UGANDA NORTH AMERICA ASSOCIATION MEETING; SEPTEMBER 3, 2005

Keynote Address
By Ambassador Jimmy Kolker

It is a pleasure to be here among friends and compatriots.  And a special honor to fill the spot on your agenda where His Excellency President Yoweri Museveni spoke last year.  I am not the dynamic orator he is, but my speeches do tend to be shorter.
 
As you know, President Museveni has ties to Minnesota, where his daughters attended University.  And as you've heard, I graduated from college just 40 miles from here at Carleton College, where one of my elders was Ben Omara Abe.  It had been nearly 40 years when Ben and I reunited in Uganda earlier this year, and he persuaded me to return to Minnesota for your convention. 
 
I am now completing my third year as Ambassador of the United States of America to Uganda.  I have visited every part of Uganda, including 13 trips to the north, and everywhere I have been, I have been received with warmth and friendship.
 
I hope that Canada and my own country have extended that same hospitality to you, whether you have been in North America three days or three years or three generations.  Most Americans will think it odd, but you will understand when I greet you in a Ugandan way with the phrase "You are welcome."
 
The job of diplomats is to find and enlarge the areas of agreement and cooperation between two or more countries and to reduce and try to eliminate areas of disagreement or conflict.  In Uganda, opportunities for agreement and cooperation far outnumber the disagreements between our countries.  Relations between Uganda and the United States are excellent.
 
For that reason alone, I am delighted that the Uganda Parliament has voted to allow dual citizenship.  Our countries share so many values and goals that it will not be difficult for those who qualify to be loyal citizens of the United States or Canada and at the same time to maintain allegiance to Uganda.  I hope that the possibility of dual citizenship will highlight and facilitate the role that Ugandans in the diaspora play in expanding Uganda's role in the world as well as developing that beautiful country.
 
Ladies and Gentlemen
 
As American taxpayers, you deserve to hear from me what American interests are in Uganda and how the American government and the American Ambassador are trying to advance those interests.  Uganda has a role to play in nearly every priority that the United States has in Africa.  These include promoting democracy and human rights, bringing an end to conflict in places like Sudan, Congo and northern Uganda, facilitating trade and economic development, fighting AIDS and addressing humanitarian needs.
 
Let me discuss some of those topics briefly and suggest how this audience can contribute before allowing you some time for questions.
 
First, democracy.
 
As you know from the statements of President Bush and Secretary Condoleeza Rice, promotion of democracy is at the center of American engagement in the world.
 
The United States welcomes the decision by the Ugandan government and people to permit full operation of political parties.  In America, we believe that competition between political parties contributes to better public policies and a greater voice for citizens. 
 
Freedom of expression, freedom of association and freedom of assembly are cornerstones of any democracy.  Now that political space has formally been opened, it is more important than ever for all Ugandans to respect and protect those who are exercising these rights and to reject and punish those who are restricting them. 
 
In a broader sense, constitutions and elections represent the sovereignty of any country, and it is for Ugandans, not foreigners, to decide questions such as term limits.  We in America believe that Presidential term limits encourage the establishment of policies and institutions that will survive any single individual.  Given Uganda's history, it is especially important that Uganda's prosperity and Uganda's security are guaranteed by laws and executive, legislative and judicial institutions that have firm roots and are supported by a wide political consensus.
 
Uganda has been well-governed since 1986, but in my July 4th speech this year, I pointed to what I called red warning lights that are flashing.    Two of these are corruption and political violence.  Corruption is widespread in areas such as government contracting, privatizations and access to the courts.  Violence has characterized Uganda's political scene, and perpetrators have not been disciplined or prosecuted.  I see these two problems, in particular, as harming Uganda's international reputation as well as its progress toward democracy.
 
Peace and security, including the fight against terrorism, are essential to Africa's future, as well as important American interests on the continent. 
 
Uganda has been a valuable partner to the United States is searching for peace in Sudan, in the Congo, in Somalia and in Burundi.  In each of those cases, there are peace agreements which the U.S. and Uganda and other nations are working together to uphold. 
 
