Child Soldiers in Uganda: A Humanitarian and Moral Crisis

1. Child Soldiers in Uganda: A Humanitarian and Moral Crisis

2. The Lord’s Resistance Army • The LRA is a group of rouge soldiers who are based in Sudan, but have focused much of their efforts on disrupting and overthrowing the Ugandan government • They employ brutal tactics to help carry out their “divine mission” This map shows the wide spread nature of the LRA in northern Uganda (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord%27s_Resistance_Army_insurgency)

3. Joseph Kony: The Leader of the LRA Joseph Kony is opperating under the ideal that he is fighting for a biblical purification of Africans who practice religions outside of Christianity Joseph Kony, the leader of the LRA and wanted for several war crimes (http://www.wbur.org/)

4. Conditions Leading to Child Solidarity • Uganda has not only one of the worst economies in Africa, but in the entire world, which leaves its entire population vulnerable • The LRA has done everything in their power not only to diminish crop supplies (Uganda’s main product), but also to destabilize the government • The LRA employs brutal tactics to the children which make them physically and psychologically dependant on the army (e.g. many children are forced to kill their parents) Uganda’s economic state is beyond dire and the LRA has only furthered this depression (http://earthtrends.wri.org/text/economics-business/country-profile-186.html)

5. LRA’s Use of Child Soldiers • Children are common victims of human trafficking, and the majority of them are young boys who are kidnapped, and forced to fight for the LRA • Children are seen as easily acquirable, and dispensable soldiers for the LRA • Child Soldiers make up almost 90% of the LRA Just one of many abducted children forced to fight for the LRA (http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474978440388)

6. Protecting The Victims Invisible children has been implementing a efficient and helpful 5 step process to help the victims of forced child soldiers (http://invisiblechildrenunited.blogspot.com/2007_07_01_archive.html)

7. Step 1: Expanding Communication and Awareness Efforts • Step 1 Efforts: • Expanding radio and communication resources and use of resources through the Early Warning Radio Network • The implication and use of LRA crisis trackers • Launching Mobile Response Teams This is an example of a LRA Crisis Tracker that has been deployed (http://www.theresolve.org/blog/archives/3071030183) Desired and realistic Results: The creating and use of these strategies will help alert the most vulnerable communities and children, in addition to warning the local security forces to the activity of the LRA. Projects have already been funded, dispatched, and are helping to save lives like the LRA crisis tracking being given to local governments, and the expansion of the Early Warning Radio Network.

8. Step 2: Encouraging Defection of LRA Member • Efforts: • FM radio broadcasts about how and why members of the LRA • Distribution of educational fliers to help discourage involvement in the LRA and to convince LRA members to return to their former lives • Results: • Radio broadcasts are constantly aired across effected areas, and they are proving useful tactics in reducing participation in the LRA Anti-LRA poster (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=28941039741)

9. Step 3: Reunifying and Rehabilitating Victims • Efforts: • The primary effort is to help children who are victims to be reunified with their families • This organization also wants to help all members of communities who are affected by this form of human trafficking • They finally want to reintegrate the victims into their communities Picture of the rehabilitation center in the DRC (http://blog.invisiblechildren.com/tag/rehabilitation-center/) Results: This organization has already built a center to victims to be reunited and reintegrated with their communities. They built a massive center to help these victims in the Democratic Republic of Congo, because of its unaffiliation with the LRA.

10. Step 4: Helping Effected Communities • Efforts: • These efforts are focused on helping communities to be better prepared and thus less effected by this issue in the future • They want to first implement better schools for effected areas in northern Uganda • Recently with the LRA’s effects on farming output, they wish to help stimulate local economies One schoolroom in Uganda (http://www.teachersolidarity.com/blog/ugandan-teachers-threaten-strike-for-funding/) Results: With an improved standard for education in Uganda, this agency wishes to help provide greater opportunities for children, thus helping stem the vulnerable state of Northern Uganda as of the present.

11. Step 5: Prosecution and Arrests of LRA Members and Leaders Warrant for Joseph Kony, leader of LRA. (http://www.enoughproject.org/publications/president-obamas-lra-strategy-report-card) • Efforts: • This agency cannot perform these specific tasks, and the burden is on the international community • The International Criminal Courts (ICC) has placed warrants on Joseph Kony, the leader of the LRA, and all adult members • The US has based mobilization champagnes and other technologies to help push for the arrest of these wanted criminals Results: These steps are not enough to end LRA activities and involvement with child soldiers. The arresting and just prosecution of key figures in the LRA regime needs to occur if the use of child soldiers is realistically supposed to come to an end.

