Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki (front)
addresses at the end of the second International Conference on the
Great Lakes region in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya on Dec. 15,
2006. (Xinhua Photo)
The second Summit of the International Conference on the Great
Lakes ended in Nairobi Friday with African leaders resolving to
curb military flare-ups in the volatile region.
The 11 countries in the Great Lakes region signed a security and
development pact to prevent atrocities in the region at the end of
the conference. The pact includes various programs of action and a
protocol on non aggression and mutual defense. The legally-binding
pact also includes measures to disarm remaining rebel groups,
prevent arms trafficking and help millions of refugees.
Speaking at the closing of the two-day summit in Nairobi, Kenyan
President Mwai Kibaki said the programs of action adopted had given
top priority to peace, democracy, good governance, economic
development and regional integration as well as humanitarian social
issues.
"I note with particular appreciation that the protocol on non
aggression and mutual defense will lay a foundation that will serve
to prevent conflict. I call upon all leaders of the Great Lakes
region to show courage and implement the letter and spirit of this
protocol," said Kibaki who is chairman of the summit.
He said the summit had opened a new chapter for the future of
the region, noting member states have committed to anchor their
bilateral relations on respect for the principles of national
sovereignty, territorial integrity and noninterference in the
international affairs of other member states.
According to the documents, the region would require 1.25billion
U.S. dollars for economic development and regional integration and
467 million dollars will be for internally displaced people and
social services programs.
The leaders also proposed that 225 million dollars be used for
security with 23 million dollars for democracy and good governance
programs.
"Special emphasis will be placed on the thorny issue of armed
groups. Our reciprocal confidence will end the problem once and for
all. We will not spare any action to implement the pact," said
President Joseph Kabila of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC),
who just won presidency in a historic election.
"The signing today of the pact constitutes a crowning of a
laborious negotiation process that opens for people the prospects
of democracy, good governance and economic development," Kabila
added.
The pact also calls on member states "to criminalize any act of
aggression or subversion against other states by individuals or
groups operating in their respective states."
The pact which is a culmination of more than four years of
regional negotiations among member states, also contains a package
of measures which promises to enhance the lives of the forcibly
displaced, including a regional protocol on protection and
assistance for internally displaced, which will be the first
legally binding regional instrument specifically dealing with IDPs
anywhere in the world.
The Great Lakes region initially included countries that share
the lakes of Kivu, Tanganyika and Victoria, but later expanded to
involve some countries that are actually away from the lakes.
According to the introduction of the Great Lakes conference's
website, the core countries are Angola, Burundi, the Central
African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Republic of
Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. The
co-opted countries are Botswana, Egypt, Ethiopia, Malawi,
Mozambique, Namibia and Zimbabwe.
The region has one of the most ecologically diverse freshwater
systems in the world and boasts of the intensely-dispersed mineral
resources, including copper, gold, cobalt, diamond, oil, natural
gas and wood, but it is also regarded as one of the most volatile
areas in the world with long-running conflicts between ethnic
groups and between governments and rebel troops.
(Xinhua News Agency December 16, 2006)
