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[NEW YORK/GENEVA/NAIROBI/KAMPALA, 29 August 2006] – UNICEF welcomes the agreement between the Government of Uganda and the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) to cease hostilities, which is aimed at ending 20 years of armed conflict. We urge both the Government of Uganda and the Lord’s Resistance Army to fully embrace this opportunity to finally resolve decades of conflict through a comprehensive peace agreement and to keep women and children foremost in the discussions. We are encouraged by the prospect in the agreement for “the LRA to re-locate and make special provisions for any non-essential members of the LRA in the care of specialized humanitarian agencies.” In this regard, UNICEF urges the prompt return of all children and women who have been separated from their families and communities in northern Uganda. UNICEF will continue to work with partners to provide the necessary and appropriate assistance to, and protection of, the returning children and women, and is fully prepared to support the process of release, reception and reintegration in collaboration with the Amnesty Commission, District Local Governments, traditional and religious leaders, and national and international humanitarian organizations. The protection of children is a universal imperative, and it is critical that the reintegration of all separated children – including formerly abducted children – be reintegrated into their families, extended families or communities of origin. Children and women in Uganda must have unhindered access to health, education, safe water, shelter, protection and other essential services.