Washington, Dec 17 -

(Washington, DC)– Rep. Scott Garrett (R-NJ) urged U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Zalmay Khalilzad, to support a strong U.N. Security Council Presidential Statement about the violence in Africa perpetrated by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), in a phone call today.
 
Throughout this year, the LRA has kidnapped, killed, and/or terrorized residents in several countries in the Great Lakes Region of Africa: Sudan, the Central African Republic, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Garrett encouraged Khalilzad to send a strong public signal focused on condemning recent abuses and insisting on justice for serious crimes. This conversation was timely, as the U.N. Security Council will be receiving a briefing on Wednesday afternoon from the U.N. Secretary General’s special envoy, Joaquim Chissano, regarding the current situation in the LRA-affected areas.

Garrett asked Khalilzad to support a Security Council Presidential Statement that does the following:
• expresses grave concern over recent abuses;
• condemns recent LRA attacks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, including the abduction of children;
• underscores the importance of justice to achieving a sustainable peace;
• insists on fair, credible prosecutions of the most serious crimes; and
• calls for greater focus and coordination by regional governments, U.N. actors, and key donors to achieve civilian protection
• encourages the apprehension of LRA leaders wanted for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

In addition, Garrett urged Khalilzad to intervene in discussions at the Security Council following Chissano’s briefing, by expressing disappointment at the U.N.’s inability to reach consensus on a presidential statement following Chissano’s June briefing. Garrett said, “Given the gravity of the crimes and the threat posed by ongoing LRA activities, a strong presidential statement is needed now more than ever.”

In September 2008, there were 6 simultaneous LRA attacks that resulted in approximately 70 deaths in 2 weeks in the African Great Lakes Region. These attacks continued into October and November. All totaled, the U.N. official estimates that we've seen indicate that at least 200 children have been kidnapped and 89,000 people displaced.
 
In a recent speech at the U.N. “Interfaith Cooperation and the Protection of Human Rights and Dignity” Conference, Garrett praised the “principle of universal natural human rights,” challenging those who give lip service to such rights to go beyond the rhetoric and act. “Simply talking about human rights is not enough,” Garrett said. “The U.N. must show a commitment to protecting the rights of citizens.”
 
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Additional Sources:

Media Backgrounder Attached

Human Rights Watch Benchmark for Serious Crimes in Northern Uganda
http://www.hrw.org/legacy/pub/2008/ij/uganda_memos_cover.pdf

Resolve Uganda
http://www.resolveuganda.org