Kony 2012: LRA

This 2009 audio slideshow from The Guardian website explains the impact of the LRA's move from Uganda into surrounding countries such as Congo.  Click on this image to access the slideshow:

This 2010 report, Choosing to Return, covers a study which was carried out to explore the factors influencing the LRA mid-level commanders' desire to end the war peacefully by returning home.

Joseph Kony and the LRA are currently active in the bordering countries of Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, and South Sudan. In this Invisible Children video Civil leaders speak about the violence that is affecting their countries and what it will take to resolve it.  

This report states that the LRA is thought to be a very small organisation with maybe as few as 200 fighters, so why can't anyone stop them?

The Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) conflict affects tens of thousands of people. The conflict originated in northern Uganda in the late 1980s and more recently has spread to the neighbouring countries of South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the Central African Republic (CAR).  Below are some organisations who are working to help the people affected by the conflict.

• The People's Peacemaking Perspectives project is a joint initiaitive between Conciliation Resources and Saferworld.  It aims to provide European Union institutions with recommendations based on the opinions of local people.

The document below (click on it to open) presents the conclusions of research carried out into the Lord's Resistance Army.  These include, for example, that a holistic and coordinated response from regional and international actors is needed and that civilian protection by national armies and the planned African Union Regional Intervention Force should be a priority.

•  Conciliation Resources is an organisation which aims to support people at the heart of conflicts who are striving to find solutions.  The organisation provides practical support to help people affected by violent conflict achieve lasting peace. They draw on shared experiences to improve peacebuilding policies and practice worldwide.

The Juba peace talks that commenced in July 2006 between the Government of Uganda and the Lord's Resisance Army (LRA) offered the best opportunity to end their conflict since the outbreak of LRA violence in the 1980s.  Current strategies and policies to bring peace acknowledge that there are no purely military solutions.

However, since the Juba talks collapsed in December 2008 and the conflict spread into neighbouring countries, there has been little appetite for renewed talks.  This paper focuses on the lessons that need to be learnt from the Juba peace talks.  The publication was supported by the Berghof Foundation for Conflict Studies. 

• Read the paper 'Dealing with complexity in peace negotiations' to find out more.

War does not respect political or territorial boundaries but forms part of regional conflict systems through dynamics that cross borders: refugee flows, nomadic groups like the LRA, narcotic or criminal networks, blood diamonds, or psycho-social ties.

But there is a policy gap across borders and in borderlands where statehood and diplomacy can struggle to reach, as international responses to conflict focus on states for analysis and intervention.

• Read the twenty-second Accord Issue which looks at peacebuilding strategies and how they can 'think outside the state': beyond it, through regional engagement, and below it, through cross-border community or trade networks.

Explore the following resources to find out more: