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Notes
for an address
Kacoke
Madit 2000 Ministers, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen It is my pleasure to be here today. I am pleased to see that you are all here as well, and not in Arusha. The short notice of the change probably affected me the least, seeing as I reside in Nairobi. I am undoubtedly a minority in this regard. Some people have asked why Canada has an interest in the situation in northern Uganda, and the situation of the Acholi people. Our interest has several facets, but they all relate to an interest in peacebuilding, the promotion of human rights and addressing serious humanitarian situations. Africa, and this region, has many problems, large and small. The conflict in northern Uganda is but one of these problems, and one which has attracted little attention for many years. Why has this been the case? The situation in northern Uganda perhaps has not been viewed as a major one, especially by the international community. The conflicts in the DRC, Somalia, Ethiopia/Eritrea and Sudan may have overshadowed it. It may have been seen as more of a domestic conflict than one with international implications. There could be other explanations. Regardless, we have come to learn that there are no ‘small’ problems, and that there is an inter-linkage between conflicts in the region of the great lakes and the horn of Africa which must all be addressed if stability and peace are to prevail throughout the region and in individual countries and between countries. The whole inevitably is the sum of its parts. Canada has been concerned with, and involved in, the situation in northern Uganda for several years. This concern and involvement has been with the development of northern Uganda and increasingly with the actions of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in abducting children from northern Uganda. Canada has supported the development work of some NGOs in northern Uganda, and has encouraged the government of Uganda to engage in rehabilitation of the north. However, even this interest could be described as passive until recently. In short, the problems of northern Uganda needed a kick-start. Canada, and many others, therefore welcomed the conclusion of the Nairobi agreement between Uganda and Sudan in December 1999. This agreement, facilitated by the Carter Center, represented a major step forward in achieving an end to the conflict in northern Uganda, and to advancing peace in the region. Admittedly, the implementation of this agreement has moved forward slowly. However, it has moved forward and it provides the best framework for a solution. Canada has been pleased to become associated with this process, along with Egypt, Libya and UNICEF. In September of this year, Canada and UNICEF co-hosted a global conference on war-affected children in Winnipeg, Canada. This conference featured a special session on children abducted by the LRA. This resulted in the Winnipeg Communiqué, signed by the foreign ministers of Uganda and Sudan, Canada’s minister of foreign affairs and Egypt’s ambassador to Canada. The Winnipeg Communiqué is complimentary to the Carter center process, focussing on the issue of abducted children including children abducted by the SPLM/A as well as those abducted by the LRA, in addition to other issues related to children. Canada, under the Winnipeg initiative, is working closely within the Carter Center process on the issue of abducted children. We are determined to see the release, return and reintegration of LRA abductees to Uganda, and to see the GOU act on any information concerning any abductions of Sudanese Children by the SPLM/A. This determination was reaffirmed at a meeting in Nairobi last weekend on the implementation of the Nairobi Agreement. We are confident that, with the continued cooperation of the governments of Uganda and Sudan, success will come soon. Canada, at the Winnipeg conference, committed C$1 million to the repatriation, reintegration, and rehabilitation of LRA abductees. We are moving towards implementing this commitment through UNICEF in Sudan and through NGOs in Uganda. We have assisted already with funding the costs of returnees from Sudan. In this regard, protection is also an issue, including with respect to the IDP camps in northern Uganda. Canada appreciates that there are many issues which concern the Acholi people beyond the return of abductees. These include the provision of basic services, support for economic and social development, and the place of the Acholi people within the Ugandan nation. Canada aims to see its general development cooperation with Uganda benefit all Ugandans, including those in the north. Thus our engagement goes beyond just the return of abductees. Canada also is a country which is very aware of the challenges of national unity, and the challenges of bringing together peoples of different ethnicity and culture into one nation. Through the ongoing constructive dialogue we have with the GOU, and our engagement in Uganda, we hope to reinforce efforts at internal dialogue and nation-building. This is not prescriptive, but cooperative, a sharing of best practices as it were. In conclusion, I wish to underline Canada’s serious commitment, with its friends in the region and beyond, to see the end of conflict in Uganda, the return of the Acholi to their home, and the achievement of a strong, peaceful and prosperous Uganda. This must be done through dialogue, and not confrontation; through compassion and not anger; through determination and not indifference. We are pleased that KM is committed to these principles and we wish you every success in supporting the way forward. Thank you |
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