II 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2264 

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

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 31, 2004 

Mr. FEINGOLD (for himself and Mr. ALEXANDER) introduced the following 

bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

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’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 

8 (1) The United States and the Republic of 

9 Uganda enjoy a strong bilateral relationship and 

10 continue to work closely together in fighting the 

11 human immunodeficiency virus and acquired im-
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1 mune deficiency syndrome (‘‘HIV/AIDS’’) pandemic 

2 and combating international terrorism. 

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

4 Uganda has been engaged in a conflict with the 

5 Lord’s Resistance Army that has inflicted hardship 

6 and suffering on the people of northern and eastern 

7 Uganda. 

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

9 Army have used brutal tactics during this conflict, 

10 including abducting and forcing individuals into sex11 ual servitude, and forcing a large number of chil12 dren, estimated to be between 16,000 and 26,000 

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

14 forces. 

15 (4) The Secretary of State has designated the 

16 Lord’s Resistance Army as a terrorist organization 

17 and placed the Lord’s Resistance Army on the Ter18 rorist Exclusion list pursuant to section 212(a)(3) of 

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

20 1182(a)(3)). 

21 (5) According to Human Rights Watch, since 

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

23 Resistance Army has been the Government of 

24 Sudan, though such Government denies providing 

25 assistance to the Lord’s Resistance Army. 
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1 (6) More than 1,000,000 people have been dis2 placed from their homes in Uganda as a result of 

3 the conflict. 

4 (7) The conflict has resulted in a lack of secu5 rity for the people of Uganda, and as a result of 

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

7 leave their homes and flee to the relative safety of 

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

9 phenomenon that leaves already vulnerable children 

10 subject to exploitation and abuse. 

11 (8) Individuals who have been displaced by the 

12 conflict in Uganda often suffer from acute malnutri13 tion and the mortality rate for children in northern 

14 Uganda who have been displaced is very high. 

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

16 and human rights organizations operating in north17 ern Uganda reported an increase in violence directed 

18 at their efforts and at civilians, including a sharp in19 crease in child abductions. 

20 (10) The Government of Uganda’s military ef21 forts to resolve this conflict, including the arming 

22 and training of local militia forces, have not ensured 

23 the security of civilian populations in the region to 

24 date. 
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1 (11) The continued instability and lack of secu2 rity in Uganda has severely hindered the ability of 

3 any organization or governmental entity to deliver 

4 regular humanitarian assistance and services to indi5 viduals who have been displaced or otherwise nega6 tively affected by the conflict. 

7 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

8 It is the sense of Congress that the Government of 

9 the United States should— 

10 (1) work vigorously to support ongoing efforts 

11 to explore the prospects for a peaceful resolution of 

12 the conflict in northern and eastern Uganda; 

13 (2) work with the Government of Uganda and 

14 the international community to make available suffi15 cient resources to meet the immediate relief and de16 velopment needs of the towns and cities in Uganda 

17 that are supporting large numbers of people who 

18 have been displaced by the conflict; 

19 (3) urge the Government of Uganda and the 

20 international community to assume greater responsi21 bility for the protection of civilians and economic de22 velopment in regions in Uganda affected by the con23 flict, and to place a high priority on providing secu24 rity, economic development, and humanitarian as25 sistance to the people of Uganda; 
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1 (4) work with the international community, the 

2 Government of Uganda, and civil society in northern 

3 and eastern Uganda to develop a plan whereby those 

4 now displaced may return to their homes or to other 

5 locations where they may become economically pro6 ductive; 

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

8 Resistance Army to stop the abduction of children, 

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

10 of child soldiers, and seek the release of all individ11 uals who have been abducted; 

12 (6) make available increased resources for as13 sistance to individuals who were abducted during the 

14 conflict, child soldiers, and other children affected by 

15 the conflict; 

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

17 countries, and international organizations to ensure 

18 that sufficient resources and technical support are 

19 devoted to the demobilization and reintegration of 

20 rebel combatants and abductees forced by their cap21 tors to serve in non-combatant support roles; 

22 (8) cooperate with the international community 

23 to support civil society organizations and leaders in 

24 Uganda, including Acholi religious leaders, who are 
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1 working toward a just and lasting resolution to the 

2 conflict; 

3 (9) urge the Government of Uganda to improve 

4 the professionalism of Ugandan military personnel 

5 currently stationed in northern and eastern Uganda, 

6 with an emphasis on respect for human rights, ac7 countability for abuses, and effective civilian protec8 tion; 

9 (10) work with the international community to 

10 assist institutions of civil society in Uganda to in11 crease the capacity of such institutions to monitor 

12 the human rights situation in northern Uganda and 

13 to raise awareness of abuses of human rights that 

14 occur in that area; 

15 (11) urge the Government of Uganda to permit 

16 international human rights monitors to establish a 

17 presence in northern and eastern Uganda; 

18 (12) monitor the creation of civilian militia 

19 forces in northern and eastern Uganda and publicize 

20 any concerns regarding the recruitment of children 

21 into such forces or the potential that the establish22 ment of such forces will invite increased targeting of 

23 civilians in the conflict or exacerbate ethnic tension 

24 and violence; and 
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1 (13) make clear that the relationship between 

2 the Government of Sudan and the Government of 

3 the United States cannot improve unless no credible 

4 evidence indicates that authorities of the Govern5 ment of Sudan are complicit in efforts to provide 

6 weapons or other support to the Lord’s Resistance 

7 Army. 

8 SEC. 4. REPORT. 

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

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

11 shall submit a report to the appropriate congressional 

12 committees on the conflict in Uganda. 

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

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

15 (1) The individuals or entities that are pro16 viding financial and material support for the Lord’s 

17 Resistance Army, including a description of any such 

18 support provided by the Government of Sudan or by 

19 senior officials of such Government. 

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

21 Army that create obstacles that prohibit the provi22 sion of humanitarian assistance or the protection of 

23 the civilian population in Uganda. 

24 (3) The practices employed by the Ugandan 

25 People’s Defense Forces in northern and eastern 
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1 Uganda to ensure that children and civilians are 

2 protected, that civilian complaints are addressed, 

3 and that any member of the armed forces that 

4 abuses a civilian is held accountable for such abuse. 

5 (4) The actions carried out by the Government 

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

7 the international community to protect civilians, es8 pecially women and children, who have been dis9 placed by the conflict in Uganda, including women 

10 and children that leave their homes and flee to cities 

11 and towns at night in search of security from sexual 

12 exploitation and gender-based violence. 

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

14 (a) shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may in15 clude a classified annex. 

16 (d) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES

17 DEFINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate con18 gressional committees’’ means the Committee on Foreign 

19 Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Inter20 national Relations of the House of Representatives. 

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