Born in Mucwini (Chua) in northern Uganda in September 1950, the young Olara Otunnu received his early education

at Gulu High School and King's College Budo. He then attended Makerere University in Kampala (where he was president of the students' union), Oxford University (where he was Overseas Scholar) and Harvard Law School (where he was a Fullbright Scholar). A lawyer by training, he practised law as an Associate with the law firm of Chadbourne and Parke in New York , prior to becoming Assistant Professor of Law at Albany Law School . In the 1970s, as a student leader and later as Secretary-General of Uganda Freedom Union, Dr Otunnu played a leading role in the resistance against the regime of Idi Amin. At the Moshi Unity Conference on Uganda (1979), Dr Otunnu was elected to serve as a member of the Uganda National Consultative Council, the interim administration in the post-Amin period (1979-1980). From 1980 to 1985, Olara Otunnu served as Uganda 's Permanent Representative to the United Nations. During his tenure, he played a very active role, providing leadership in various bodies, including President of the Security Council (1981), when he presided over the election of the Secretary-General; Chairman of the Commission on Human Rights (1983-1984); Vice-President of the General Assembly (1982-1983); Chairman of the Contact Group on Global Negotiations (19821993); Chairman of the General Assembly Credentials Committee (1983-1984); Chairman of the Drafting Committee of the Ministerial Meeting of Non-Aligned Countries (1983); and Chairman of the African Group (1981). Dr Otunnu served as Minister for Foreign Affairs of Uganda from 1985 to 1986, during which time he played a prominent role in the Uganda peace talks culminating in the Nairobi Agreement of December 1985. Subsequently, he returned to academia. From 1987 to 1989, he was affiliated with the Institut franais des relations internationales (IFRI) as a Visiting Fellow, and with the American University in Paris as a Visiting Professor. Olara A Otunnu was appointed by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan as his Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict on 19 August 1997. The appointment followed the Graa Machel Study on the Impact of Armed Conflict on Children and was mandated by General Assembly Resolution 51/77 of December 1996. Dr Otunnu has served as an advocate for the rights of children in the context of conflict, promoting measures for their protection in times of war and for their healing and social reintegration in the aftermath of conflict. During this time, he has visited several countries still in the grip of conflict or in the process of recovery. He visted Sierra Leone, Colombia, Sri Lanka, Mozambique, Kosovo and its Balkan neighbours, Liberia, the Sudan, Rwanda and Burundi. While in the Sudan , he attempted to meet JK or LRA commanders but was blocked by the Sudan Government - however, he managed to secure the release of a few adducted children, who were flown to Entebbe . In many cases, he has secured important commitments from warring parties in key areas such as the recruitment of under-age combatants and not targeting civilian sites such as schools and hospitals. As a UN Special Representative Dr Otunnu managed by mobilizing international political will and public opinion, that the protection, rights and wellbeing of children affected by armed conflict are priorities on the global agenda. By acting as a catalyst among UN agencies and humanitarian NGOs, he also seeks to develop a focused approach to meeting the needs of children affected by violent conflict, Uganda inclusive. From 1990 to the beginning of his mandate as Special Representative, Dr Olara Otunnu was President of the International Peace Academy (IPA). The Academy is an independent, international institution dedicated to promoting the prevention and settlement of armed conflict between and within States. Under Dr Otunnu's leadership, it developed an extensive portfolio of programmes, including a policy research programme to monitor the effectiveness of multilateral peace operations and a programme designed to help the Organization of African Unity (OAU) and African civil society build indigenous capacities for responding more effectively to conflicts on the continent. Dr Otunnu has participated in many studies and commissions focusing especially on

international peace and the reform of multilateral institutions. He has been a member of the Carnegie Commission on Preventing Deadly Conflict (1994 to present); the Commission on Global Governance (1992-1995); the International Panel on Management and Decision-Making in the United Nations (1986-1987); the Group on Rethinking International Governance (1986-1990); the United Nations Group of Experts on New Concepts of International Security (1984- 1985); the Commonwealth Group of Experts Study Group on the Security of Small States (1984-1985); and the International Task Force on Security Council Peace Enforcement (ongoing). Dr Otunnu has also been active in many civic initiatives and organizations. He currently serves on the boards of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the Aspen Institute, Hampshire College, the International Selection Commission of the Philadelphia Liberty Medal, Aspen France, the Council of African Advisers to the World Bank, the International Patrons of the Refugee Studies Programme at Oxford University, Aspen Italia, and the Advisory Committee of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
When asked about plight of children affected by war in Northern Uganda, Dr Otunnu own words, and I quote: "Let me tell you; having the government of one's homeland which one loves and to which one has given a good portion of one's lifearbitrarily take away one's nationality, making one stateless, is a very particular and unique experience. ... To see children suffering from war in my own region and not be unable to do anything about it despite my U.N. post is one of the most painful experiences through which I have ever had to live." The Baltimore Sun, November 2002. In a letter about Party co-operation, he wrote: "We look to the leaders of the democracy-seeking political parties to provide this leadership. We look to them to begin the process of rebuilding the shattered national project Is this a utopian dream? Not so. I believe, with all my heart, that this dream is realizable, if all patriotic forces decide to commit to it, to work for it, and to invest in it." Letter to FDC President, January 2006. To get elected UPC Party President, Dr Otunnu and then to the highest office, will depend on how the rest of Uganda (western and Buganda ) would view him not as an Acoli but Ugandan nationalist and saviour against the NRM dictatorship. However, if what failed the late Tiberio Okeny Otwoma, and my paternal uncle, the Gulu LC5 to get elected as the DP president in 1980 and 2006 respectively, then know that the politics of divide-and-rule and tribalism has taken hold of Uganda, and it will another 100 years before any northerner will ever be elected president in Uganda.