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RR RUEHGI RUEHRN RUEHROV
DE RUEHKM #0290/01 0771250
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 181250Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY KAMPALA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1250
INFO RUEHKH/AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM 0786
RUEHNR/AMEMBASSY NAIROBI 7198
RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE
RUEHXR/RWANDA COLLECTIVE
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RHMFIUU/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE
RHMFIUU/CJTF HOA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KAMPALA 000290 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT PASS TO USAID AND OFDA 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: EAID EAGR ECON MASS PREL SENV PGOV PHUM KDEM UG
SUBJECT: UGANDA'S KARAMOJA REGION: THE FINAL FRONTIER FOR SECURITY 
AND DEVELOPMENT (PART II) 
 
REF: Kampala 0288 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary: The U.S. Mission is moving forward with a series 
of activities to address sustainable security and development in 
Karamoja, Uganda's poorest region.  The current environment of 
improved security and renewed domestic and international interest in 
addressing dire humanitarian and development needs in Uganda's 
Karamoja region has made U.S. engagement possible and necessary. 
Mission development programs will support efforts to improve 
agriculture, food security, and economic productivity.  On security, 
we will work with the Ugandan military, the police, civil society, 
and the central and local governments to enhance civil-military 
relations, undertake conflict mitigation and reconciliation 
activities, and establish law and order.  These interventions will 
further help reduce the number of cattle raids and associated 
violence and build trust and cooperation between communities.  The 
Mission will encourage the Ugandan Government to improve basic 
social service delivery and other activities outlined in its 
Karamoja Integrated Disarmament and Development Plan (KIDDP).  End 
Summary. 
 
¶2.  (U) This is the second of two cables on the violent and 
long-neglected region of Karamoja in northeast Uganda.  Reftel 
paints a picture of the region's violent past, its improving 
security, as well as its wrenching poverty and the multiple 
development challenges it faces.  This cable looks at prospects for 
new USG interventions in Karamoja, which are now possible in light 
of improved security and greater recognition of the region's 
importance to wider peace, stability, and development in Uganda. 
 
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Well-Crafted Development Plan Collects Dust 
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¶3.  (SBU) The Government of Uganda (GOU) launched the KIDDP in 2008 
to guide its disarmament program, enhance peace building, and spur 
development in the Karamoja region.  The KIDDP was not originally 
developed as part of the Government's larger Peace Recovery and 
Development Plan (PRDP) for Northern Uganda, but was later "folded" 
into the PRDP.  The three-year PRDP was launched in late 2007 to 
guide development interventions for war-torn northern Uganda, with a 
focus at that time on those districts to the west of Karamoja that 
had been affected by the 23-year insurgency against the Lord's 
Resistance Army.  The GOU, through the KIDDP, seeks to ensure 
adequate security for the people of Karamoja; establish law and 
order; strengthen social service delivery; support alternative 
livelihood development; and conduct information campaigns on 
voluntary disarmament, conflict resolution, and community 
leadership.  Local officials, civil society leaders, and even 
military officers agree the KIDDP, while a good plan on paper, has 
not made any difference on the ground yet in Karamoja in terms of 
development because the GOU has not provided the resources needed to 
actually implement it. 
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First Lady Appointed Minister for Karamoja 
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¶4.  (SBU) President Museveni's announcement of a cabinet reshuffle 
on February 17 named his wife, First Lady Janet Museveni, as the new 
Minister of State for Karamoja.  Ms. Museveni's profile has raised 
hopes of renewed central government interest in Karamoja.  Local 
officials, many of whom belong to the ruling National Resistance 
Movement (NRM) party, commented to EmbOffs during the February 16-21 
inter-agency visit to Karamoja that a more high-profile 
representative with the ear of the president could be helpful. 
Others dismissed the appointment as mere political posturing meant 
to solidify NRM support in Karamoja ahead of the 2011 presidential 
elections.  Nonetheless, Janet Museveni traveled to the region a 
week after her appointment, garnering significant media coverage. 
She has since met with donors, including the USG, to discuss their 
activities in Karamoja. 
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Current USG Investments in Karamoja Limited 
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¶5.  (U) Aside from humanitarian food relief, USG security and 
development intervention in the Karamoja region has been minimal in 
years past.  On the humanitarian front, in Fiscal Year 2008, USAID 
provided the World Food Program (WFP) $46 million to support the 
latter's Protracted Relief and Recovery Operation for Northern 
Uganda, which includes both Karamoja and LRA-affected areas.  An 
additional $10.4 million in emergency food aid has been provided 
thus far in 2009.  Looking now towards non-humanitarian assistance, 
USAID's Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) recently 
 
KAMPALA 00000290  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
awarded a $5 million grant to Mercy Corps to look at ways to address 
Karamoja's chronic food insecurity.  The program will address 
overall food insecurity by enhancing agricultural production and 
economic activity through the distribution of fast maturing and 
drought-resistant crops, work programs to improve market access, and 
improved animal health services across all five of Karamoja's 
districts. 
 
