[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 102 (Wednesday, July 21, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1440-E1441]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  NORTHERN UGANDA CRISIS RESPONSE ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON-LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 14, 2004

  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise to discuss current 
legislation S. 2246. I support this bill which would order the 
Secretary of State to issue a report on the situation in northern and 
eastern Uganda. This bill, if passed, would also place much needed 
pressure on the Ugandan Government to provide increased protection to 
innocent civilians, pressure the Lord's Resistance Army, under the 
leadership of Joseph Kony, to lay down its arms, and force the 
Government of Sudan to come clean about its relationship with the LRA.
  The people of Uganda have had enough. The fighting between the 
northern rebel group known as the Lord's Resistance Army and the 
Government of Uganda has gone on for more than 18 years. Their mission 
to overthrow the government is costing many people their lives and 
their livelihoods. As a result of the civil conflict, more than 1.4 
million people are displaced within Uganda. Furthermore, women and 
young girls are being brutally raped and humiliated, young boys are 
being abducted and forced to serve in the ranks of the rebel 
insurgency. Bodies have been maimed and many have died mercilessly.
  The most shameful piece of this story is that there are suspicions 
that the Government of Sudan, to the immediate north of Uganda, has and 
continues to aid LRA rebel forces with supplies and safety from 
Government of Uganda military forces. Such accusations, if true, demand 
the attention of the United States and the international community 
especially given the current crisis in Darfur.
  Before we can properly offer assistance to the Government of Uganda 
and the people of Uganda, we must have concrete information that 
accurately details the extent of the human devastation in Uganda. This 
bill, if passed, would place that information in our hands. Without a 
thorough knowledge of the situation in Uganda, we will be unable to 
provide humanitarian relief and assistance to millions of men, women, 
and children suffering under the hands of oppressive rebel tyrants.
  A report by the Secretary of State would be highly beneficial to 
human rights monitors, international humanitarian agencies, and 
lawmakers in the United States and around the world. It would explain 
the state of communications and infrastructure. It would explain the 
degree to which the rebels have permeated northern and eastern Uganda. 
It would explain the state of security and the degree to which 
civilians and outsiders are protected from vigilant rebels. Such 
information is crucial if we are to help lift the people of Uganda out 
of their current crisis and bring down the Lord's Resistance Army.
  Bringing an end to this campaign will keep Uganda on its current 
track toward stability, especially regarding the AIDS crisis. This 
nation has seen more than 800,000 of its people die from HIV/AIDS and 
has seen more than 1.5 million of its children orphaned by this deadly 
virus. On the bright side, though, this country has worked vigorously 
to curb those

[[Page E1441]]

numbers by implementing pro-active anti-HIV campaigns. As a result, its 
infection rate has been reduced from 30 percent in 1990 to 5 percent in 
2003.
  This is a country that is making real strides toward peace. If we 
remain passive while the Lord's Resistance Army marches on, we can be 
sure that the public health, education, technology, and agriculture 
infrastructures will deteriorate.
  Mr. Speaker, we must take this all-important step to learn as much as 
we can about what is happening in Uganda if we are to respond 
appropriately in the future. For the reasons stated above, I support S. 
2264.

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