VZCZCXRO3785
RR RUEHGI RUEHRN RUEHROV
DE RUEHKM #1090/01 2181326
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 051326Z AUG 08
FM AMEMBASSY KAMPALA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0585
INFO RUEHKH/AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM 0727
RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE
RUEHXR/RWANDA COLLECTIVE
RUEHGI/AMEMBASSY BANGUI 0019
RUEHTO/AMEMBASSY MAPUTO 0495
RUEHSA/AMEMBASSY PRETORIA 3470
RHMFIUU/CJTF HOA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KAMPALA 001090 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT PASS TO USAID AND OFDA 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PREF ASEC EAID UG SU CG
SUBJECT: NORTHERN UGANDA NOTES (JULY 12-31, 2008) 
 
KAMPALA 00001090  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
¶1.  (U) Summary:  The following Northern Uganda Notes provide 
information on the situation on the ground and USG activities aimed 
at meeting Mission's objectives in northern Uganda.  These 
objectives include promoting regional stability through peace and 
security, good governance, access to social services, economic 
growth, and humanitarian assistance.  Post appreciates feedback from 
consumers on the utility of this product and any gaps in information 
that need to be filled.  End Summary. 
 
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PEACE AND RECONCILIATION PROCESSES 
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¶2.  (U) There were no indications that the Lord's Resistance leader 
Joseph Kony will sign the final peace agreement.  On 
 
July 22, South Sudan President Salva Kiir met with President 
Museveni to discuss border security and the LRA.  Kiir dispelled 
media reports that the South Sudan government had asked the Uganda 
military to pull out of its territory.  Kiir said his government 
remained in favor of a peaceful solution to the northern conflict. 
The Uganda Government peace team is waiting for a report from UN 
envoy Special Envoy Joachim Chissano and the Chief Mediator, South 
Sudan's Vice President on when Kony is expected to sign the final 
agreement. 
 
¶3.  (U) On July 30, James Obita, former leader of the LRA delegation 
to the Juba peace talks applied for amnesty with the Uganda Amnesty 
Commission.  Obita was dismissed as head of the LRA delegation in 
June.  In an interview, he claimed he was not fired, but that when 
the peace negotiating team's mandate ended, the team ceased to 
exist. 
 
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HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE AND ECONOMIC RECOVERY 
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¶4.  (U) A recent Action Contre La Faim's (ACF) nutrition survey in 
Gulu and Amuru Districts shows 1.4 percent increase of Severe Acute 
Malnutrition (SAM) and 8.7 percent increase of Global Acute 
Malnutrition (GAM).  The last nutritional survey conducted in Gulu 
and Amuru districts by ACF in May, 2007, revealed SAM of 0.4 percent 
and GAM of 3.1 percent.  Lacor St. Mary's Hospital in Gulu also 
reported 1,000 cases of severe acute malnutrition since April this 
year. The increase in malnutrition might be caused by a variety of 
factors as Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) return, the decrease 
in food security as they become more reliant on their own 
production, increase in diarrhea disease due to decreased access to 
potable water, poor sanitation and access to healthcare.  A similar 
trend was seen in Lango region last year as IDPs returned to their 
homes from camps. 
 
¶5.  (U) All districts in the Acholi sub-region have now established 
Camp Phase Out Committees and have begun the process of assessing 
conditions to recommend closure and/or interventions to help make a 
camp a sustainable community.  Across the region, IDP returnees 
continue to gradually increase in number.  Of the 1.1 million people 
living in IDP camps in the Acholi region at the end of 2005, 24 
percent had returned to their homes at the end of June 2008. 
 
¶6.  (U) Heads of UN Agencies, development partners and GOU local 
officials met in Gulu to discuss relief to development transition, 
PRDP implementation, and monitoring.  Discussions highlighted a 
critical need for camp closure guidelines and consistent guidance on 
rights of both landowners and IDPs.  Discussions also focused on 
expectations for the Peace, Recovery and Development Plan for 
Northern Uganda (PRDP), and the need for coordination, monitoring 
and oversight at both central and district levels.  At the community 
level, few citizens understand or even know about the PRDP. 
 
¶7.  (U) USG Activities:  USAID/Food For Peace (FFP) contributed 12 
million USD to World Food Program (WFP).  As with previous 
contributions this year, FFP is continuing to earmark within WFP's 
Protracted Relief and Recovery Operation (PRRO) to ensure that 
contributions target areas of strategic interest to USAID/Uganda. 
This includes Karamoja and IDPs. 
 
¶8.  (U) USAID/Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) provided 
900,000 USD to UNICEF to augment Hepatitis E response in northern 
Uganda.  WHO reported over 5,700 cases and 100 deaths since the 
outbreak began in Kitgum District in November 2007.  The outbreak 
has now spread to neighboring districts.  In addition to the UNICEF 
contribution, OFDA has extended three water/sanitation agreements in 
Kitgum and Pader totaling about 3.5 million USD. Meanwhile, on July 
 
KAMPALA 00001090  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
31, the GOU announced an emergency plan to fight the epidemic which 
will cost six million USD (ten billion shillings). 
 
