A Call for Awareness & Urgent Action by the United Nations, European Union & Governments of the West to Aid in Ending the War & Gross Human Rights Violations in Northern Uganda Immediately

Uganda, a small country in Eastern Africa has gone through much change in recent years. A successful transition from the turmoils of the 70s and 80s to its current thriving economy, successful tackling of the AIDs epidemic, adoption of free education, and even seating the first female Vice-President in Africa has won much acclaim. Even two US presidents have made state visits in the last five years alone. Only a few countries in Africa have had such recognition by the White House. A country of such outstanding beauty, wildlife, and culture, once coined by Churchil as the Pearl of Africa holds a dark secret that is being consciously ignored.

For eighteen years Northern Uganda has been blighted by a pointless war waged by a deluded man who wishes to rule Uganda based on a severely corrupt version of the Biblical Ten Commandments. And on a daily basis genocide is being committed; children are being abducted, raped, killed, trained to fight or turned into sex slaves for the savage commanders of the Lords Resistance Army (LRA). Some humanitarian organisations claim that more than 20,000 children alone have been abducted and turned into child soldiers or sex slaves. The crimes against humanity are endless and the Wests ignorance to what is going on is even more criminal. The Government of Uganda is fighting with its limited resources a futile and endless battle against these tyrants, but the West is paying no recognition to its pleas to assist in ending this madness. UN Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs, Jan Egeland has said whilst speaking to the BBC:

"I cannot find any other part of the world that is having an emergency on the scale of Uganda, that is getting such little international attention,"

It is incomprehensible that we pay so much attention to Iraq and Afghanistan whilst an even greater humanitarian crisis is being played in the barren fields of Southern Sudan and Northern Uganda. It is also beyond our understanding that the media choose to pay so much attention elsewhere, but none in educating the people of the world on the plight of the people of Northern Uganda. What criteria do we choose in our coverage? Are the lives of Western soldiers more important then that of Ugandan children? Is Iraq more important then Uganda? Perhaps more attention would be paid if it had oil? Mr. Egeland states further:

"It is a moral outrage that the world is doing so little for the victims of the war, especially children

Whilst we choose to focus all our attention on Iraq, the Olympics, or in other matters, remember that hundreds are dying on a daily basis, thousands are being displaced, and torture and exploitation is rampant. There is no regard for human rights or the sanctity of life in these regions. The United Nations and leaders of the world have sidelined these issues.

Religious leaders, Christian and Muslim, government, and people throughout Uganda have joined in solidarity and have voiced their concerns regarding the plight of Northern Uganda, but again these voices are being ignored.

The purpose of this petition is to promote awareness and to listen to their crying voices. I urge you to read up on it, create awareness, bring it up with your leaders, write a letter, or create a petition. The avenues are endless, and so is the death toll. We urge you to sign our petition and realize your voice can make a difference to the unheard voices of the thousands in the beautiful Eden known as Uganda.

We demand from Governments of the West (particularly the USA and UK), United Nations, European Union, and the world media the following:

Immediate humanitarian relief be provided to affected areas in the North of Uganda.

Military and intelligence support/aid be provided to the Government of Uganda to capture LRA troops and Kony himself.

Remove foreign donor policies that restrict Uganda from investing in military and surveillance equipment until the LRA have been eliminated.

Substantial increase in humanitarian aid budget currently being provided.

Promote greater cooperation and dialogue between Sudan and Uganda in regards to the war in North of Uganda and Southern Sudan.

Raise domestic governmental prioritisation of this issue and designate the region as a disaster zone.

Greater United Nations Security Council prioritisation of the war in Northern Uganda and designation as a disaster zone.

Increase in media coverage about the atrocities currently taking place in Northern Uganda.

Your contribution to solving this emergency is essential, please forward this e-mail to as many people as you know and sign our petition at the following URL:

http://www.petitiononline.com/UGANDA/petition.html

CONTACT US ON OUR AWARENESS EMAIL:

[email protected]

RELEVANT ARTICLES:

BBC ARTICLE: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/2982818.stm

REUTERS: http://reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID)35650

ASSIST NEWS: http://www.assistnews.net/Stories/s03060092.htm

UNITED NATIONS

WEBSITE: http://www.un.org/

EMAIL: [email protected]

GOVERNMENTAL WEBSITES

US GOVERNMENT: http://www.whitehouse.gov/

UK GOVERNMENT: http://www.number-10.gov.uk

UGANDAN GOVERNMENT: http://www.government.go.ug/

GENERAL UGANDA INFO:

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/africa/uganda/

http://www.myuganda.co.ug/