MISSISSAUGA, Ont . - World Vision's report, Pawns of Politics: Children, Conflict and Peace in northern Uganda , declares that peace is attainable in the world's most protracted, cruel and bloody humanitarian crisis. According to the report, the international community has failed to take action on its promise to help stop the crisis. The report will be available to the public Monday.

"The terrors occurring in Uganda are absolutely devastating, but this is not news to Canadians because it has been going on for almost two decades," said Dave Toycen, president of World Vision Canada. "We as an international community should be putting in more effort to stop this disaster.  This report shows a vision of hope for the children in Uganda and declares an end is within reach."

The plight of children who have been abducted, taken to south Sudan and forced into bondage as child soldiers, sex slaves and weapon carriers has worsened as a consequence of the global war on terror; there are now more than 1.6 million people who are homeless - more than in Darfur, Sudan.  The report warns that, "While the extreme abuses of children in northern Uganda are now well documented and widely known, the international community has failed to find an effective way to protect these children."

The report reveals the impact of the 18-year conflict on northern Uganda and includes new research that shows that HIV/AIDS prevalence rates in conflict-affected areas are almost double the national average, and rising.

For more than 15 years the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) has been abducting children and inflicting terror on the people of Uganda.  Since 1999, the UN Security Council has passed five resolutions on the protection of children armed in the conflict, but there is still very little action taking place.  The report warns that the capture of LRA rebel leader Joseph Kony may not cease the bloodshed, as there is a real risk of a new leader taking his place.

The report also states:

• The economic costs of the war have been enormous, conservatively quantified at more than $1.3 billion US and costing more than $100 million US each year
  
• Eighty per cent of the northern region's population is homeless and living in displacement camps that are squalid and cramped
  
• Malnutrition rates among displaced children range from seven to 21 per cent, and up an average of 1,052 to 15,000 people share a single water source in the camps set up for those displaced by the conflict not sure how you can average 1000 - 15, 000 - kind of defeats purpose of presenting an average!

If a resolution does not occur in the near future, the fate of hundreds of thousands of children will continue to be threatened, and there is no telling to what extent we will allow this to go on.  The report clearly states the necessary action needed for a resolution:

"Turning the corner will require co-operation at the local level at the national level in both Uganda and Sudan, and concerted action from the international community. 

"There is no time to lose."

To view a copy of Pawns of Politics please click here . (PDF 1.2MB, opens in new window)