Child Soldiers

Child SoldiersNorthern Uganda

OVERVIEW

Population below poverty: 31 %

Hosts refugees

Agricultural employs over 80% of workforce

Coffee is the biggest export

Substantial natural resources Fertile soil, consistent rainfall, deposits of copper and gold Seeking economy stability

Currency reform

Raising producer prices on export crops

Increasing prices of petroleum products

Improving civil service wages

GOAL: dampen inflation and boosting production/export earnings

HISTORY OF COUNTRYVery distinct ethnic groups Isolated from the outside world, ethnic groups functioned as separate kingdomsDavid LivingstonHenry Morton StanleyBerlin Conference Independence 1962

Milton Obote (horrible, corrupt leader) 1962

Idi Amin 1971-1979 (comes to power because of military coup)

Milton Obote (via election) 1980 - 1985

Obote is deposed of in military coup and replaced by Tito Okello - 1985

National Resistance Army rebels take Kampala and install Yoweri Museveni 1986-present

8HISTORY OF LRAOriginally know as the the Holy Spirit MovementEvolved into LRA under the leadership of Joseph KonyActive since1986 - One of Africas oldest, most violent, and persistent armed groups Estimated that 66,000 children were abducted between 1986 and 2005 (www.state.gov)At the height of the conflict more than 2 million people were displaced

CHILD SOLDIERSHeavy importance on recruitment of children (5 years and older)Abducted from villages and forced to fight 90% of LRA recruits are children (Pham, P. N. & Stover, E. 2009)Children are programmed (brain washed) to become unfeeling, killing machines, a mere extension of the gun or machete (Dunson, 2008). Boys are told that their guns are now their mothers, best friends, everything (Dunson, 2008).In a very calculated way the rebels worked to destroy the human instincts of these young children in order to make them efficient (Dunson, 2008). Roles include: soldiers, cooks, spies, messengers, sexual slaves and mothers to out-of-wedlock children

LOCAL RESPONSEUganda sign agreement aimed at containing Uganda rebel group, LRAArmy evacuates 400,000 civilians to neighboring countries to escape from LRA2004: Government & LRA rebels hold first face-to-face talk, but no breakthrough2005: Warrants issued for LRA leaders (including Joseph Kony)2006: Government & LRA sign a truce aimed at ending their conflict troops reduced & moved to bordering countries2007: LRA claims that lack of funds for travel will delay peace talks2008 (February): LRA sign what is meant to be a permanent ceasefire in Sudan2008 (November): Joseph Kony fails to show up at signing of a peace agreement2009 (March): Ugandan army withdraws from the DR Congo, where it was pursuing LRA rebels2012: Ugandan Army captures senior LRA commander Caesar Achellam (major breakthrough)

LRA TODAYMostly left Uganda after the Juba Peace Talks in 2006. Since 2008, they have carried their attacks in the border regions of Northeastern Congo, South Sundan, and Central African RepublicThe LRA is composed of several bands of fighters Due to increase awareness of the issue the size has gone from 1,000 in 2006, to 300 in 2012 (not counting women or children)Despite the smaller size their destruction continues to be disproportionately large (Invisible Children, 2013).

PERSONAL RESPONSEEducation (dont believe everything you read)Government pressureSupportGO THERE

ReferencesAngucia, M. (2009). Children and war in Africa: The crisis continues in Northern Uganda. International Journal on World Peace, 26(3), 77-95. "CIA: The World Factbook 2000: Uganda."CIA World Fact Book(2002):Derluyn, I., Broekaert, E., Schuyten, G., & Temmerman, E. (2004). Post-traumatic stress in former Ugandan child soldiers.The Lancet, 363(9412), 861-863. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(04)15734-6Doom, Ruddy & Vlassenroot, Koen (1999). Konys Message: A New Koine? The Lords Resistance Army in Northern Uganda. Africa Affairs, 98(390). 5-36.Dunson, D. H. (2008). Child, victim, soldier. Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books.Hanson, H.B. & Twaddle, M. (1988). Uganda Now: between decay & development. London: J. Currrey. "History."Uganda Country Review(2011): 6-8.Business Source Complete. EBSCO. 13 Oct. 2011.J.B. (Oct 21, 2012). Can America make a difference? The economist. Retrieved from http://www.economist.com/blogs/baobab/2011/10/ugandas-lords-resistance-armyKaplan, J. (2009). The Lords Resistance Army: Millennialism, violence, and the timeless dream. Religious Studies And Theology, 28(1), 95-127.Pham, P. N., Vinck, P., & Stover, E. (2009). Returning home: Forced conscription, reintegration, and mental health status of former abductees of the Lord's Resistance Army in Northern Uganda.BMC Psychiatry,9doi:10.1186/1471-244X-9-23Tapper, J. (Oct 14, 2011). Obama sends 100 US troops to Uganda to help combat Lord Resistance Army. ABC News. Retrieved from http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2011/10/obama-sends-100-us-troops-to-uganda-to-combat-lords-resistance-army/