Cabinet ministers from 11 African countries gathered in Rwanda on Thursday to flesh out details of a deal intended to end a cycle of wars, rebellions, dictatorships and poverty in central Africa’s Great Lakes region, officials said.
The two-day meeting is the first in a series of gatherings in which officials will spell out how they would implement a regional pact on security, stability and development that is expected to be signed in Kenya later this year, said Rwanda’s Foreign Minister Charles Muligande.
Fifteen African leaders, including the head of every country in the Great Lakes area, signed a declaration on November 20 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, that spelled out the protocols of the proposed regional pact. The initiative was organised by the United Nations and the African Union.
”This conference is of paramount importance as it will determine the course of action for the region and provide the region with a road map to ensure conflict is prevented, managed and resolved effectively,” said Muligande.
”Our emphasis is to collectively seek and find viable solutions to the problems in the region.”
Africa’s Great Lakes region — an area bordered by the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Burundi — has been unstable since the 1994 genocide in Rwanda in which more than 500 000 people, most of them from the country’s Tutsi minority, were slaughtered by a regime of extremists from its
Hutu majority.
After Tutsi rebels ended the Rwanda genocide, the extremist Hutus fled into the eastern DRC, launching raids on Rwanda and triggering a Rwandan invasion of its much larger neighbour in 1996.
Rwanda, along with Uganda and Burundi, again invaded in 1998 to back Congolese rebels, sparking a war that drew in six African nations and killed an estimated 3,3-million people, most dying from war-induced hunger and disease. The conflict ended in June 2003, although sporadic fighting continues in parts of the DRC.
The DRC’s conflict also aggravated the 11-year civil war in Burundi, a conflict that is still simmering. More than 260 000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in the conflict between the Tutsi-dominated army and Hutu rebel factions in Burundi.
Cabinet ministers will review efforts to improve peace and security in the region, including defence and security cooperation, improving border security, stemming the proliferation and circulation of illegal weapons and cross-border crime.
They will define ways to prevent, manage and resolve conflicts, said George Ola-Davies, spokesperson for the United Nations special representative for the region.
Officials will also discuss measures to improve democracy and governance, including restoration of law and order in the region, improving security services and judiciary systems, promoting human rights and combating war crimes, genocide, crimes against humanity and the use of rape as a tool of war, Ola-Davies said.
They will explore ways to promote economic development, growth of the private sector and investments, regional integration and efforts to combat poverty, he said.
”It is important to recognise that ours is truly a shared struggle, we all have a vested interest in pursuing every available avenue in order to ensure the maintenance of peace and stability in our region,” Muligande added. – Sapa-AP