Regional Interparliamentary Conference on the Great Lakes Region KINSHASA, 26 - 28 FEBRUARY 2007 CONTENTS Part One Part One The historical background • Welcome from the Honorary Vice-President Parliamentarians and their role in the From the Dar-Es-Salaam Declaration to the implementation of the Pact. 2 Kinshasa Declaration P 3 • The historical background 3 • The Kinshasa Conference 4 • The various dimensions of the Pact 5 Part Two • The European Union has a new « Envoy » in the Great Lakes 5 The reactivation of the • The Role of Parliamentarians in consolidating ECGLC the process 6 The European Union supports • Outcomes of the Kinshasa Conference 7 regional dynamics Part Two P 8 • The reactivation of the ECGLC 8 • ECGLC: A great step forward in Bujumbura ! 10 Colophon 12 NR6 Parliamentarians have an important role to play in the implementation of the Pact countries, and to identify how “the organisation of a permanent dialogue forum parliamentarians can get involved in the in order to build a promising future for all.” implementation of the Pact. A second conference is scheduled in AWEPA would like to thank both Ibrahima Bujumbura for the beginning of 2008. FALL and the DRC’s authorities for the Her Excellency Liberata MULAMULA, warm welcome given to all the participants Executive Secretary of the Secretariat of of this important parliamentary meeting. the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (IC/GLR), suggested The presence of His Excellency Joseph that this kind of regional meeting should KABILA, President of the DRC, underlines be organised frequently in order to the exceptional value of this meeting. We involve parliamentarians in building “the house are also very happy and grateful that the for peace and for regional development.” DRC’s Prime Minister, His Excellency AWEPA has committed itself to Antoine GIZENGA, and no less than organising meetings regarding the twenty members of his government are follow-up of the Pact over the course of present at both the opening and closing the next five years. ceremonies of this meeting. I would also like to express my sincere must start by thanking His Excellency Please allow me to also thank the First gratitude to the donors who made the I Mr Ibrahima FALL, Special Vice-President of the DRC’s National organization of the Kinshasa conference Representative of the United Nations Assembly, Honourable Christophe possible: the Belgian and the Dutch Secretary General for the Great Lakes LUTUNDULA, for managing this governments and the United Nations Region, because it is as a result of his international conference successfully. Development Programme (UNDP). Their actions that parliamentarians from the contributions and their commitment were, eleven core countries of the Great Lakes SPECIFIC CONCLUSIONS: and continue to be, essential. Region have been associated with this The main results of the conference can activity concerning the Pact. be found in this publication. However, I AWEPA is convinced that the Pact is the would like to insist on the establishment guarantor of the best possible future for Ambassador Ibrahima FALL has asked of a forum of parliamentarians to allow the people of the eleven core countries of AWEPA to co-organise a Regional frequent exchange of views within the the IC/GLR. Parliamentary conference in order to Great Lakes Region. In support of this, raise awareness about it among Honourable Vital KAMERHE, the DRC’s Dr. Luc DHOORE, Honorary Vice-President parliamentarians from signatory National Assembly President, pleaded for of AWEPA From Ambassador FALL to Ambassador MULAMULA : The succession is assured ! t the opening ceremony of the Kinshasa’s A conference, Ambassador Ibrahima FALL used a metaphor in comparing the various parliamentarians of the region to “the key who will get the Great Lakes locomotive moving.” This locomotive is now in motion! AWEPA would like to express its gratitude to Ambassador FALL for his commitment to this regional process and for his support. AWEPA is happy that this process, which is in its early stages, also enjoys the full support of Ambassador MULAMULA, Executive Secretary of the Secretariat of the IC/GLR, who maintains her commitment to achieving sustainable peace and development in the region. 