Sudan, though such Government denies providing

5 assistance to the Lord’s Resistance Army.

6 (6) More than 1,000,000 people have been dis7 placed from their homes in Uganda as a result of

8 the conflict.

9 (7) The conflict has resulted in a lack of secu10 rity for the people of Uganda, and as a result of

11 such lack, each night more than 18,000 children

12 leave their homes and flee to the relative safety of

13 town centers, creating a massive ‘‘night commuter’’

14 phenomenon that leaves already vulnerable children

15 subject to exploitation and abuse.

16 (8) Individuals who have been displaced by the

17 conflict in Uganda often suffer from acute malnutri18 tion and the mortality rate for children in northern

19 Uganda who have been displaced is very high.

20 (9) In the latter part of 2003, humanitarian

21 and human rights organizations operating in north22 ern Uganda reported an increase in violence directed

23 at their efforts and at civilians, including a sharp in24 crease in child abductions.
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1 (10) The Government of Uganda’s military ef2 forts to resolve this conflict, including the arming

3 and training of local militia forces, have not ensured

4 the security of civilian populations in the region to

5 date.

6 (11) The continued instability and lack of secu7 rity in Uganda has severely hindered the ability of

8 any organization or governmental entity to deliver

9 regular humanitarian assistance and services to indi10 viduals who have been displaced or otherwise nega11 tively affected by the conflict.

12 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

13 It is the sense of Congress that the Government of

14 the United States should—

15 (1) work vigorously to support ongoing efforts

16 to explore the prospects for a peaceful resolution of

17 the conflict in northern and eastern Uganda;

18 (2) work with the Government of Uganda and

19 the international community to make available suffi20 cient resources to meet the immediate relief and de21 velopment needs of the towns and cities in Uganda

22 that are supporting large numbers of people who

23 have been displaced by the conflict;

24 (3) urge the Government of Uganda and the

25 international community to assume greater responsi-
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1 bility for the protection of civilians and economic de2 velopment in regions in Uganda affected by the con3 flict, and to place a high priority on providing secu4 rity, economic development, and humanitarian as5 sistance to the people of Uganda;

6 (4) work with the international community, the

7 Government of Uganda, and civil society in northern

8 and eastern Uganda to develop a plan whereby those

9 now displaced may return to their homes or to other

10 locations where they may become economically pro11 ductive;

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

13 Resistance Army to stop the abduction of children,

14 and urge all armed forces in Uganda to stop the use

15 of child soldiers, and seek the release of all individ16 uals who have been abducted;

17 (6) make available increased resources for as18 sistance to individuals who were abducted during the

19 conflict, child soldiers, and other children affected by

20 the conflict;

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

22 countries, and international organizations to ensure

23 that sufficient resources and technical support are

24 devoted to the demobilization and reintegration of
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1 rebel combatants and abductees forced by their cap2 tors to serve in non-combatant support roles;

3 (8) cooperate with the international community

4 to support civil society organizations and leaders in

5 Uganda, including Acholi religious leaders, who are

6 working toward a just and lasting resolution to the

7 conflict;

8 (9) urge the Government of Uganda to improve

9 the professionalism of Ugandan military personnel

10 currently stationed in northern and eastern Uganda,

11 with an emphasis on respect for human rights, ac12 countability for abuses, and effective civilian protec13 tion;

14 (10) work with the international community to

15 assist institutions of civil society in Uganda to in16 crease the capacity of such institutions to monitor

17 the human rights situation in northern Uganda and

18 to raise awareness of abuses of human rights that

19 occur in that area;

20 (11) urge the Government of Uganda to permit

21 international human rights monitors to establish a

22 presence in northern and eastern Uganda;

23 (12) monitor the creation of civilian militia

24 forces in northern and eastern Uganda and publicize

25 any concerns regarding the recruitment of children
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1 into such forces or the potential that the establish2 ment of such forces will invite increased targeting of

3 civilians in the conflict or exacerbate ethnic tension

4 and violence; and

5 (13) make clear that the relationship between

6 the Government of Sudan and the Government of

7 the United States cannot improve unless no credible

8 evidence indicates that authorities of the Govern9 ment of Sudan are complicit in efforts to provide

10 weapons or other support to the Lord’s Resistance

11 Army.

12 SEC. 4. REPORT.

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

14 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State

15 shall submit a report to the appropriate congressional

16 committees on the conflict in Uganda.

17 (b) CONTENT.—The report required by subsection

18 (a) shall include a description of the following:

19 (1) The individuals or entities that are pro20 viding financial and material support for the Lord’s

21 Resistance Army, including a description of any such

22 support provided by the Government of Sudan or by

23 senior officials of such Government.

24 (2) The activities of the Lord’s Resistance

25 Army that create obstacles that prohibit the provi-
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1 sion of humanitarian assistance or the protection of

2 the civilian population in Uganda.

3 (3) The practices employed by the Ugandan

4 People’s Defense Forces in northern and eastern

5 Uganda to ensure that children and civilians are

6 protected, that civilian complaints are addressed,

7 and that any member of the armed forces that

8 abuses a civilian is held accountable for such abuse.

9 (4) The actions carried out by the Government

10 of the United States, the Government of Uganda, or

11 the international community to protect civilians, es12 pecially women and children, who have been dis13 placed by the conflict in Uganda, including women

14 and children that leave their homes and flee to cities

15 and towns at night in search of security from sexual

16 exploitation and gender-based violence.

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

18 (a) shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may in19 clude a classified annex.

20 (d) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES

21 DEFINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate con22 gressional committees’’ means the Committee on Foreign
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1 Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Inter2 national Relations of the House of Representatives.

Passed the Senate May 7, 2004.

Attest:

Secretary.
108TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2264

AN ACT

To require a report on the conflict in Uganda, and

for other purposes.