Brownback Applauds Committee Passage of Bill to Disarm Rebel Group in Uganda

Press Release

U.S. Senator Sam Brownback today applauded the Foreign Relations Committee for passage of the Lord's Resistance Army Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act. The legislation, sponsored by Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI), and co-sponsored by Brownback, calls for a multilateral plan to disarm the Lord's Resistance Army, a rebel group in Northern Uganda.

"The United States must work with the international community to bring Joseph Kony and the Lord's Resistance Army to justice," said Brownback. "The legislation passed by the Foreign Relations Committee calls on the Administration to develop and execute a strategy to disarm the LRA while simultaneously protecting civilians. I urge my colleagues in the Senate to pass this crucial piece of legislation as soon as possible."

Since the 1980's, the LRA, led by Joseph Kony, has terrorized Northern Uganda. It is estimated that the LRA has kidnapped more than 66,000 children and forced them to fight as child soldiers. The United Nations reports that in 2009, the LRA has killed more than 1,500 people, abducted more than 1,800, and displaced hundreds of thousands of people in Central African Republic, Congo, and southern Sudan. The Lord's Resistance Army Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act requires the United States to work with multilateral partners to develop a viable path to disarm the LRA, while ensuring the protection of civilians.

Brownback, who traveled to Uganda in 2004, is an original co-sponsor of the Lord's Resistance Army Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act.

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