Searching for solutions in Juba: an overview

The Juba talks were not supposed to end the way they did. After an elaborate and often inclusive negotiating process between the Lord’s Resistance Army/Movement (LRA/M) and the Ugandan government – involving dialogue unparalleled in twenty years of violent conflict – the LRA/M ultimately refused to sign the final agreement in 2008. Since then the Ugandan government has pursued the LRA militarily across Southern Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Central African Republic (CAR), and the LRA has carried out atrocious attacks. As of December 2009, the LRA leadership has neither been caught nor killed, and LRA military strength remains unclear. This article reflects on why the talks failed and asks what lessons may be learned.