The  former Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano will give his final briefing to the United Nations Security Council on July 15  in his role as the secretary-general's special envoy for the areas of east and central Africa affected by the Lord's Resistance Army and their  two-decade campaign of violence. Although Chissano's mandate was suspended as of June 30, abuses by the LRA - ruthless rebels whose actions have had a devastating effect on civilians in four countries - continue. 

The Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) commanders, wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity, have killed numerous civilians and abducted thousands of children across four countries over the last two decades. Uganda’s "Operation Lightning Thunder," with limited US support, failed to root out the LRA from its Congolese bases. US - not Ugandan - leadership is a key component in any multilateral strategy to protect civilians from ongoing LRA attacks and to apprehend the groups’ commanders.

Although the Security Council has identified six grave violations against children in armed conflict, to date it has focused primarily on the recruitment and use of child soldiers. Other violations affect much larger numbers of children, and result in terrible and long-lasting consequences, but have not received the same focused international response.

As a rebel leader during the Democratic Republic of Congo's (DRC) war from 1998 to 2003, Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo and his group, the Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC), controlled a large part of northeastern Congo, with support from Uganda.

Human Rights Watch writes to President François Bozizé of the Central African Republic on the continuing lack of accountability for extensive human rights abuses committed in CAR, by both government forces and rebels, since 2005. Ending this impunity is essential in ending the cycle of violence in CAR and ensuring protection for civilians.

Amid reports that the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) is again brutalizing civilians and in advance of the anticipated December 17 Security Council briefing by the UN Secretary-General’s special envoy for the LRA-affected areas, we write to urge your government to take steps toward helping to end LRA abuses and paving the way for apprehension of LRA leaders wanted by the International Criminal Court.

International Criminal Court (ICC) member countries should speak up to support the court's independence and mandate during their annual meeting beginning November 14, 2008.

The pace of proceedings is quickening at the International Criminal Court. On July 3, Jean-Pierre Bemba, the former vice president of Congo charged with war crimes, arrived in custody in The Hague. And today, July 14, the ICC prosecutor is expected to request new arrest warrants based on alleged crimes in Darfur against senior Sudanese officials, reportedly including the Sudanese president. Those are real accomplishments for a judicial institution whose underlying statute is now seeing only its 10th birthday.