2006 – 08 Juba talks The Juba talks were a series of negotiations between the government of Uganda and the Lord ' s Resistance Army rebel group over the terms of a ceasefire and possible peace agreement . The talks , held in Juba , the capital of autonomous Southern Sudan , began in July 2006 and were mediated by Riek Machar , the Vice President of Southern Sudan . The talks , which had resulted in a ceasefire by September 2006 , were described as the best chance ever for a negotiated settlement to the 20 - year - old war . However , LRA leader Joseph Kony refused to sign the peace agreement in April 2008 . Two months later , the LRA carried out an attack on a Southern Sudanese town , prompting the Government of Southern Sudan to officially withdraw from their mediation role . Preparations . A delegation from the LRA arrived in Juba , Sudan on 8 June 2006 to prepare for talks with the Ugandan government , to be mediated by the Government of Southern Sudan and by the Community of Sant ' Egidio . These talks were agreed to after Kony released a video in May in which he denied committing atrocities and seemed to call for an end to hostilities , in response to an announcement by Museveni that he would guarantee the safety of Kony if peace was agreed to by July . Museveni had pledged to grant Kony total amnesty if he gave up " terrorism " . Uganda ' s security minister Amama Mbabazi urged the International Criminal Court to drop the indictments issued in 2005 against leaders of the LRA , but LRA legal adviser Krispus Ayena Odongo rejected the offer , saying that accepting amnesty " presupposes surrender " and would mean the LRA was no longer available for discussions . Several organizations , including the ICC and the International Bar Association ' s Human Rights Institute insisted that LRA leaders must be arrested in accordance with the Rome Statute . Joseph Kony gave his first interview to the press after 20 years of carrying out the conflict in late June 2006 . He denied that the LRA had carried out any atrocities and blamed President Museveni for oppressing the Acholi . Regardless , in late June 2006 , the Government of Southern Sudan formally invited Uganda to attend peace talks . Initial negotiations . On July 14 , 2006 talks began in Juba between delegations from the LRA and Uganda , with the Vice - president of Southern Sudan Riek Machar as the chief mediator . The leader of the Ugandan delegation , Internal Affairs Minister Ruhakana Rugunda stated that his priority was to obtain a quick ceasefire . The LRA delegation , led by Martin Ojul , said that LRA ' s acceptance of the peace talks should not be interpreted that LRA can no longer fight , but stressed that a negotiated settlement is the best way to end the conflict . The initial delegation was criticized as largely consisting of expatriate Acholi , rather than members of the fighting force . However , after many delays Vincent Otti arrived for meetings on the 29th , followed the next day by Kony ' s 14 - year old son Salim Saleh Kony ( sharing a name with brother of President Museveni , Salim Saleh ) . Kony himself met with local religious and political leaders from northern Uganda and southern Sudan on the following day . On 2 August , Kony held his first ever press conference in which he demanded a ceasefire before LRA - government negotiations resumed on the 7th and denied ever abducting children . Some media sources noted that , of the approximately 80 LRA fighters surrounding the press venue , several appeared to be in their early teens . The broader context of the talks remained confused . The government of Southern Sudan views the talks as a means of ridding itself of a foreign army that is complicating their delicate relationship with the Khartoum government . The request by the Ugandan Government for ICC to suspend war crimes indictments against leaders of the LRA , condemned by international human rights groups but largely supported by leaders and civilians within northern Uganda , led some political analysts to see Ugandan Government ' s request as a ploy to gain local support . The comment of a George Olara , an IDP living in a camp in Pader , was fairly typical : " He [ Kony ] should not be taken to The Hague . Let him come back and live with the community because this is how reconciliation will be achieved . . . . Peace will come if the talks succeed , but there is the potential that they may also fail like they have done before " . Ceasefire . On 4 August 2006 , Vincent Otti declared a unilateral ceasefire and asked the Ugandan government to reciprocate . Ugandan Internal Affairs Minister Ruhakana Rugunda stated that they were waiting to see the effect on the ground . ICC indictee Raska Lukwiya was killed in battle on 12 August 2006 ; the LRA asked for three days of mourning though a spokesman said that talks would continue . Ugandan President Museveni set a 12 September 2006 deadline to finalize a peace deal . The government and LRA signed a truce on 26 August 2006 . Under the terms of the agreement , LRA forces were required to leave Uganda and gather in two assembly areas , where the Ugandan government promised they would not attack and the government of Southern Sudan guaranteed their safety . Once this is accomplished , talks on a comprehensive peace agreement would begin . Although a final agreement was not reached by the 12 August deadline , LRA rebels began gathering in the assembly areas and the government delegation stated that they would not hold to the deadline . Machar stated that several hundred rebels , including Otti , had gathered either at Ri - Kwangba in West Equatoria or Owiny Ki - Bul in East Equatoria . The government also began a process of creating " satellite camps " to decongest the main IDP camps . In Pader , 28 satellite sites were occupied out