JOSEPH KONY AND THE INVISIBLE CHILDREN

Introduction

With the signing of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, which aims to reaffirm

faith in fundamental human rights and in the dignity and worth of every human person, people

of the world are supposed to live in a society where human rights are respected and where

everybody’s rights are recognized. As Dalai Lama once said “Peace can only last where human

rights are respected, where people are fed, and where individuals and nations are free. Human

rights are rights which every individual has by the very reason of his humanity. It is through

human rights that man becomes human. Pope John XXIII once wrote in his papal encyclical

“Pacum In Terris” that any human society, if it is be well-ordered and productive, must lay

down a s a foundation this principle namely, that every human being is a person, that is his

nature is endowed with intelligence and full will by virtue of this, he has rights and duties

flowing directly and simultaneously from his very nature (Sarmiento, 2017).

However, despite the universality of human rights at present, human right abuses and

human rights violations remain to be one of the hot topics in deferent parts of the world.

Extreme human rights abuses are drawn by history, from the ancient time to modern era. It was

during the two world wars where human right violations were so terrifying and even closed to

its extinction, as human rights abuses are often at the center of war. At present, human right

violations and human rights abuses still exist, and it is caused mainly by armed conflicts among

different parties. Government forces against certain rebel groups.

 In the present century, armed conflicts are often the primary root cause of extreme

human rights violations, of which children and women are the most vulnerable. Armed conflict

as defined in the international instruments refers to a contested incompatibility that concerns

government and or territory, where there is the use of armed forces between two parties, of

which at least one is the government of a state, which results in at least 25 battle-related

deaths in every calendar year. Violations of political and economic rights are the most typical

root causes of armed conflicts in many parts of the world. As for instance, when right to

adequate food, housing, employment and cultural rights are denied and large group of people

are excluded from society’s decision processes, there is great tendency of social unrest which

may leads to an armed conflict and armed conflicts may result in human rights abuses. These

instances often lead to justice conflicts in which parties demand that their basic needs be met.

In present era, one of the concrete examples of armed conflicts that resulted to extreme

human rights violation in the history of humanity was the LRA or the Lord’s Resistance Army

lead by Joseph Kony. The LRA is a rebel group which is responsible for Africa’s long armed

conflicts. They mainly creates social destruction in the central Africa. They abducted thousands

of young children and make them armies. Thousands of young girls were subjected to sex slave.

Thousands of innocent civilians were killed, and half a million people were displaced. Several

negotiation processes were ensued but of no avail.

Kony 2012 was a viral video that set precedence for modern viral advocacy videos. It

was released on YouTube March 5th, 2012 by the non-profit Invisible Children. In the 30 minute

film, viewers were informed about Ugandan war criminal Joseph Kony and his army of abducted
children. Filmmaker Jason Russell voiced the film and discussed his personal connection with a

young African boy who had been affected by Kony’s crimes. The film included interviews with a

variety of guests from Russell’s son to international experts. The purpose of the video was to

“make Kony famous” (Russell, 2012- 23:00). Invisible Children felt that not enough was being

done by the U.S. to help Uganda stop Kony because not many Americans had ever heard of him

or the issue. Despite being 30 minutes long, the video went viral across Facebook and Youtube,

reaching 100 million views in six days. Invisible Children advertised their ‘Action Kits’ and

bracelets in the video and sales of those too were extremely successful. Part of this widespread

success was aided by the video “trending” on YouTube; Kony 2012 ranked as the 3rd highest

trending YouTube video of 2012.

In this manuscript, the writers and contributors aim to have thorough discussion on the

matter. It will discuss how the LRA started and what was Joseph Kony’s participation to the

radical movement. The authors will also discuss certain cases that were filed against Kony and

his major generals. After the presentation of the facts and data and or information, the writers

will give its conclusion and closing statements on the matter.

References

Melander, E. (2015). Organized Violence in the World 2015. Uppsala Conflict Date Program.

Retrieved on December 28 from http://www.pcr.uu.se/digitalAssets/61/61335_1ucdp-

paper-9.pdf

Sanders, M (2014). Organization Behind ‘Kony 2012’ Set To Close Its Doors In 2015. The Two

Way America. Retrieved on December 28, 2019 from www.npr.org/section/thetwo-

way/2014/12/15/370824018/organization-behind-kony-2012-set-to-close-its-doors-in-
2015
Sarmiento, R (2017). Human Rights Law, Human Rights Culture. Rex Book Store.

www.rexpublishing.com.ph.