Grace Akallo

Grace Akallo (born 1981) is a Ugandan woman who was abducted in 1996 to be used as a child soldier in the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), a rebel military group led by Joseph Kony. At the time of her abduction, Akallo was 15 years old and attending St. Mary's College, a Catholic boarding school in Aboke, Uganda. Upon her escape from the LRA, Akallo began working as an advocate for peace and for the rights of African women and children. She has been using both her experiences as a child soldier and the information she has gained in her higher education to advocate against violence and the use of child soldiers, as well as to help counsel other escaped child soldiers like herself. Quotes I am not only here to talk about my own story but on behalf of all the children in armed conflict who have to face and survive the atrocities of war. Opening her address to the United Nations Security Council, explaining that she was speaking not only for herself but also for children affected by armed conflict around the world. I had learnt the advantages of education and I was determined to be the first person to go to university in my village. Recalling her life before being abducted by the Lord's Resistance Army, she described her determination to pursue higher education. Education gave me hope. Explaining how returning to school after escaping captivity became a crucial part of her healing and recovery. I have told my own story, but the stories you have not heard are thousands-fold. Explaining that her experience represented only a small fraction of the suffering endured by children affected by armed conflict around the world. Sexual violence is a terrible crime and perpetrators must be punished. It has to stop. I am saying this out of experience. Calling on the international community to address conflict-related sexual violence and hold perpetrators accountable during her address to the Security Council. There is hope. There is hope because I too believe that this Council will act and succeed like it has for child soldiers; for those thousands of children out there who still wait. Responding to a question about what should be said to survivors of sexual violence, she expressed hope that the Security Council would take meaningful action for children still trapped in conflict. I still wait for some of my friends to return, and I hope that everyone here will be committed to bring people like my friends back home. Concluding her address by remembering the girls who remained in captivity and urging continued international commitment to securing their freedom. External links Category:Women activists from Uganda Category:Children's rights activists Category:1981 births Category:Women born in the 1980s Category:Living people