It remains our fervent hope, despite the tragic death of John Garang, that the end of the war in southern Sudan will contribute to ending the conflict in northern Uganda. 
 
When we see on television the scenes of hundreds of thousands in New Orleans uprooted from their homes, crowded into inhuman spaces, unable to access clean water or sanitation, we are horrified and rightly so.  But this is a situation that has been going on in northern Uganda for many years, caused not by an act of God but of man. 
 
Over two million people have been displaced; nearly 1.5 million of them are living in camps.  The Lord's Resistance Army has killed more than 10,000 and abducted tens of thousands more, including 20,000 children. 
Thousands of children are "night commuters" moving on foot into the towns of Gulu and Kitgum every night.  This human catastrophe is only recently getting the attention of the world community.  I commend those here who have been leading the effort to end the suffering.
 
The United States wants to bring the conflict in northern Uganda to a quick and permanent end.  We are providing more than half of the humanitarian relief that is keeping the displaced people alive.  We have no sympathy for the LRA, which is terrorizing the people.  They need to stop. 
 
And if there are any Ugandans in this country who are supporting the LRA, either financially or politically, they need to stop, too.  The LRA is on the U.S. terrorist exclusion list, and such support violates U.S. law. 
 
The government of Uganda, for its part, needs to do a better job of protecting its own citizens, and we are trying to help.  But killing abducted children, who make up the majority of LRA fighters, is not the best way to end this war. 
 
We back the efforts of Betty Bigombe, whose mediation is accepted by both the Government of Uganda and the LRA, to try to bring the sides together to achieve a cessation of hostilities and allow the Acholi people to go back to their homes and lands.  We are prepared to help the re-settlement and are already trying to contribute to reconciliation.
 
 Ladies and Gentlemen
 
In October, I will be moving to Washington, DC and taking over my new job as Assistant Global AIDS Coordinator.  I'm proud to be part of tripling the U.S. contribution to the fight against AIDS in Uganda over the past two years.  Uganda has been a leader in prevention, care and treatment, and President Bush's Emergency Plan is a comprehensive program that has supported these efforts and saved lives. 
 
Uganda has been a model for that plan, and I will work personally to assure that the positive experiences that helped Uganda bring down the rate of infection, reduce stigma, make testing widely available and provide live-saving drugs to tens of thousands can be repeated elsewhere.  Nonetheless, there are one million HIV positive people in Uganda, and AIDS is an incurable disease.  The battle to reverse its devastating effects still requires the commitment of all of us.
 
 Finally, let me say a word about Economic growth and development. 
 
Hon. Minister, the American government and I think nearly all of us in this room share your government's conviction that private-sector led economic growth and development is the best way, possibly the only way, to end poverty in Uganda. 
 
Our USAID programs keep that in mind as our principal focus is on improving human capacity and incomes for Uganda's poor.  We are in many sectors including humanitarian aid to the north, AIDS and health, education, agriculture, private sector growth and good governance.  And we expect that level of aid to be maintained over the coming year.
 
The United States has opened our markets through the African Growth and Opportunity Act.  But few countries have benefited substantially from AGOA, and Uganda, so far, has seen only modest increases in exports to the United States.  There have been successes in exporting vanilla and tilapia, and firms are still pursuing markets for Uganda coffee and garments and handicrafts.
 
But as the honorable ministers know, the remittances from Ugandans overseas are by far, by far the largest source of Uganda's foreign exchange earnings.  The money that you send to your families, to your villages and to the orphans, churches, schools and charities that you're supporting is the single largest benefit to Uganda from the world economy. 
 
Overseas Ugandans contribute enormously to Uganda both financially and intellectually.  But there are a few who do great harm.  If you look on our embassy website, you will see that we have issued public warnings about check fraud perpetrated by Ugandans on American businesses.  We estimate that Americans have been defrauded out of more than $1 million by criminals who steal their checks or duplicate them illegally and alter those checks to order merchandise or turn them into cash. 
 