12. Action Statement As outlined earlier, Uganda is not in an economic or political state to be able to put an end to the use of child soldiers, or to overthrow the LRA. The UN and the most powerful nations in the world need to focus their efforts on arresting and prosecuting the leaders of the LRA. Uganda has fallen pray to the LRA because of its desperate economic state, and its unstable government. The implementation of strategies such as the increased communication and helping provide new opportunities for Uganda. More actions need to be taken like President Obama’s deployment of over 100 military advisors to help in the capture of Kony. Without a international effort to end this issue, it realistically cannot be fixed. (http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/en/drip.html )

13. Furthering American Actions in Uganda More actions need to be taken like President Obama’s deployment of over 100 military advisors to help in the capture of Kony. Obama has also stationed troops in several countries in Africa, including Uganda, to help in peace talks between the LRA and other governments. Without a international effort to end this issue, it realistically cannot be fixed. No other countries have made an effort to help end the actions of the LRA. American Troops stationed in Uganda (http://blogs.reuters.com/global/tag/bin-laden/)

14. Peace Treaty Talks of a peace treaty have filled people with a hope that peace between the LRA radicals and the Ugandan government is possible. Without a realistic pressure from the international community however, these peace treaties will never become a reality. Governments around the world need to step up and put a political and military based pressure on the LRA to end its actions, or further actions will be taken

15. The Arrest and Prosecution of Joseph Kony Joseph Kony is motivating many people to commit horrible crimes through fear. He has displaced over two million Africans and is still committed to his goal of disrupting the Ugandan government and terrorizing the people of northern Uganda. The international community needs to take responsibility for the arrest of this madman. Joseph Kony is wanted for crimes against humanity (http://kabiza.com/joseph-kony-lra-updates.htm) To take control of the country and insure prolonged security, countries need to utilize their militaristic strengths and technological resources to help the execute the warrants for Joseph Kony

16. Education for New Opportunities The cause the issue besides the obvious humanitarian issues of the LRA, is the dire economic state of Uganda. With such poor and few schools, there are almost no opportunities for advancement in any field besides a dwindling agricultural field. More efforts need to be made again from international This is one example of the very few international schools in Uganda to help improve the standards for education (http://www.fbwgroup.com/projects/educational/isu.html) powers, and also a greater emphasis on education must be implemented in Uganda. Without a solid educational background, there is no real opportunity for growth in the economic sector for Uganda, and they will continue to rely on the harsh and unpredictable weather in Africa.

17. Further Resources This is a good source that explains the madness of the humanitarian disaster that has plagued Uganda in a general way: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYURvl8WXFU This video explains in more detail the role children play in the LRA: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oe1kcEXIUnI&feature=relmfu

18. Works Cited • BBC. "BBC NEWS | Africa | Profile: Uganda's LRA rebels." BBC News - Home. Version 1. BBC, 6 Feb. 2004. Web. 25 Oct. 2011. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3462901.stm>. • "Invisible Children - Protection Plan." Invisible Children - Home. Version 1. Invisible Children Agency , 25 Oct. 2011. Web. 25 Oct. 2011. <http://www.invisiblechildren.com/protectionplan>. • "Uganda: Child soldiers at centre of mounting humanitarian crisis." UN.org . Version 1. United Nations, n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2011. <www.un.org/events/tenstories/06/story.asp?storyID=100 >. Picture citations below individual pictures*

19. Child Soldiers in Burma

20. Brief Overview • Burma has the largest number of child soldiers in the world • The majority are found in the national army • The national army recruits children as young as eleven years old • Opposition groups also use child soldiers • There is estimated to be 350,000 child soldiers in Burma

21. The soldiers are taken against their will. Boys are often taken at train and bus stations, markets and other public places. They are told they will be sent to jail if they do not join the army. They are sent to camps to undergo weapons training and are brutally beaten. There are accounts of boys being beaten to death after trying to run away. Once deployed, soldiers are forced to carry out violations against human rights including executions.

22. The National Army • The Burmese National Army is known as the TatmadawKyi or the Myanmar Armed Forces • The armed forces are administered by the Ministry of defence • The current leader is General Min AungHlaing • It is divided into air force, navy, police, frontier forces and army

23. Opposition Army • The largest opposition force is the United Wa State Army • They also have the largest number of child soldiers amongst opposition groups • The Kachin independence army also forcibly recruits children and is the only army to recruit girls • Other opposition forces include Shan State Army, Karen National Liberation Army and the Karenni Army have said they will not recruit children under 18 but have children actively joining their forces

24. Burma and the Law • International law prohibits government forces or armed groups from recruiting children under the age of fifteen • Such recruitment is seen as a war crime • Burma is a party to the Convention on the rights of the child, but has not yet signed and ratified the optional protocol • Human rights watch called on Burma to end their use of children as soldiers, but as of yet Burma continues to use children in this horrific way