Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 276: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs his views on the present position in Uganda where since 1987 the Lord's Resistance Army has abducted more than 30,000 children to serve as soldiers, labourers and sex slaves in its forced confrontation and fight against the Uganda People's Defence Force; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that thousands of children are forced to leave their homes for fear of being abducted; the steps he can take to bring about a resolution of this ongoing conflict; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12814/06]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I remain gravely concerned at the long-running conflict and related humanitarian crisis in northern Uganda, which has led to the deaths of many thousands of people and the displacement of over 1.5 million. It clearly merits increased international attention. Ireland, in collaboration with our EU partners, has been actively working to achieve this.

The primary responsibility for improving security and promoting reconciliation in northern Uganda rests with the Ugandan Government. Following the presidential and parliamentary elections last February, a window of opportunity now exists for the Ugandan authorities to take decisive steps to tackle the conflict. These should include improving security to facilitate greater humanitarian access and measures to promote the much needed economic and social development of northern Uganda. A positive development in this regard is the long-term reconstruction and development plan for northern Uganda which the Ugandan Government outlined at a donors' meeting in Geneva on 20 March 2006. This comprehensive plan emphasises conflict resolution and reconciliation, as well as reconstruction and development. The UN Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Coordination, Mr. Jan Egeland, visited Kampala on 30-31 March 2006 to discuss these proposals with the Ugandan Government and representatives of the donor community, including Ireland. The Irish Government will continue to work closely with EU and donor partners to promote increased engagement by Uganda with the international community in addressing the conflict in northern Uganda.

The LRA campaign also threatens security in the Great Lakes region as a whole, including in southern Sudan and the eastern DRC from which the LRA continues to operate. At my request, the Irish Permanent Representative to the United Nations wrote to the President of the UN Security Council last January urging the council to address the threat to regional peace posed by the LRA. The UN Secretary General has been requested, in Security Council Resolutions 1653 and 1663, to submit proposals to the council by 24 April 2006 on how the UN can support efforts to put an end to the activities of illegal armed groups in the Great Lakes region, including the LRA. I look forward to this report, which will be an important contribution to the current intensified efforts to resolve the conflict in northern Uganda. Ireland will continue to encourage greater Security Council involvement, including consideration of proposals to appoint a UN special envoy for northern Uganda and to establish a panel of experts to examine the sources of funding and support for the LRA's campaign.

It is also important that the indictments issued last October by the International Criminal Court against five named LRA leaders now be acted on. It is incumbent on all those involved, including the governments of any neighbouring states in which these leaders may be sheltering, to facilitate their arrest. Ireland strongly supports the International Criminal Court and would urge that its investigation into all serious violations of human rights committed in northern Uganda since 1 July 2002, the date when the court was established, should continue.

The overall humanitarian situation in northern Uganda remains alarming, with an estimated 1.7 million people, the vast majority of the population, continuing to live in internally displaced persons camps. However, some limited return of displaced persons to their homes and communities has begun in the Teso region, following an underlying improvement in the security situation, with approximately 390,000 returning in 2005. Irish Aid is continuing to support emergency and recovery efforts and has already provided €1.9 million in humanitarian assistance to northern Uganda in 2006. This funding has been provided to GOAL, UNICEF, and the UN World Food Programme, WFP. Some €1.65 million in humanitarian assistance was provided in 2005. Irish Aid has also supported NGOs in northern Uganda providing shelter to the estimated 40,000 children and young people who are required to flee their homes each night, for fear of possible abduction by the LRA or worse.