of 48 identified as of late September 2006 , while the numbers in Kitgum were 21 of 36 . IDPs farther south in Teso and Lango were being encouraged to return home directly . However , talks continued to be delayed . On 23 September , the LRA delegation threatened to walk out of the negotiations , claiming that the UPDF had attacked their forces at Owiny Ki - Bul and demanding that composition of the government delegation be changed and that the ICC warrants be voided before any agreement . Uganda denied the accusation of attacks . Both delegations met with mediator Riek Machar on 25 September 2006 , but not with each other . Attacks . The negotiations were paused in early October while a Cessation of Hostilities monitoring team was sent to Owiny Ki - Bul . The team found that no attack had taken place , but that the LRA had simply moved away from the designated site . The team recommended that the LRA rebels regroup at Owiny Ki - Bul , while stating that the LRA had not honored the agreement and was using hostile propaganda , that the UPDF was located close to the assembly points and that the mediators had failed to provide armed guards for the assembled rebels . On 11 October 2006 , the LRA proposed that Uganda adopt a federalist structure , prompting criticism from the government spokesperson . On 20 October 2006 , Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni traveled to Juba to meet the LRA negotiators face - to - face for the first time in an attempt to revive the talks , described as " stalled " by " BBC News " and " faltering " by " The Monitor " newspaper . A Uganda government source reported that the president spoke angrily and rebuked the LRA team several times , before later referring to the LRA as " unserious " in a subsequent address to South Sudan government officials . A pall had been thrown over the talks by the murder of several dozen civilians , including the shooting of women and children in the head , near Juba during the two previous days . The attacks were carried out by an as - yet unnamed group , but some suspected that the LRA was responsible for the mayhem . After a week - long impasse , the LRA and government signed a second truce on 1 November 2006 that mandated the monitoring team until 1 December . The previous agreement had technically expired in September . As part of the agreement , the army was to withdraw from Owiny Ki - Bul , past a 30 - km ( 18 - mi ) buffer zone . The LRA was given a week to regroup at Owiny Ki - Bul , and four weeks to gather at Ri - Kwangba . Both Kony and Otti refused to enter the camps , citing fear of arrest on the ICC warrants . The agreement further stated that food would not be provided to LRA units outside the assembly points except in " exceptional circumstances " . In one of the most significant moments for the LRA during the talks , United Nations Undersecretary - General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland met with Kony and Otti in the hopes of pushing the talks forward on 12 November 2006 . Egeland had previously stated that he would meet with Kony only if the LRA released abducted children and wounded members , but Kony denied that anyone in the LRA was either wounded or held against their will . The LRA declared that it was withdrawing from the talks on November 30 , stating that UPDF had killed three of its fighters . The deadline for the LRA fighters to finish gathering at the assembly points was 1 December . Uganda denied the charge . Also , outgoing United Nations Secretary - General Kofi Annan appointed Joaquim Chissano , former president of Mozambique , to be the UN envoy to the conflict . The truce was further extended for two more months on 18 December . On 2007 - 01 - 12 , Ojul stated that recent comments made by al - Bashir and Kiir clearly signified that the LRA was not welcome any longer in Sudan , and that further talks should occur in Kenya instead . On 14 March 2007 the LRA stated it would once again return to the Juba talks . After South Africa , Kenya and Mozambique agreed to join the peace talks ( a demand the LRA had made before it would return to Juba ) , the next round of talks was held from 13 April to 14 April 2007 . In this round , the ceasefire was extended until 30 June 2007 , and Ri Kwangba was the agreed upon assembly point . The next round of talks was set for 25 April 2007 . Resumption . Following this suspension in the peace talks , the Juba Initiative Project enabled the resumption of the talks in May 2007 , thanks to the efforts of the Special Representative of the Secretary - General for LRA - affected areas Joaquim Chissano . The talks were again mediated by the Government of Southern Sudan , but with the support of the United Nations and logistic facilitation from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs ( OCHA ) , under the leadership of her local head Eliane Duthoit . On 29 June 2007 , the sides agreed to the principles of how justice and reconciliation will be handled , the third of the five - point agenda . The LRA and government agreed that both formal justice procedures and the traditional Mato Oput ceremony of reconciliation would play a role . Government delegation spokesperson Barigye Ba - Hoku stated that they would attempt to convince the ICC that this would address their concerns about impunity and that arrests under ICC auspices would not be necessary . In November 2007 , an LRA delegation led by Martin Ojul journeyed to Kampala to restate their commitment to a peaceful resolution of the conflict . Ojul later led the delegation on a tour of northern Uganda to meet victims of the insurgency and ask their forgiveness . However , reports surfaced that LRA deputy commander Otti had been executed on or around 8 October 2007 over an internal power struggle with Kony . On 2007 - 12 - 20 , the