Canada-Uganda relations

Canada maintains good relations with Uganda, particularly within the Commonwealth. The Canadian High Commissioner resides in Nairobi, Kenya. Uganda has a high commission in Ottawa.

Canada has urged the Ugandan government and the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels to put an end to the conflict. The Government of Canada supports multilateral efforts to resolve the conflict and humanitarian crisis through the United Nations (UN). Canada has supported the efforts of Mr. Jan Egeland, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, to draw more attention to what he termed the "world's worst forgotten humanitarian emergency". Canada urged the international community, including the G8, to recognize the gravity of the situation and engage with the Government of Uganda to find ways to improve the humanitarian and security situation. As a result of Canada's initiative, the Chairman of the G8 foreign ministers meeting included in his statement of June 29, 2006, a paragraph on northern Uganda in which G8 foreign ministers expressed their concerns regarding the situation in that region and its serious humanitarian consequences, and welcomed the steps taken by the Government of Uganda to improve the situation. They also called on the international community, including the UN, to provide support to overcome the humanitarian problems.

Peace process in Northern Uganda: Background information

During two decades of conflict between the Government of Uganda and the (LRA), as many as 2 million Ugandans in the North (95 percent of Acholi ethnic identity) have been forced to live in displaced persons camps, and close to 30,000 persons-mainly children-have been abducted by the LRA. The conflict has also produced significant instability in South Sudan, where the insurgency has been one of the major sources of persisting conflict and displacement following the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in January 2005.

In recent months, a fragile peace has emerged in northern Uganda. The LRA and the Government of Uganda signed a Cessation of Hostilities Agreement, which came into effect on August 29, 2006. This was renewed on November 1 with further security provisions for the LRA. The peace talks currently underway in Juba, South Sudan, mediated by the Government of South Sudan, are intended to address a wide range of issues, including a permanent cessation of hostilities, the disarmament and demobilization of the LRA, the economic and political marginalization of the North within Uganda, and the need for appropriate accountability for war crimes committed during the conflict.

Canada's contribution to the Juba peace talks will bolster regional peace and security in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo and advance Canada's peacebuilding efforts in South Sudan, where LRA activity in recent years has contributed to continued instability and the displacement of civilians.

If successful, the peace talks will pave the way for lasting peace and stability in northern Uganda. Already, improving security conditions in northern Uganda as a result of the ceasefire have permitted some 300,000 internally displaced persons to return to their homes and villages.

This $1.5-million contribution means that Canada ranks first among donors to the Juba Initiative Project managed by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Other countries that are also supporting the peace talks include Belgium, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom). Together with other donors, Canada is committed to helping bring an end to the conflict in northern Uganda.

This contribution is in line with Canada's increased engagement with Uganda, of which there are several elements. Canada has placed a Political Counsellor in Kampala and has increased its involvement in the Government of Uganda's Joint Monitoring Committee (JMC), which monitors the Ugandan Government's Emergency Humanitarian Action Plan for the North. The JMC is chaired by Uganda's Prime Minister and includes donor countries, UN agencies and NGOs.