Weekly Roundup for June 28-July 4: Search for next steps to peace continues

The Good: Remarks about the LRA by the top US diplomat at this week's African Union summit showed that resolving the conflict remains a priority in Washington, if not the wider international community.

The Bad: The murder of six civilians in Kitgum by a soldier of the Local Defense Unit (LDU) exposed the volatility of the war-affected region beyond the LRA as well as the urgency of demilitarization.

The Ugly: After six years of authorized cross-border operations to hunt LRA rebels, the Ugandan army is facing new criticism for its conduct in southern Sudan and calls from some Sudanese officials to withdraw from the territory.

The Peace Process:

• According to the former rebel lead negotiator, LRA leader Joseph Kony has continued to express openness to renewed peace talks and claims he did not sign the Final Peace Agreement (FPA) in April because his negotiating team concluded the agreement too quickly.

• The Ugandan government has expressed willingness to continue dialoguing with the rebels, but is refusing to re-negotiate the FPA. Both chief mediator Riek Machar and UN special envoy Joaquim Chissano are working to re-establish those channels of dialogue.

• However, a resort to regional military operations against the LRA is already in motion. This week, the South Sudan army (SPLA) was put on standby to clamp down on any rebels in their territory that are outside designated assembly points.

• The problem though is that many areas on the border regions of Central African Republic, Congo, Sudan and Uganda remain extremely porous, allowing the diffuse rebel force to easily evade conventional military offensives.

• Moreover, tensions surfaced this week between the Ugandan army and some South Sudan officials as Vice President Riek Machar accused Ugandan troops of a recent attack on civilians and called on them to leave Sudan's territory.

International Response:

• At this week's AU summit, the US top diplomat for Africa Jendayi Frazer called for strengthening the capacity of UN peacekeepers in Congo to contain, if not catch the LRA forces. Frazer's comments showed that the international community has not yet disengaged from efforts to resolve this crisis.

• In a related bit of news, the AU nominated Uganda as its non-permanent member to the UN Security Council for 2009/2010. Uganda now needs the support of the Security Council's permanent members, giving the US, UK and others leverage to emphasize the importance of securing and rebuilding Uganda's war-torn northern region.

• Let's hope and lobby that they will wield that leverage, because there is already evidence that the Ugandan government is lagging on its commitments. It would be a massive missed opportunity to not capitalize on the humanitarian gains achieved in northern Uganda over the last two years.