[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 75 (Tuesday, May 18, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E863]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




LORD'S RESISTANCE ARMY DISARMAMENT AND NORTHERN UGANDA RECOVERY ACT OF 
                                  2009

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                          HON. EARL BLUMENAUER

                               of oregon

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 12, 2010

  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, the decades-long, unresolved crisis 
caused by the Lord's Resistance Army, LRA, is one of Africa's longest 
running and most gruesome rebel wars. For over 20 years, Uganda, a 
country slightly smaller than Oregon, and its neighbors have suffered 
from brutal massacres and torture instigated by the LRA. Originally 
based in northern Uganda, the LRA have infiltrated northeastern Congo, 
southern Sudan, and the Central African Republic. The humanitarian 
crisis has resulted in the torture, rape, and death of thousands of 
civilians and the displacement of over 1.5 million people. Over the 
past decade, the LRA has abducted over 20,000 children for forced 
conscription and sexual exploitation. In northern Uganda, children 
living outside protected camps often leave their homes at night to 
sleep in hospitals or churches for fear of attack.
  The ongoing crisis in Central Africa instigated by the LRA demands 
more attention, more support, and a more effective plan of action. A 
fellow Oregonian and constituent of mine, Lisa Shannon, founded the 
``Run for Congo Women,'' which has grown into a global movement that 
has raised over $600,000 for Women for Women International's Congo 
program.
  I'm pleased that we can help her efforts with S. 1067, which directs 
the administration to develop a strategy to protect civilians and 
increase aid and awareness about the effects of the war on the people, 
governments, and economies of the region. We must act to help Uganda 
and the three other LRA-affected countries aid their displaced citizens 
and rebuild their basic services, government, and economic 
infrastructure.

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