2 The first part of this publication addresses the cooperation process between the core member states of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (IC/GLR). This cooperation process was established after the Dar-Es Salaam Declaration and the Pact on Security, Stability and Development in the Great Lakes Region. The second part of this document is closely related to the Great Lakes Region in that it explores the revival of the Economic Community of the Great Lakes Countries (ECGLC) as a sub-region. This economic entity encompasses the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Rwanda and Burundi. PART ONE I. The historical background FROM THE DAR-ES-SALAAM DECLARATION TO THE KINSHASA DECLARATION fter the fall of the Berlin Wall and the “La Baule” speech made by President François Mitterrand, political instability and armed A conflict have resulted in an unrelenting deterioration in the living conditions of the peoples of the African continent ollowing the conflicts which have states were able to translate their resolve auspices of the African Union, will be F been raging in Africa in recent years, into action. Thus, the African states managed by the African Development the United Nations and the African Union pledged to fully implement the decisions Bank (ADB) and funded by the member combined their efforts to put an end to they had taken. A second summit of the countries and donors. A follow-up the dramatic situation. At the outset, most Heads of State and Government was held mechanism has been put in place which of the attention was focussed on the in Nairobi on the 14th and 15th December will include, in particular, a Conference countries bordering on Lakes Kivu, 2006 in order to review those Secretariat located in Bujumbura, Burundi. Tanganyika and Victoria. However, the commitments. Ambassador Liberata MULAMULA, a problems quickly spread to other Tanzanian national, has been appointed to countries, not bordering on the lakes, Between the two summits, the inter- the office of first Executive Secretary. which were suffering from the ministerial committees and the members consequences of past confrontations. of the national preparatory committees, Undeniably, progress has been made. with effective support from expert However, we are still only at the beginning Thus, the United Nations and the African groups, concentrated on the four guiding of the process as at least eight core Union held a first summit which was the themes included in the Dar-Es-Salaam countries must approve the Pact before it culmination of a process designed to Declaration: peace and security, can enter into force. This is why AWEPA restore peace whilst laying the foundations democracy and good governance, supports the initiative of the Parliaments for development. This Summit was the regional integration and economic of the Great Lakes Region wishing to join first International Conference on Peace, development; and social and this historic process from which they have Security and Development in the Great humanitarian issues. hitherto been “excluded.” Lakes Region, and it was held in Dar-Es- Salaam, in Tanzania, on 19th and 20th The second Heads of State and The executive officers also expressed November 2004. Government Summit gave rise to the Pact their agreement with this at the Nairobi on Security, Stability and Development summit and what remains now is the This historic gathering was key to the which was signed in Nairobi on the 15th ratification of the Pact by the respective future of Africa. Fifteen African heads of December 2006. This Pact, in particular, legislative powers so that it can be state, the Secretary General of the United contains the action plan as well as specific brought into force. The International Nations and the African Union projects falling under the overall umbrella Parliamentary Conference of the core Commissioner for peace and security were of the Pact, with a view to improving the states, held in Kinshasa, was necessary to present. It led to the signing of a lives of displaced persons. bring together the elected representatives declaration of principles intended to guide of the people who wished to contribute, the future actions of countries in the Great Furthermore, the signatory countries in their own capacity, to the future Lakes region and, in the long term, to pledged to galvanize all of the actors prosperity of the Great Lakes Region. bring peace, stability and development. involved to secure their ongoing involvement and full commitment to the The Kinshasa Conference resulted in the These results would not have been implementation of the Pact. The Kinshasa Declaration in which the core possible if not for the determination of the agreement also established a development African Parliaments, on the one hand, participating states to reach a consensus. fund for the reconstruction of the reassert their decisive role as the Some of these states were only just institutions devastated by years of armed legitimate representatives of their peoples emerging from regional strife which had conflict, in particular in Burundi, Rwanda and, on the other hand, pledge to work for tragic consequences for their people. The and the DRC. This fund, set up under the the speedy ratification of the Pact. 3 Part One II. The Kinshasa Conference his conference, the first of its kind, T brought together parliaments from the eleven core member states of the IC/GLR. It embodied the hope of seeing the return of peace, security and development to this great African region. The conference was jointly organised by the Executive Secretariat of the IC/GLR and AWEPA, with technical support from the UN/AU Joint Secretariat IC/GLR specially set up for the holding of the IC/GLR.