First the good news: in Uganda the Amnesty Act has been fully reinstated. This came about as result of lobbying and pressure by various stakeholders so that this can help play a big role in the defection strategy. We take heart from the outcome of this persistent teamwork.
 
Elsewhere, the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) continues to abduct children and youth to make them LRA fighters. These children are most of the times trained to kill their own relatives, neighbours and take part in atrocities. 
 
This is the LRA process of integrating new fighters and discouraging the children from defecting, escaping home, because they are told if they defect the surviving community members will kill them. As an additional deterrent, the LRA kills those who attempt to defect. 
 
Thus, the articles in the sixth edition of The Voice of Peace explore the difficulties in trying to defect from LRA. 
  • What opportunities do defectors have?
  • What strategies are in place to help them escape safely into the community?
  • What are the challenges these strategies are facing on the ground? 
  • When defectors finally escape how are they received and reintegrated into the community, especially in Uganda? 
These are the themes running through this edition.
 
The regional outlook for defections is bleak. The situation in the Central African Republic is far from stable. The new Seleka government has difficulty in managing and controlling the whole territory of CAR and doesn’t prioritize the LRA issue.
 
The African Union military initiative has slowed down despite some promises from presidents Michel Djotodia of CAR and Joseph Kabila of DRC to chase the LRA from the region. 
The biggest question we ask is, rather than just focusing on military operations, what can be done to make defection possible in DRC, CAR and South Sudan?