[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 75 (Tuesday, May 18, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E864]
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. GWEN MOORE

                              of wisconsin

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 12, 2010

  Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my 
strong support for S. 1067, the LRA Disarmament and Northern Uganda 
Recovery Act.
  I am grateful for the leadership that has brought this important 
legislation--which I am pleased to cosponsor--to the floor and to bring 
visibility, focus, and renewed attention and resources to what some 
have called an Invisible Conflict.
  For too long, the Lord's Resistance Army, LRA, has been conducting a 
campaign of violence and terror against the people of northern Uganda 
which has spread to southern Sudan and parts of the Democratic Republic 
of Congo and the Central African Republic.
  In each of these areas, the LRA is destroying lives and communities. 
Women and children are particularly targeted by this vicious group and 
have suffered harsh abuses and atrocities at the hands of the LRA and 
its ruthless leaders.
  Joseph Kony, the man directing this group's atrocious and senseless 
violence, and two other LRA commanders are wanted for war crimes and 
crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court. The ICC 
indictment lists 33 charges against him including murder, enslavement, 
sexual enslavement, rape, intentionally directing attacks against 
civilian population, and the forced enlisting of children into the 
rebel ranks.
  Just last week, media reports indicated that the UN is investigating 
new allegations of a previously unreported LRA attack in February in a 
very remote part of the Democratic Republic of Congo that killed over 
100 people.
  Unfortunately, unless more attention and resources are paid to 
stopping the LRA, we will probably only continue to hear more similar 
disheartening and tragic reports in the coming months and weeks.
  It is clear that current efforts to apprehend Kony and other LRA 
leaders are not working and vulnerable civilians in the region continue 
to pay the price with their lives for that failure. These terrorists 
must be brought to justice. The international community needs to step 
up its efforts to rid the affected communities of this threat and help 
them rebuild and recover. The U.S. can and must play a key role in that 
effort.
  The bill before us today, S. 1067--the LRA Disarmament and Northern 
Uganda Recovery Act, makes U.S. policy very clear: to work vigorously 
for a lasting resolution to the conflict in northern and eastern Uganda 
and other areas terrorized by the LRA and to eliminate the threat posed 
by the Lord's Resistance Army to civilians using the political, 
economic, military, and intelligence tools available to our nation in a 
comprehensive and multilateral effort that will result in greater 
protection of innocent civilians and lead to the capture of Joseph Kony 
and other commanders of the LRA.
  This bill is the work of exemplary leadership from colleagues from 
both sides of the aisle including Congressman Jim McGovern who has been 
a long time champion for ending conflict and promoting peace.
  This legislation is also the result of the hard work of thousands of 
activists across the country--young and old--including from my district 
as well who want to ensure justice and peace for the many victims of 
the LRA.
  The bill would give the administration a strong mandate to act 
swiftly and effectively to lead multilateral efforts to protect 
children and families from LRA attacks and put a permanent end to these 
atrocities.
  It would require the U.S. to create a strategy working with our 
international allies on a viable plan to protect civilians from LRA 
attacks, support the capacity of local authorities to maintain the rule 
of law, prevent conflict, and diplomatically engage on a regional basis 
to address the threat posed by the LRA.
  Lastly, it would express support for U.S. efforts and funding to 
assist the people of Uganda and the Government of Uganda in rebuilding 
and recovery projects in areas of northern and eastern Uganda heavily 
affected by fighting with the LRA and authorize humanitarian aid aimed 
directly at the families and communities that have been and continue to 
be victimized by the LRA, including the children pressed into service 
as soldiers by the LRA.
  The tremendous suffering caused by the LRA cannot end soon enough. I 
urge my colleagues to vote yes on this bill.

                          ____________________