NORTHERN UGANDA NOTES (APRIL 1-30, 2009)

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KAMPALA 000463

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SUBJECT: NORTHERN UGANDA NOTES (APRIL 1-30, 2009)

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1. Summary: The following Northern Uganda Notes provide
information on the situation on the ground and USG activities aimed
at meeting Mission objectives in northern Uganda. These objectives
include promoting regional stability through peace and security,
good governance, access to social services, economic growth, and
humanitarian assistance. Post appreciates feedback from consumers
on the utility of this product and any gaps in information that need
to be filled. End Summary.

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PEACE AND RECONCILIATION PROCESSES
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2. Gulu University held a conference entitled "Juba Peace Talks:
Lessons Learnt Workshop" on April 23-24. The objective was to
identify lessons that could be applied in future engagement with
stakeholders in the peace process between the Lord's Resistance Army
(LRA) and the Government of Uganda. Attendees included local
politicians, religious and traditional leaders, donors, members of
the diaspora, the military, non-governmental organizations, and
media. The Danish Ambassador stated that LRA leader Joseph Kony and
the remnants of his forces should be dealt with on a regional basis,
with the partners stressing the need to protect civilian
populations. He emphasized that the peace process resulted in an
improved security situation in the north. He urged the
redevelopment of northern Uganda.

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SECURITY UPDATE
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3. The joint military operation, now named "Rudia II," continued to
make steady progress in pursuit of the LRA in northeastern
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Captured LRA Lt. Col. Thomas
Kwoyelo said that the military operation has disrupted LRA
communications command control in an interview with the New Vision
newspaper on April 26. He said that Kony is not interested in a
peace deal.


4. Uganda Peoples Defense Force (UPDF) spokesperson, Major Felix
Kulayigye reported that the UPDF is evaluating reports of possible
fresh supplies to the LRA rebels inside the DRC. In March, the
Sudan Peoples Liberation Army (SPLA) intercepted 13 trucks carrying
food supplies from Uganda to Doruma, DRC, an area with an LRA
presence. The paperwork for the cargo indicated it was carrying
supplies for CARITAS, a Catholic charity. CARITAS denied that it
was delivering food to the LRA. Upon investigation, the UPDF found
that the shipment documentation was fake and that CARITAS was not
involved. The investigation is ongoing.

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HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE AND ECONOMIC RECOVERY
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5. Our Gulu field office advisor reports that the security
situation remains calm in the LRA-affected districts of the north.
The return of internally-displaced persons (IDPs) and recovery and
reconstruction activities continue. The joint military operation in
DRC is a distant concern for residents in northern Uganda. IDP
return figures remain strong with UNHCR reporting 538,000
individuals having returned to their villages of origin in the four
Acholi districts of Gulu, Amuru, Kitgum, and Pader.


6. The major source of conflict affecting the recovery process is
land disputes. Deaths are regularly reported as a result of land
disputes across LRA-affected districts. The most serious problems
are reported in Gulu, Pader, and Amuru districts. Other areas
outside the Acholi sub-region are also reporting incidents. USAID
has implemented programming designed to engage local communities on
these issues, including through the "No Violence Over Land" public
outreach campaign activity under the Northern Uganda Transition
Initiatives (NUTI) program and through the Pader Peace Forum
project.


7. Gulu District Chairman Norbert Mao hosted a meeting with
humanitarian assistance donors regarding the closure of camps in the
district on April 15. At the meeting, Mao emphasized that camp
closure and returns will be conducted according to the camp
phase-out guidelines issued by the Office of the Prime Minister
(OPM). He further emphasized that activities related to camp
phase-out and returns must be coordinated with the district
government. He noted that a key to securing resettlement was
provision of basic services such as health and education. He stated
in the meeting that he had requested USAID to expand its support in

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the education sector. Mao also noted that the district was planning
to set up a fund to support landless and Extremely Vulnerable
Individuals (EVIs) who continue to live in the camps. He requested
donors consider supporting the fund. He also noted that a list of
landowners requesting compensation for use of their land for IDP
camps had been submitted by all Chief Administrative Officers (CAOs)
in the region to the Ministry of Lands.


