Natural Resources and the Great Lakes Peace Process
The illegal exploitation of natural resources has been at the heart of conflict in the Great Lakes region of central Africa for many years. The conflicts and tragedies in the Great Lakes region led the United Nations Security Council, through its resolutions 1291 and 1304, to call for an International Conference on Peace, Security, Democracy and Development in the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR).
The ICGLR is a process which seeks to bring all the countries of the region together to dialogue and agree on strategies to bring peace and prosperity to the region. It groups eleven core countries: Angola, Burundi, Central African Republic, Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.
In November 2004, the eleven Heads of State and Government of the member countries of the ICGLR unanimously adopted the Dar Es Salaam Declaration on Peace, Security and Development in the Great Lakes Region. In this Declaration, they announced their collective determination to transform the Great Lakes Region into a space of sustainable peace and security for states and peoples, political and social stability, shared growth and development. In December 2006, the Heads of State and Government convened again in Nairobi to sign a Pact on Security, Stability and Development. The Pact came into force in 2008.
The Pact includes protocols and programmes of action and is divided into four thematic areas:
Peace and Security
Democracy and Good Governance
Economic Development and Regional Integration
Humanitarian and Social Issues
PAC’s Involvement in ICGLR
As a result of its experience within the Kimberley Process, PAC was invited in 2005 by the ICGLR to provide advice in drafting the protocols and projects related to the certification and movement of natural resources in the region. PAC participated in the Dar Es Salaam and Nairobi summits and ICGLR working groups and is now working with the ICGLR Secretariat (based in Bujumbura, Burundi) to help move forward the implementation of the project dealing with the certification and movement of natural resources in the Great Lakes Region.
Useful sites and documents
International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR)
Dar Es Salaam Summit
Declaration on Peace, Security, Democracy and Development in the Great Lakes Region
Nairobi Summit
Pact on Security, Stability and Development in the Great Lakes Region
