Originally published on the CGS blog on February 4, 2011.
On Wednesday GlobalSolutions.org, Resolve, The Enough Project, and Invisible Children released a report card assessing President Obama’s strategy to stop the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) violence. In a press release the groups called for President Obama to move on his recently-released strategy committing the U.S. to help civilians in central Africa threatened by the LRA.
The Lord’s Resistance Army was founded more than two decades ago in Uganda by Joseph Kony. Since September 2008 attacks orchestrated by LRA commanders have killed at least 2,300 people and abducted more than 3,000, including many children who were forced into being soldiers or sexual slaves. In 2010 alone, LRA rebels committed more than 240 deadly attacks.
The report card assesses five elements of President Obama’s LRA strategy. These elements include: expand U.S. involvement to end the crisis; protection of civilians; stop senior LRA commanders; facilitate escape from the LRA; and, help affected communities survive and rebuild.
“We don’t want the President to lose sight of the promises he made in his LRA strategy,” said Don Kraus, CEO of GlobalSolutions.org. “The U.S. must do everything in its capacity to help apprehend senior LRA commanders. I look forward to an ‘A’ grade on the next report card when these heinous criminals are standing trial in front of the International Criminal Court.”