government set an ultimatum for the peace talks to conclude by 2008 - 01 - 31 , threatening that a new military offensive otherwise . The death of Vincent Otti , confirmed in mid - January 2008 , was reported to threaten the success of the talks . Talks resumed on 30 January 2008 , and the ceasefire was extended until 29 February 2008 . The European Union and the United States joined the negotiations , increasing the number of observers to eight . A breakthrough in negotiations was reached on 3 February 2008 regarding accountability and reconciliation . A deal was signed on 19 February 2008 which decided that the war crimes would be tried in a special section of the High Court of Uganda , thus bypassing the International Criminal Court and also removing one of the last obstacles to a final peace deal . On 22 February 2008 , the rebels walked out of the talks again after being denied senior government posts . However , shortly thereafter they signed another breakthrough agreement according to which they " would be considered for government and army posts " , but not automatically appointed . A permanent ceasefire to come into effect 24 hours after the signing a comprehensive peace treaty ( expected by 29 February 2008 ) was agreed upon on 23 February 2008 . More problems appeared on 28 February 2008 : The rebels demand a retraction of the ICC indictments , but the Ugandan government only wants to ask the UN to do that after the rebels have demobilised . An accord on Disarmament , Demobilisation and Reintegration was signed late on 29 February 2008 , leaving the signing of the peace treaty itself as the last missing action . The truce was extended until 28 March 2008 , and the final peace talks will continue on 12 March 2008 . The ICC prosecutor - general Luis Moreno - Ocampo on 5 March 2008 rejected demands by the rebels for a meeting , stating that " arrest warrants issued by the court . . . remain in effect and have to be executed " . it was reported that rebel leader Kony would nonetheless come out of the bush to sign the peace agreement on 28 March 2008 , with the implicit agreement that he will not be apprehended and transferred to the ICC while out in the open ; such an action was also thought to likely see a remobilisation of his rebel army . Furthermore , it was suggested that Uganda should lobby at the United Nations Security Council to suspend the ICC indictments for a year . On 12 March 2008 , as final talks were set to continue , the ICC inquired as to the precise definition of the powers of the proposed intra - Ugandan war crimes court section , in a move seen as softening the indictments on the LRA rebels . The final signing of the peace deal was delayed on 26 March 2008 from 28 March 2008 to 3 April 2008 ; while the ceasefire was not formally extended with this deadline , both parties were expected to continue adhering to it . The signing was then further delayed to 5 April 2008 . It was later announced that Kony would sign the deal in the bush two days before that . However , this was postponed to 10 April 2008 ; reportedly , Kony was suffering from diarrhoea . The ICC inquired as to the precise nature of the special courts in Uganda . Kony delayed the signing of the final treaty further on 10 April 2008 , reportedly asking for more information about what kind of punishments he could face . He later clarified that he wanted to know further details about how " mato - oput " , the Acholi traditional justice , would be used , and how exactly the special division of the High Court would work ; he then suspended the peace talks and appointed a new negotiating team , claiming to " have been misled " . Specifically , Kony fired chief LRA negotiator David Nyakorach Matsanga and replaced him with James Obita . Kony subsequently failed to show up at Nabanga to sign the treaty . Collapse . The government subsequently stated that they would return to Juba and Kampala , as the LRA had broken the agreement , and that the ceasefire agreement would not be extended . The next steps of both sides are unclear . Diplomats unsuccessfully tried to restart the talks on 26 April 2008 . On 26 May 2008 , the government set up a special war crimes court with the mandate to try the LRA in an attempt to convince the ICC to withdraw its indictments against LRA leaders . Since April 2008 , the LRA had begun rearming and abducting recruits , with the " BBC " stating that 1000 new abductees had been added to the 600 old LRA fighters by June . Lord ' s Resistance Army negotiator James Obita stated that on 4 June 2008 , the Southern Sudan army attacked an LRA encampment killing two , though this is unconfirmed . On 5 June 2008 , the LRA attacked the Sudan People ' s Liberation Army / Movement ( SPLA ) camp at Nabanga , killing 21 , seven soldiers and 14 civilians , before killing a local chief in the nearby village of Yamba . The LRA fighters burnt the SPLA camp before returning to Ri - Kwangba . This occurred as Kony reappointed Matsanga as chief negotiator . Matsanga claimed on June 6 to have contacted UN Envoy Joaquim Chissano to revive the talks ; Chissano subsequently arrived in Kampala for talks with President Museveni on June 7 . However , the Government of Southern Sudan announced on June 8 that they would no longer mediate , with Information Minister Gabriel Changson Cheng noting that there were multiple reasons for the decision , including the recent attack and the apparent lack of interest in the peace process on the part of the Ugandan government . The governments of the nations in which the LRA is active met earlier in the week and all suggested military action . In December 2008 the United Nations Security Council agreed with a Joaquim Chissano ' s recommendation that the peace efforts should continue will continuing to support the ICC arrest warrants .