Author: Enough Team

Peace talks between the Government of Uganda and the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) resumed this month in Juba, southern Sudan. The discussions yielded a renewed cessation of hostilities agreement and a quick deal on a road map for comprehensive solutions to the conflict, the second point of the five-point negotiating agenda. Yet deep uncertainty remains about whether the LRA will fully abide by the cessation of hostilities agreement. LRA attacks against civilians in south Sudan continue and threaten to seep back into Uganda. Mounting evidence suggests that elements within the Sudanese government, long a sponsor of LRA leader Joseph Kony’s ...

Despite the Congo’s recent elections, the country’s East has plunged into some of the worst violence of recent years. In January, the Congolese government struck a deal with the dissident commander Laurent Nkunda to bring an end to fighting that had plagued the region since 2004, mixing his troops with the national army. After a brief respite, however, these troops launched operations against the Forces Démocratiques de Libération du Rwanda (FDLR), the Rwandan militia with elements that committed atrocities in the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, unleashing a new spate of violence. Over a 100,000 people have been displaced and dozens ...

On the one year anniversary of the signing of the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA), there is no peace in Darfur. The two rebel factions that did not sign the agreement have fractured into many. Sudan’s ruling National Congress Party (NCP) continues to pursue a military solution in Darfur, and violence and displacement are on the rise. During the DPA negotiations, the Sudanese government agreed that a United Nations peacekeeping force would be free to deploy once a deal was signed, and so the international community, led by the U.S., pressed hard for a quick agreement. This strategy could not have ...

President Bush's announcement today that his administration will begin implementing a set of punitive measures- its oft-threatened "Plan B" - against the Sudanese Government could have marked a real turning point in U.S. policy to end what the president calls genocide. Unfortunately, it doesn't ...

In a strategy paper released today, ENOUGH calls on the Bush administration to take resolute action against the Sudanese government for ongoing atrocities in Darfur – by implementing a Plan B with “teeth.” ...

Despite the Lord's Resistance Army’s (LRA) decision in January to withdraw from negotiations in the southern Sudanese city of Juba, diplomatic efforts led by UN Special Envoy Joaquim Chissano persuaded the LRA to return to the table on April 13. Rukhana Rugunda, the Ugandan Government's Internal Affairs Minister and chief mediator, held an unprecedented face to face meeting with the LRA's messianic leader Joseph Kony and his deputy Vincent Otti on March 10, resulting in the agreement to re-start peacemaking efforts. As a result, hope for a peace deal has cautiously rekindled. When the Ugandan government and LRA reconvene in ...

Despite Congo's peace deal and recent national election, armed groups—both national forces and non-governmental militias -- continue to destabilize large swathes of the East. Earlier this year, for example, Congolese militia leader Laurent Nkunda and the Congolese government made peace and agreed to mix their troops, in part to break down Nkunda's command structure and dilute his power. Instead, this integration or "mixage" process has reinforced his strength, rebels of the FDLR (the Rwandan militia which includes elements that committed the 1994 genocide in Rwanda) continue to prey on local Congolese populations, and civilians are paying the price. The army ...

In the absence of tough punitive measures in support of a new peace agreement and the deployment of a more robust international civilian protection force, the outlook for Darfur remains bleak. The last month has seen continued violence against civilians, mounting displacement in Darfur and neighboring Chad, and increased attacks against the African Union peacekeepers in the region. The Khartoum government continues to renege on previous promises to accept the joint United Nations/African Union “hybrid” force supported by the international community. It did accept an interim step that would allow a few thousand UN troops to deploy in support of ...

Prospects for peace in Uganda have reached a make-or-break point. After 20 years of civil war across northern Uganda between government forces and the messianic Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) – an infamous conflict marked by widespread massacres, rape and slavery in which 1.7 million members of the ethnic Acholi population were driven from their homes – peace talks are now underway in Juba, southern Sudan. The talks provide northern Ugandans with a chance for lasting peace, but the process is on the verge of collapsing and must be rescued. Currently, the U.S., which probably boasts the most diplomatic leverage over ...

In the aftermath of largely successful elections in the Congo, a core level of violence and insecurity in the east of the country has left the region as one of the deadliest in the world. A recent study by the International Rescue Committee reveals that on average more than 1,000 people die every day due to the conflict. They are caught in a deadly vise between predatory militias, Rwandan and Ugandan rebel groups, and the ill-disciplined and abusive Congolese army. Sporadic violence continues to kill dozens, displace tens of thousands, prevent already displaced families from going back home, and leads ...