Security Council reviews proposed peacebuilding in Africa’s Great Lakes region

The United Nations Security Council today called on the States organizing the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region to finalize preparations for their second summit, postponed from last month, to show their will to maintain their momentum towards establishing peace and stability.

The call came in a resolution unanimously adopted by the Council after an all-day meeting addressed by 45 representatives, including 14 cabinet ministers and deputy ministers. By its terms, the Council encouraged leaders “to finalize the preparations for the second Summit, including a clear focus on peace and security issues, with a view to adopting a Security, Stability and Development Pact for the countries of the Great Lakes region.”

Following on from the first summit in November 2004 in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, the countries of the region should continue their collective efforts to develop a sub-regional approach for promoting good relations, peaceful coexistence and peaceful resolution of disputes as envisaged in the Dar-es-Salaam Declaration, the Council said. Tanzania also holds the Council’s rotating presidency for this month.

The core countries of the conference are Angola, Burundi, Central African Republic, Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. The Group of Friends of the Great Lakes Region comprises 28 countries, mainly from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), plus Gabon, Nigeria and South Africa and 10 international organizations.

The second summit, scheduled for last 15 and 16 December, was delayed at the DRC’s request. The Kinshasa Government said that the referendum on its draft Constitution was scheduled for 18 and 19 December and that it preferred to hold the International Conference after the scheduled conclusion of its transitional political process in June of this year.

Addressing the Council today, Tanzania’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Asha-Rose Mtengeti Migiro, recalled the 1994 genocide in Rwanda and stressed the need to work together to avoid the repetition of such catastrophes.

The countries of the region were working at the national and international levels to create mechanisms to strengthen mutual confidence and trust as a basis for peace and stability and the UN Security Council was their key partner as they faced both residual and new challenges, she said.

According to a concept paper from Tanzanian Ambassador Augustine Mahiga, the discussion should propose ways to promote and protect human rights and reconciliation, as well as the participation of civil society, including women, in issues of peace and security and the strengthening of a coordinated response from the core countries and the international community on needed humanitarian assistance.

In a recent report to the Council Secretary-General Kofi Annan called for a new summit date to be set as soon as possible. New and negative events in the region could render the Conference process more fragile, he warned, adding that some might interpret postponement as a sign of a lack of commitment.

“Every effort should be made by the countries of the region to ensure the convening of the Nairobi Summit as early as possible, both to maintain momentum and to build on the gains and achievements made thus far,” sending a strong and much-needed signal that the process is still on track, he said.

“It would be regrettable to allow, at this late stage, loss of momentum after so many resources have been devoted to successfully bringing so many conflicting parties together,” Mr. Annan said.

Also addressing the Council today was the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for the Great Lakes Region, Ibrahima Fall, whose office in Nairobi, Kenya, is administering conference preparations. He said the areas under discussion fell into four categories: peace and security; democracy and good governance; economic development and regional integration; and humanitarian and social questions.