118 STAT. 912 PUBLIC LAW 108–283—AUG. 2, 2004 Public Law 108–283 108th Congress An Act To require a report on the conflict in Uganda, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Northern Uganda Crisis Response Act’’. SEC. 2. FINDINGS. Congress makes the following findings: (1) The United States and the Republic of Uganda enjoy a strong bilateral relationship and continue to work closely together in fighting the human immunodeficiency virus and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (‘‘HIV/AIDS’’) pandemic and combating international terrorism. (2) For more than 17 years, the Government of Uganda has been engaged in a conflict with the Lord’s Resistance Army that has inflicted hardship and suffering on the people of northern and eastern Uganda. (3) The members of the Lord’s Resistance Army have used brutal tactics during this conflict, including abducting and forcing individuals into sexual servitude, and forcing a large number of children, estimated to be between 16,000 and 26,000 children, in Uganda to serve in such Army’s military forces. (4) The Secretary of State has designated the Lord’s Resist ance Army as a terrorist organization and placed the Lord’s Resistance Army on the Terrorist Exclusion list pursuant to section 212(a)(3) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(3)). (5) According to Human Rights Watch, since the mid 1990s the only known sponsor of the Lord’s Resistance Army has been the Government of Sudan, though such Government denies providing assistance to the Lord’s Resistance Army. (6) More than 1,000,000 people have been displaced from their homes in Uganda as a result of the conflict. (7) The conflict has resulted in a lack of security for the people of Uganda, and as a result of such lack, each night more than 18,000 children leave their homes and flee to the relative safety of town centers, creating a massive ‘‘night com muter’’ phenomenon that leaves already vulnerable children subject to exploitation and abuse. Northern Uganda Crisis Response Act. Aug. 2, 2004 [S. 2264]
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