¶9.  (U) USAID/Office of Transitional Initiatives (OTI) Northern 
Uganda Transition Initiative NUTI program approved three new grants 
in July totaling approximately 215,000 USD.  The first, to the 
Internews Network will help strengthen the capacity of key radio 
stations throughout northern Uganda to increase citizen exposure to 
quality and timely information.  The second grant will renovate and 
furnish the administrative offices in Odek sub-county, Gulu 
District.  The office building deteriorated to such a degree during 
the LRA conflict, that it is no longer functional.  The renovation 
will help deliver essential government services to people in the 
sub-county and will act as a visible sign to citizens that stability 
is returning to the region.  The third grant will fund a hand-over 
ceremony officially ending the role of IDP camp commanders, giving 
way to the normal Local Council (LC) government system in place in 
the rest of the country.  The ceremony is symbolic of the GOU's new 
role in the development of northern Uganda.  Musicians and dancers 
will perform, speeches will be given by area leaders, and token 
gifts of appreciation will be distributed to camp commanders for 
their volunteer work during the war. 
 
¶10.  (U) In addition, USAID/OTI launched the first small grant to 
the Lalogi Farmers' Forum in conjunction with local government. 
Plows and other farm equipment were provided to the Forum to help 
returning households open land.  The farm equipment was identified 
as a need in the joint government/UN camp phase-out assessment. 
 
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SECURITY UPDATE 
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¶11.  (U) UN agencies could not verify rumors of alleged movements of 
LRA elements at the borders with Sudan.  Non-Governmental 
Organizations (NGOs) in the north were advised to maintain their 
operations as usual. 
 
¶12.  (U) A group of about 30 rebels were reported to be in the 
proximity of Kajo Keji while a second group of about 40 were 
reported in the western parts on southern Sudan near Yei.  The 
second group scattered into four smaller groups after a rebel was 
shot and killed during contact with Sudanese People's Liberation 
Army (SPLA). During these movements, two Sudanese civilians were 
abducted in Kajo Keji. 
 
¶13.  (U) On July 11, Fourth Division Commander Brigadier Charles 
Otema announced that the UPDF will withdraw its troops from IDP camp 
detachments in the north at the end of July.  The move is aimed at 
enabling the Uganda Police Force to effectively keep law and order 
in the communities.  Meanwhile, on July 14, the police started a 
door-to-door community policing exercise in Gulu District. 
 
¶14.  (U) The Minister for Disaster Preparedness and Refugees Tarsis 
Kabwegyere reported that the Humanitarian Demining Department in the 
Office of the Prime Minister had destroyed a total of 15,214 items 
of unexploded ordnance and 20 land mines since 2006.   He told the 
Parliamentary Committee on Presidential Affairs that 321 pieces of 
explosives ordnance were yet to be destroyed.  The affected 
districts include Pader, Kitgum, Gulu, Amuru, Soroti, Oyam, 
Bundibugyo and Kasese.  Meanwhile, some IDPs are reportedly hesitant 
to leave camps for fear of mines in their fields. 
 
¶15.  (U)  On July 22, military chiefs from the Democratic Republic 
of Congo (DRC), South Sudan and Uganda met in Entebbe to discuss the 
way forward in dealing with negative forces in the region.  Uganda's 
Army Commander Major General Aronda Nyakairima reported that an 
earlier meeting in June, LRA rebels had continued to recruit, kill 
and amass wealth.  He urged the regional governments to take 
military action instead of talking about eradicating the negative 
forces. 
 
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FROM THE MEDIA AND THE WEB 
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¶16.  (U) The U.S. based Human Rights Watch (HRW) reportedly urged 
the International Criminal Court (ICC) to include members of the 
Uganda Peoples' Defense Force (UPDF) on its list of those who should 
be investigated for the commission of atrocities in the north.  In a 
July report, HRW stated the omission of the UPDF from the list gave 
credence to reports by politicians and organizations that the ICC 
was biased indicting the top LRA rebel leaders.  UPDF's acting 
spokesperson Major Chris Magezi said the call should be ignored.  He 
 
KAMPALA 00001090  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
said anybody with evidence against the UPDF should direct it to the 
government investigative agencies. 
 
¶17.  (U) The media reported that LRA faced an imminent split.  One 
group believes that the signing of the peace deal should be delayed 
until the Chief Mediator provides some clarifications and 
assurances.  The other group fears that the continued delay could 
endanger the ceasefire and the peace agreement. 
 
¶18.  (U) On July 21, IRIN's PLUSNEWS highlighted a report by the 
Gulu Save the Children Organization (GUSCO) and the Acholi Community 
Empowerment Network, which found acute poverty was forcing girls as 
young as 14 years into early marriage and prostitution in parts of 
northern Uganda affected by the war. According to the report, a 
combination of extreme poverty, a large number of child-headed 
households, and the high mobility of internally displaced families 
were among the factors that have led to girls being subjected to 
sexual abuse or engaging in prostitution. The study found that the 
perpetrators of child prostitution included aid workers, 
businessmen, farmers, teachers, relatives, and armed personnel such 
as members of the LRA and the UPDF.  The researchers found that 
raising awareness of child prostitution and HIV had contributed to 
the recent increase in the reporting of the crimes, which are 
traditionally underreported.  GUSCO's program officer pointed out a 
gap between reported cases and those that made it to the courts. 
"Few cases reach the judge," he said. "There are a variety of 
reasons for this, including parents using the reported case as an 
opportunity to extort money from perpetrators." 
 
¶19.  (U) On July 27, security officials in Gulu arrested three 
civilians who were masquerading as LRA brigadiers, namely, Collins 
Otunu aka Lalango, Charles Kibwola aka Brigadier Abudema, Onen Ngora 
Walter aka Captain Matata.  UPDF's fourth Division Spokesperson 
Ronald Kakurungu confirmed the arrests saying the trio was posing as 
LRA defectors. 
BROWNING