• US/Central Africa: Protect Civilians From LRA Abuses
    May 23, 2011
    Press release
    The United States government should step up efforts to protect civilians in central Africa from abuses by the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), a coalition of 39 human rights and humanitarian organizations said today. The organizations urged the Obama administration to appoint a special envoy for the African Great Lakes region with a mandate extending to LRA-affected areas, to support stronger United Nations peacekeeping and to intensify efforts to arrest three LRA leaders being sought by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
  • ICC: Trial Opens for Congo’s Ex-Vice President
    Nov 22, 2010
    Press release
    Judges of Trial Chamber III of the International Criminal Court (ICC) will begin hearing evidence on Monday, November 22, 2010, in the trial of Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo, a former vice president of Congo, rebel leader, and leader of Congo's main opposition party.
  • ICC: Q&A on the Trial of Jean-Pierre Bemba
    Nov 22, 2010
    Q & A
    On Monday, November 22, 2010, in The Hague, judges of Trial Chamber III of the International Criminal Court will begin hearing evidence in the trial against Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo, a former vice president of Congo, rebel leader, and leader of Congo's main opposition party. The Bemba trial will be the ICC's first stemming from its investigation of serious crimes in the Central African Republic.
  • A Plan B for President Obama: Get Tough on Human Rights
    Oct 12, 2010
    Commentary
    President Obama needs to put this principle into practice, and there is no better case for the humanitarian use of force than the urgent need to arrest Joseph Kony, the ruthless leader of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), and protect the civilians who are his prey.
  • CAR/DR Congo: LRA Conducts Massive Abduction Campaign
    Aug 11, 2010
    Press release
    The Ugandan rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) has abducted more than 697 adults and children in a largely unreported campaign in the Central African Republic and the neighboring Bas Uele district of northern Democratic Republic of Congo over the past 18 months.
  • DR Congo: Lord’s Resistance Army Rampage Kills 321
    Mar 28, 2010
    Press release
    The rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) killed at least 321 civilians and abducted 250 others, including at least 80 children, during a previously unreported four-day rampage in the Makombo area of northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo in December 2009.
  • African Civil Society Urges African States Parties to the Rome Statute to Reaffirm Their Commitment to the ICC
    Jul 30, 2009
    Written statement
    Recognizing our obligation to help protect human rights and uphold the rule of law, we, the undersigned civil society organizations, appeal to African ICC States Parties to reaffirm their support for the ICC and their commitment to abide by their obligations under the Rome Statute, particularly in relation to the arrest and transfer of the President of Sudan to the ICC.
  • UN Envoy’s Term Ends, but Rebels Go On and On
    Jul 14, 2009
    Commentary
    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. 
  • Africa's Longest War Still Taking Lives
    Jun 19, 2009
    Commentary
    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.
  • Taking the Next Step
    Apr 20, 2009
    Backgrounder Briefing
    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.