U.N. hope for peace agreement

The U.N. stated on 26 November 2008 that there is every indication that the Ugandan Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebel group will sign a peace agreement in the coming days. U.N. special envoy -- former Mozambican President Joachim Chissano -- stated that LRA leader Joseph Kony is on his way to a 29 November signing ceremony in Ri Kwangba in southern Sudan from his hideout in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Kony had refused to sign a peace agreement in April 2008 due to outstanding international arrest warrants against the rebel group's leaders; however, the Ugandan government then stated that it would be willing to ask the U.N. Security Council for a one-year suspension of the warrants to allow for the signing and resolution of the conflict by other means. Although there are no guarantees that Kony will sign the agreement on 29 November, Chissano is very optimistic. The LRA has been waging a rebellion against the Ugandan government for the past 20 years.