Uganda, and Ugandans in the diaspora, are unfortunately leading the world in this crime, much as Nigerians are notorious for scamming e-mail users into revealing their bank account numbers.  I urge you to do anything possible to put a stop to any Ugandans who are trying to make a quick buck from check fraud.  They threaten to ruin Uganda's commercial reputation and make your and my efforts to grow Uganda economically that much more difficult.
 
Fortunately, those criminals are a tiny minority.  Ugandans in North America have distinguished themselves as professors, doctors, scientists and community leaders.  You have turned adversity in Uganda into opportunity for yourselves and for my fellow Americans. 
 
You have honored your families and your universities and in some cases the US government who have sponsored your education by using that education for the betterment of Uganda and your adopted countries.
 
In that context, I must say a word about visas.  The majority of Ugandans who apply for visas at the American Embassy in Kampala are issued visas.  The vast majority of those who visit the United States on business or tourist or student visas obey the rules and return to Uganda or adjust their status according to our laws.
 
But a recent informal survey we did of successful visa applicants showed that 13% had not returned to Uganda as our law requires.  And there are thousands of Ugandans, some probably here today, who are in this country in violation of their status. 
 
Everyone here today knows that there are Ugandan visa applicants who present fraudulent documents, lie about their intentions and go to great lengths to invent organizations or pretexts in order to get visas to the United States.  There are others working here illegally who now want to regularize their situation. 
 
In spite of news reports that you may have read, even some emanating from State House, there are no negotiations between the United States and Uganda special status for any Ugandan "guest workers" in this country.  There is legislation currently before the Congress that may change our laws in this regard.  But that legislation has not passed, and if it does, it will likely affect all nationalities and may be restricted as to date of entry or particular skills.  There will be no general amnesty and no separate deal applying only to Ugandans.
 
The combination of unqualified applicants misrepresenting their finances, purpose of travel and ties to Uganda, along with Ugandans who do not observe our laws and overstay their visas makes it very, very difficult for embassy consuls to make a snap judgment about who is a legitimate tourist and who is a fraudster. 
 
We want Ugandans to study in America and to visit this country.  We want your relatives to be able to attend your graduations and weddings and see their grandchildren.  I know that you want to travel back and forth but sometimes hesitate to do so if it means applying for a new visa.  These are not the people we want to inconvenience.  
 
So I ask your help.  Please don't expect us to give visas to your young cousins to come over to be your nannies.     Don't expect us to believe that your young brothers who have just failed their "O" levels, have no money and no job are just coming for a visit and won't be tempted to seek work in America.  Don't assume that we know how famous or how rich you are.  You may have to spell it out. 
 
Do be sure that the purpose, the timing and the financing of the visitors you are sponsoring is very clearly stated and all supporting documents are presented.  Work with the colleges and universities to produce the necessary paperwork on time and in full, and that the prospective students have a clear idea of why they want to study in the U.S.  and how the choice of courses makes it likely that the student intends to return to Uganda one day.
 
And do, as law-abiding residents who have a stake in America and in the fair application of our laws, do help us police your own ranks.  Don't encourage visa overstays.  Don't hire or house illegal workers.  I am pleased that during the three years I have been Ambassador the visa approval ratio has gone up.  The turnaround time has been shortened and the number of complaints has gone down.  I repeat:  We want Ugandans to study in America and to visit this country.  We need your help to be sure that those who want to do so legitimately are able to do so.  
 
I saw an article in USA Today recently suggesting who would be this year's college football All-Americans.  Who was pictured?  Mathias Kiwanuka of Boston College.  Think about that.  Gridiron - Football - All - American  -- Kiwanuka?  The grandson of Uganda's late prime minister now an all-American.  What better symbol is there of how Uganda's adversity has become America's gift.  What better description is there of all the Kiwanukas and Omara Abes here today than "All-American."
 
Thank you