This month four UK MPs made a journey to Uganda to see first hand the devastation brought to millions of people living in the north of the country, after 19-years of civil war.

|PIC1|The trip was made possible through the Northern Uganda Advocacy Partnership for Peace (NUAPP), which is a coalition of non-governmental organisations, including Christian Aid. NUAPP has the commission to raise the awareness of the plight in northern Uganda among political figures and policy-makers, and to encourage actions to find a peaceful resolution to the terrible conflicts.

The MP for Stroud, David Drew was one of the four MPs that visited the war-torn country, and after visiting a camp for displaced people in the north of the country he reported, “What has shocked me is the scale of the problem. I understood the nature of the conflict before but what I did not realise is that we are talking about 1.6 million people being displaced into camps.”

The four MPs were Bob Blizzard, Mark Simmonds, Paul Rowen and David Drew, and they had the chance to meet with President Yoweri Museveni and other representatives from the United Nations and the UK government who were working in Uganda.

The huge challenge of the situation was revealed to the MPs after visiting the thousands living in a climate of absolute fear and uncertainty. Mark Simmonds, the MP for Boston and Skegness said, “The impact of watching the thousands of children entering Gulu every night for safety and security, some having walked 17 kilometres was uniquely disturbing.”

|QUOTE|He continued, “I found this scene distressing and left with determination and resolution to do all I can to facilitate a solution.”

For nearly 20 years the conflict has continued between the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and the Ugandan government. The LRA’s exact political agenda is unclear, but it has become notorious for abducting young children and forcing them to fight and kill fellow civilians.

It is estimated that over the civil war the LRA has abducted more than 20,000 children, tell Christian Aid.

The MPs also continued their journey to Gulu to meet up with Christian Aid partners who are aiding the reintegration of child soldiers who have been returned or have escaped with their families or communities.

|TOP|Christian Aid’s partners include the Acholi Religious Leaders Peace Initiative (ARLPI), People’s Voice for Peace (PVP) and Concerned Parents Association (CPA). Together they are conducting talks with the government, the international community as well as the International Criminal Courts.

At the top of their list of priorities is the demand for recognition of humanitarian needs of the Ugandan people, and for international help for a peaceful solution to be negotiated in the region.

A unanimous determination was expressed by the MPs to highlight the suffering they witnessed in the region, and Christian Aid has testified that it will continue to advocate and lobby the British government to raise further awareness of the situation in Uganda, and to press for positive moves to be made to find a peaceful outcome to the civil war.