Reuters is reporting that the government and rebel groups in Uganda are one step closer to peace.  However, the deal would allow Joseph Kony of the LRA and other rebels to avoid international war crimes charges.

The deal has been met with skepticism considering that the International Criminal Court has already brought charges against Kony and two of his lieutenants.  International law mandates that they be turned over to the ICC immediately after their surrender. 

The conflict in Northern Uganda is one of Africa’s longest-running and vicious civil wars.

For anyone in the D.C. area interested in the conflict in Northern Uganda, Lobby Day for Northern Uganda will occur from Feb. 24-26. 

According to MTV, Pete Wentz will be joining over 1,000 young people to lobby congress.  This gives us all an opportunity to swap eyeliner tips with the member of Fall Out Boy.   

As a six-month truce agreement expired yesterday, some in Northern Uganda were moving back to internally displaced person (IDP) camps in uneasy anticipation of what might happen next. Negotiations in Juba, Sudan, for a permanent peace between the Ugandan government and the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) have been stalled for much of the truce.

On Capitol Hill yesterday, the ENOUGH campaign, a joint project of the Center for American Progress and the International Crisis Group, held an event with absentee hosts Senators Sam Brownback (R-KS) and Russ Feingold (D-WI). Though the senators could not be there, Rep. Donald Payne (D-NJ) did attend, but short two long-winded politicians, there was much more time to hear from the gathered experts.

Fresh back from a trip to Uganda, Betty Bigombe of United States Institute of Peace and John Prendergast of ENOUGH reported what they saw. They related the unease of the 2 million people who have been displaced by the fighting. A U.S.-side grassroots organizer on the issue, Michael Poffenberger, who graduated from Notre Dame only two years ago, reported that new estimates put the number of excess deaths due to the situation at 1,000 a week.

The panelists stood aghast at the U.S. media's lack of attention to Uganda at a time when Sudan has finally broken into the mainstream news if in a modest way. But their strongest words were for the U.S. government, which they say could give the Juba peace process much-needed legitimacy.

"This I think is the easiest war in Africa to resolve," Prendergast said. "We don't need billions of dollars, we don't need troops. We just need the us to take some ... leadership." Indeed, he said, the United States has not so much as appointed a full time liaison to the region. But politicians are unlikely to respond without pressure from voters.

Uganda-CAN, co-founded by Poffenberger, is a good place to start if you want to take action. Go there.