PRESIDENT OBAMA FAILING TO FIGHT KONY

PRESIDENT Barrack Obama has performed poorly in his recently-released strategy committing the U.S. to help civilians in Central Africa threatened by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), a coalition of prominent civil society organizations conclude in the first report card released last month.

The U.S. President scores 60 per cent in the long-pronged initiative. However, the coalition argues that serious concerns remain about whether he is willing to dedicate the funding, senior leadership and political will to achieve a lasting end to the conflict. This first issue grades the content and initial rollout of Obama’s LRA Strategy Report Card, while future report cards will assess the strategy’s implementation and impact on the ground.

The Grading Rubric for Obama’s LRA Strategy and Implementation stands as follows: “A” for significant progress; “C” for little or inadequate progress; “F” for efforts backsliding; “B” for encouraging progress; “D” for Efforts at a standstill. The card is issued by four groups: Resolve, the Enough Project, Invisible Children and Citizens for Global Solutions. The coalition plans to release three report cards each year.

The expanded U.S. engagement strategy calls for the dedication significant new staff and resources; keep the Very Important Persons involved; and work with regional and international partners. Obama scores a “D.” This outlines in broad terms the need for interagency coordination within the U.S. government and greater collaboration with the UN, regional partners, the African Union and Europe.

However, Obama did not commit the necessary staff and resources for its implementation. “He should swiftly designate a Great Lakes envoy and dedicate more funding and resources to the crisis, and also encourage the African Union, France, and others to step up their commitments,” the groups suggest.

The protection of civilian’s strategy plans for massive expansion radio and mobile phone networks; improve the effectiveness of national militaries and UN peacekeepers; and ensure local voices are heard. Obama scores a “C.” This strategy highlights the expansion of telecommunications and early warning systems in LRA-affected areas as priority actions. It recognizes the need to increase the capacity and effectiveness of national militaries and peacekeepers in protecting civilians, focusing on increasing their mobility as another priority action.

“However, the U.S. has given little indication of what specific steps it will take to concretely improve the track record of military and peacekeeping forces or work with local communities to keep them safer,” the card notes.

The strategy on stopping senior LRA commanders calls for the apprehension of Joseph Kony and top LRA commanders; encourage LRA commanders to defect; and cut off external support to the LRA. Here Obama scores a “C.” The strategy commits to providing operational and intelligence support for efforts to apprehend senior LRA commanders, including Joseph Kony and those indicted by the ICC, and protect civilians from reprisal attacks. It also promises to ensure the LRA “receives no safe haven.”

“However, it relies on the Ugandan military to apprehend LRA commanders, despite strong indications that it is unable to do so and increasingly preoccupied with other priorities at home and in Somalia. There is little mention of how outreach specifically to senior LRA commanders can encourage them to defect,” the report says.

The strategy on facilitating escape is meant to help people escape from the LRA; and ensure those who escape can return home. Obama makes a “B.” The strategy outlines a comprehensive approach – encouraging escape from the LRA, transporting escapees safely home, and providing appropriate assistance to help them reintegrate into their communities. “The challenge is in implementation and the Administration will have to dedicate significant new resources to see progress on all three fronts,” the groups note.

The strategy on helping communities survive and rebuild is meant to find a way to reach people in need of emergency aid; increase aid to disrupted communities; and address the conflict’s root causes. Obama makes a “B.” This strategy outlines a comprehensive approach – providing emergency assistance, improving cross-border coordination and helping people return home if security improves. It also reiterates the U.S. commitment to reconstruction and transitional justice in northern Uganda. “To improve on this “B” grade, President Obama will need to dedicate significant new resources to implementing this approach in the coming months,” they suggest.

Obama released a strategy in November 2010, for the U.S. to engage with regional partners and assist in stopping violence perpetrated by the LRA in Central Africa and help communities affected by the conflict recover. This strategy was mandated by the bipartisan LRA Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act, the most widely-supported piece of Africa-specific legislation in recent U.S. history.

Michael Poffenberger, executive director of Resolve, a non-profit organization that supports ending LRA violence says, “This strategy came straight from President Obama’s desk and is a huge step forward for U.S. policy towards the crisis. If this blueprint is put into action, it will have a tremendous influence in improving safety for those living in the midst of LRA violence,” adding: “But President Obama will need assistance from Congress – in the form of continued political support and increased funding – for this strategy to succeed.”

The LRA, led by senior commanders indicted by the International Criminal Court, has plagued Central Africa for more than two decades. Since the 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. Another 400,000 civilians fled the violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Southern Sudan, and Central African Republic. In 2010 alone, LRA rebels committed more than 240 deadly attacks.

According to David Sullivan, research director for the Enough Project: "It's time for the Obama administration to show it is serious about ending LRA violence against civilians. By committing senior staff and resources commensurate to the urgency of the crisis, the United States can help galvanize wider international action that has been absent for too long."

“We don’t want the President to lose sight of the promises he made in his LRA strategy,” said Don Kraus, CEO of Citizens for Global Solutions. “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.”

“We want President Obama to remember the promises he made to the victims of the LRA and the hundreds of thousands of young activists who have rallied for this cause,” said Ben Keesey from Invisible Children. “We hope this report card will keep him on track.”

In a letter to President Obama, the groups also lay out four priorities for implementation of the strategy in the coming months: taking immediate steps to improve regional efforts to protect civilians, finding viable alternatives to the Ugandan military in apprehending or removing from the battlefield senior LRA commanders, expanding efforts to demobilize LRA commanders, and dedicating significant new staff and financial resources to implementing the strategy.

Ends.