Background and Talking Points for AIUSA Activists

By now, many of you have seen the video gone viral that Invisible Children posted to promote their Kony 2012 campaign. You may also be wondering what it is that you, as an individual or within your local AI group, can actually do that will have an impact on bringing alleged human rights abusers such as LRA leader Joseph Kony, to justice. The public awareness brought by the campaign gives us an opportunity to reinvigorate activism around a couple of key pieces of Amnestys ongoing work. This factsheet will give guidance and background on the broader human rights issues surrounding the call to arrest Kony, and provide avenues for activism and engagement that support Amnesty Internationals long-standing campaign for accountability for egregious human rights abuses, war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. RESOURCES 1. Efforts to arrest Kony must respect human rights Amnesty International press statement. 2. End the Use of Child Soldiers online action calling on the U.S. government to fully comply with the Child Soldier Prevention Act. 3. AIUSAs International Justice Handbook a resource and toolkit for activists interested in Amnestys ongoing international justice work. BACKGROUND For more than two decades, Amnesty International has documented crimes committed by the Lords Resistance Army and their horrific impact on the lives of thousands of civilians in Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan and Uganda. Civilians in the Central African Republic (CAR), the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the worlds newest country, South Sudan have long suffered at the hands of armed groups, including the LRA, as well as government security forces. Amnesty International has also documented human rights violations committed by the Uganda Peoples Defence Forces against the civilian communities where the LRA were present, and against captured LRA members. In July of 2005, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Joseph Kony, Okot Odhiambo, and Dominic Ongwen (along with the deceased Raska Lukwiya, and presumed deceased Vincent Otti) of the LRA on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including murder, sexual enslavement, rape and abduction. The ICC also known as the court of last resort because it is designed to investigate the most serious crimes under international law in situations in which national courts are unwilling or unable to do so assures the due process that is essential to securing justice and accountability for the most egregious crimes committed against humankind. Amnesty International has long called for the immediate arrest and surrender to the ICC of Joseph Kony and the other LRA indictees as a beginning step to providing justice and healing for the countless victims of LRA violence in Uganda, CAR, DRC, and South Sudan.

DECONSTRUCTING KONY

KEY AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL ASKS Efforts to arrest even persons suspected of the worst possible crimes, such as Joseph Kony, must respect human rights, including the right to fair trial and the right not to be subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. Efforts to arrest the indictees should be led by the governments in the region in which the LRA operates, with the support of the African Union and the United Nations. As a matter of policy, AI neither supports nor opposes military intervention. For this reason, we are not calling for unilateral U.S. intervention to capture indicated LRA leaders, although we do want the U.S. to support governments in the region, including through UN and regional missions, in apprehending the suspects. Governments must ensure that civilians are protected in any pursuit to bring Kony and other LRA suspects to justice. The ICC must also investigate allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity against civilians and LRA members by the Ugandan forces. The Ugandan government and international community must ensure that measures are taken to address the suffering of victims of human rights abuses by the LRA, including providing medical and psychological care to victims of sexual violence and reintegrating child soldiers back into their communities and making education and vocational training available to them. The U.S. should ensure full compliance with the Child Soldier Prevention Act including but not limited to prohibiting military and technical assistance to countries and governments that have not met benchmarks on the demilitarizing existing child soldiers and preventing new ones from being recruited. The U.S. should do its utmost to ensure a successful conclusion to the negotiations now underway at the United Nations to adopt a global Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), including by ensuring that the treaty requires states party to prevent transfers where there is a substantial risk of arms them being used to commit or facilitate serious violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law, and to press for a comprehensive scope of arms and ammunition to be included in the ATT.

WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP JOIN AIUSAs live Facebook chat this upcoming Tuesday, March 13, 2012 to hear from AI experts on the issue and to pose your own questions and ideas. TAKE ACTION to press the U.S. government to lead the charge in preventing the recruitment and use of child soldiers by other governments and armed groups. The U.S. must fully comply with the Child Soldier Prevention Act and deny military and technical assistance to those who do not meet benchmarks to demilitarize existing child soldiers and prevent the recruitment of new child soldiers.