The leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army, a decades-old guerrilla group, Kony had been indicted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity almost too barbarous to believe: among them,
kidnapping tens of thousands of children
to use as sex slaves and soldiers.
What did Kony do?
Joseph Rao Kony (pronounced [koɲ]; likely born 1961) is a Ugandan insurgent and the
leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA)
, a guerrilla group that formerly operated in Uganda. … Kony has been accused by government entities of ordering the abduction of children to become child soldiers and sex slaves.
What did Kony 2012 accomplish?
Since 2012, we’ve seen a
92% reduction in killings by the LRA killings
. More than 300 women and children captives have safely escaped or been released from LRA captivity, and dozens of fighters have peacefully surrendered, including a several senior LRA leaders and some of Kony’s former bodyguards.
How did Kony 2012 start?
We created the KONY 2012 campaign
after eight years of demanding justice for LRA-affected communities and watching Joseph Kony get away with his brutal crimes
. In many ways, KONY 2012 was an experiment.
Who was behind Kony 2012?
Invisible Children
, the group responsible for creating the Kony 2012 video, says it has learned a lot over the past two years.
Why was Kony 2012 so successful?
Insofar as its aim was
to raise money and awareness of Kony’s crimes
, Kony 2012 was a success. Invisible Children collected $5 million in the first two days of the campaign and netted even more from celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey, who gave a cool $2 million. Bill Gates tweeted the hashtag; Rihanna shared the video.
What happened to Jason Russell?
Less than two weeks after Kony 2012 hit the Web, Jason Russell, who narrated and appeared prominently in the video,
was hospitalized after behaving erratically in public
. His family said his condition was the result of stress from the intense attention paid to the video.
Are there still child soldiers in Africa?
A recent UN report verified that 8,521 children were used as soldiers in 2020, while another 2,674 children were killed and 5,748 injured in various conflicts. According to some estimates,
up to 40% of child soldiers are in Africa
.
Why does the LRA use child soldiers?
The LRA have often used
children to fight because they are easy to replace by raiding schools or villages
. According to Livingstone Sewanyana, executive director of the Foundation for Human Rights Initiative, the government was the first to use child soldiers in this conflict.
Is child soldiers still a problem?
Despite global efforts to end the use of child soldiers,
girls and boys are still forced into combat
– as fighters and in other roles – in at least 14 countries including the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan and Somalia. … Tens of thousands of children are estimated to be recruited and used by armed groups.
Who started Kony?
Jason Russell
(born October 12, 1978) is an American film and theater director, choreographer, and activist who co-founded Invisible Children, Inc. He is the director of Kony 2012, a short documentary film that went viral in the beginning of March 2012.
Was Jason Russell on drugs?
His family has said in a statement that Russell was under stress and that he “never had a substance abuse or drinking problem, and this episode wasn’t caused by either of those things.” …
What did Invisible Children accomplish?
THE INVISIBLE CHILDREN OF TODAY AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY
They were right. By harnessing the power of storytelling, youth idealism, and human empathy, they
mobilized millions around the world to raise the banner for LRA-affected communities
and move world leaders to take historic action to end the LRA crisis.
Where does Jason Russell live?
| The Jason Russell House | Location 7 Jason St. Arlington, Massachusetts | Coordinates 42°24′58′′N 71°09′31′′WCoordinates: 42°24′58′′N 71°09′31′′W | Part of Arlington Center Historic District (ID85002691) | Significant dates |
|---|
What country has the youngest soldiers?
In the East Asian country of
Laos
, the minimum age for compulsory military service is 15 years.
How many child soldiers died 2020?
The most violations in 2020 were committed in Somalia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Afghanistan, Syria and Yemen. It verified that 8,521 children were used as soldiers last year, while another
2,674 children
were killed and 5,748 injured in various conflicts.
