UN Relief Head Meets With Ugandan Leader On Return Of 1.6 Million Displaced Persons
United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland today discussed with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni
preparations for the potential return of the 1.6 million internally displaced persons driven (IDPs) from their homes by
an 18-year-old war with the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA).
At the meeting in Kampala, Uganda's capital, President Museveni welcomed UN efforts to support the possible
reintegration of LRA fighters and expressed his willingness to work closely with the UN in moving the East African
country's reconciliation process forward.
The LRA has become particularly notorious for its practice of kidnapping children to serve as soldiers or as sexual
slaves for its commanders. More than 12,000 children have been abducted since June 2002.
In April the plight of these children was included on the list of "Ten Stories the World Should Know More About," which
was compiled by the UN Department of Public Information.