Refugees International is conducting an assessment mission to northern Uganda from January 31 to February 14 focusing on the assistance and protection needs of the estimated 1.7 million people displaced by the conflict between the Ugandan government and the Lord’s Resistance Army. Advocates Michelle Brown and Sayre Nyce, accompanied by RI Board Secretary Jan Weil, are conducting the mission.

The RI team plans to spend most of their time in the northern part of the country visiting camps for the internally displaced, discussing the situation with the displaced directly, and consulting with the agencies responding to their needs. Since the International Criminal Court announced arrest warrants for the LRA leadership in October 2005, attacks on humanitarian workers have increased, limiting access to most camps. RI will attempt to assess the impact this development is having on the delivery of humanitarian services. Child protection is another RI priority for this mission, as children are especially vulnerable to abduction into the LRA or to forced recruitment into local militias.

Northern Uganda is a pilot country for the implementation of the “cluster response” to internal displacement, in which specific UN agencies are assigned responsibility for sectors such as camp management, water and sanitation, and protection. The RI team will examine the extent to which the cluster response is being implemented in response to the internal displacement crisis in northern Uganda.

The RI team will return to the U.S. on February 14 and conduct follow up advocacy in Washington and New York upon their return.