8. USG Activities: In support of the USAID's country strategy
development process, USAID health and education staff from Kampala
joined implementing partners in assessment visits to seven districts
in the Acholi and Lango regions of the north. The objective of the
trip was to consider USAID/Uganda's support to seven Peace,
Recovery, and Development Plan (PRDP) districts in the areas of
planning, coordination and service delivery. The team met with
local government officials and beneficiaries in the field. The
results of the trip have been consolidated into recommendations for
the U.S. Mission. A major focus is to improve coordination with the
existing district development planning processes.


9. USAID's conflict advisor reviewed nine activities in the area of
economic conflict mitigation under USAID's Stability, Peace, and
Reconciliation in Northern Uganda (SPRING) program during a field
visit to Gulu, Kitgum, Pader, and Lira the week of April 1. The
advisor noted that SPRING's economic activities appeared to be good
initiatives. However, more effort needed to be placed on
integrating these activities with other components of the program
such as access to justice and peace and reconciliation. Another
recommendation was the need for smaller grants to Ugandan
community-based organizations to improve the community impact of the
SPRING activities.


10. USAID/SPRING, in partnership with the Ugandan Veterinary
Association (UVA) and the Ministry of Agriculture, organized a week
of events to celebrate World Veterinary Day on Saturday April 25 as
part its on-going support to the promotion of private veterinary
services in northern Uganda. Activities included free vaccination
services in Gulu and Amuru Districts for areas not covered under
Veterinary Civil Affairs Project exercises conducted by Combined
Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA). SPRING sponsored a
livestock farmer training in Gulu for 100 farmer group
representatives on "Livestock Management and Disease Surveillance",
radio talk shows hosted by the District Veterinary Office and the
UVA, and animal check points to advise on proper animal transport.
The occasion marked the first time World Veterinary Day has been
launched in northern Uganda. The activity not only furthered the
goal of ensuring economically productive livestock in the north, but
also contributed to stabilization efforts in northern Uganda.


11. USAID's Livelihoods and Enterprises for Agricultural
Development (LEAD) program completed an assessment of the
agriculture input sector in Uganda as part of its efforts to improve
quality of inputs including equipment, fertilizers and pesticides to
farmers. Key findings included: Uganda's per hectare fertilizer
use is one of the lowest in the world, resulting in lower crop
yields; farmers are not well informed about the use of agricultural
inputs; the input dealer network in Uganda is poorly organized and
dealers lack the knowledge or technical skills to properly advise
farmer clients on the use of inputs; counterfeit inputs abound and
regulation is weak. Of importance to reconstruction and development
in the north was the finding that rural farmers lack access to
inputs, the quality is poor, and dealer infrastructure is
non-existent in rural areas. Sixty percent of LEAD activities are
conducted in the north in PRDP-targeted districts and as such the
assessment placed emphasis on the north. The LEAD program is using
the information gathered to tailor its farmer training and is also
developing other interventions based on the information.


12. USAID/Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI) approved four
grants in April. These included support for reconciliation
activities, including traditional fireside chats, a program
supporting the government's attempt to diminish land violence in
Amuru, and support to the Gulu and Amuru district engineers for
supplying computers and training on critical information technology
programs. Important events were the inauguration of Amuru Alero
primary schools which were fully rehabilitated and provided with
teacher housing and a kitchen; the handover of bicycles to village
leaders in Agoro sub-county, Kitgum District; and a consultative
meeting at the Kitgum District Local Council levels of leadership on
the preparation of their plans for the PRDP. Also, traditional
cleansing ceremonies in areas to purify the land and facilitate IDP
returns were ongoing across the north. To date, USAID/OTI has been
able to work directly with 81,000 people across the north in its
various activities.

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