¶6.  (U) In addition to this funding for humanitarian relief and food 
security, the U.S. Mission has provided modest funding - totaling 
just over $1.6 million - to support conflict management and 
reconciliation activities in Karamoja.  The $1 million USAID-funded 
IRC program to support the formation of peace committees in 
Nakapiripirit, Moroto, and Kotido districts has enhanced dialogue 
between rival communities and helped efforts to track and recover 
stolen animals.  The peace committees have also been key early 
warning systems for reporting impending raids and security 
incidents.  Funding for the IRC activity will conclude in May 2010. 
IRC also implements a Department of Labor-funded program which 
provides educational opportunities for children at risk for child 
labor in Moroto.  Additionally, USAID provided Mercy Corps with 
nearly $600,000 to strengthen local and district mechanisms for 
conflict mitigation, response and reconciliation; foster peace and 
reconciliation through dialogue, joint monitoring and 
government/civil society consultations; and support livelihood 
activities in the Kaabong and Kotido districts.  Funding to Mercy 
Corps will conclude in 2011. Some limited support through the 
President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) has also reached 
the area. 
 
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U.S. Mission to Uganda: Outlining a Karamoja Strategy 
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¶7. (SBU) The U.S. Mission to Uganda, as outlined in our 2011 Mission 
Strategic Plan, seeks to support efforts to transition from 
humanitarian assistance to programs that provide for long-term 
reconciliation, social, and economic development, and security in 
northern Uganda.  In Karamoja specifically, the Mission seeks to 
find new ways to encourage and support the GOU, civil society 
groups, and other donors to address the challenges of sustainable 
security and development.  Without these investments, insecurity 
could undermine U.S. interest in bringing lasting peace and security 
to Uganda and the wider Great Lakes and Horn of Africa Regions. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) The Mission will continue to support humanitarian food 
relief programs in the Karamoja region to help meet immediate needs 
in the short-term.  Additionally, with the improved security 
outlook, USAID can now consider expanding existing and new 
development programs to include the Karamoja districts.  The Mission 
will urge the GOU to seriously address staffing and financial gaps 
across all service delivery sectors, and work with the European 
Commission, Irish AID, and other donors currently active in the 
region.  With these interventions, the Mission seeks to improve 
agricultural production, food security, and economic productivity. 
 
¶9.  (SBU) The Mission will also scale-up efforts to support 
stabilization and security initiatives in the Karamoja region 
through greater support for conflict mitigation and reconciliation 
activities, the restoration of law and order, fortification of 
regional conflict resolution mechanisms, and the strengthening of 
the already improved civilian-military relationship.  Programs will 
continue to support peace committee activities and early warning 
systems to foster greater dialogue and cooperation on tough issues. 
Long-term, the Mission will seek to support GOU efforts to establish 
a civilian policing and judiciary presence in the region. 
Regionally, we will work with USAID's East Africa Mission to expand 
its cross-border conflict management and peace building project 
(Peace II) to the Ugandan-Kenyan border area.  Peace II will assist 
efforts to strengthen linkages between communities, civil society, 
and government at local and regional levels. 
 
¶10.  (SBU) The Mission is considering a request to the Africa 
Command's Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) for a 
small Civil Affairs (CA) Team to work with the Uganda People's 
Defense Forces (UPDF) in Karamoja to enhance civil-military 
relations.  The proposed CJTF-HOA CA Team would work with the UPDF 
and Civil-Military Cooperation Center (CMCC) participants to 
strengthen the unit's policies, procedures, and protocols for 
collecting, disseminating, and acting on information.  The team 
would identify appropriate classroom and in-stride civil-military 
 
KAMPALA 00000290  003 OF 003 
 
 
operations training for the UPDF, to include information sharing, 
human rights, law of war, communications, and information 
verification.  The CA Team would also identify resources for 
small-scale community relations activities and opportunities for 
Medical Civil Action Projects and Veterinary Civil Action Projects 
interventions in coordination with the Mission's Northern Uganda 
Working Group. 
 
¶11.  (SBU) We will encourage the UPDF and the Uganda Human Rights 
Commission (UHRC) to reach a viable solution on the parallel CMCC 
issue (see reftel for background) to ensure more effective 
engagement.  With these interventions, the Mission seeks to further 
reduce the number of cattle raids, road ambushes, and other violent 
crime associated with the traditional practice of cattle rustling. 
Additionally, USG efforts will further help to professionalize the 
UPDF through civil-military capacity building and improve the 
institution's perception among the Karamojong. 
 
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Comment 
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¶12.  (SBU) Karamoja is literally Uganda's final frontier.  For years 
it was characterized by lawlessness and cattle raiding, that was 
worsened with the influx of small arms.  We believe that the 
conditions and timing are right for U.S. assistance, applied in 
coordination and in partnership with the GOU and other donors, to 
help stabilize Karamoja and improve humanitarian and development 
indicators among the Karamojong, Uganda's most marginalized ethic 
group.  Failure to address Karamoja's daunting security and 
development challenges would not be an issue if the region could be 
cordoned off from the rest of Uganda.  But that is not an option, 
and inevitably any backsliding towards violence and instability in 
Karamoja would threaten the viability of ongoing USG and other 
international donor investments in northern Uganda.  Fortunately, 
there is broad consensus on this point, and the time is ripe for new 
activism in the region. 
BROWNING