Yesterday UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon released a report about the mission to capture Kony and disarm the LRA. We hope that the international community will respond to this report about what the operation requires and what it lacks. These words require action. Check out this Chicago Tribune article for a solid overview. Or you can read the original report.

Two important points: First, the mission to stop LRA violence cannot be expected to succeed without adequate resources, and right now the mission doesn’t have adequate resources.

“The initiative itself lacks adequate and predictable funding for its operations,” Ban’s report said. “Without the necessary resources, the African Union will be unable to execute this important task fully.”

Second, regional governments and their militaries need to cooperate within the UN/AU strategy if they’re serious about seeing an end to LRA violence. South Sudan, Sudan, Central African Republic, and DR Congo each need to do whatever it can to facilitate the coordinated efforts to capture Joseph Kony and his top commanders.

“Other challenges remain, including the need to ensure that the armies and governments of the affected countries are fully prepared to work jointly to counter the LRA threat, both at the political and operational levels.”

Just last week, Ban ki-Moon released a report about the violence that Kony and the LRA continue to inflict on children. This report discredits claims that the LRA is a spent force that doesn’t merit global attention. The LRA may be weakening, but it continues to abduct, abuse, and disfigure children.

It’s encouraging to see the UN Secretary General issue two reports about the LRA threat in two weeks. Now that the operation’s shortcomings have been acknowledged, the international community should take responsibility for fixing them.

-Azy

(Photo credit: UN/UNPD)