SOUTHERN PROVINCE

HUYE — Ambassador Richard Sezibera, the Presidential Special Envoy to the Great Lakes Region, has called upon the community at the National University of Rwanda to support peace initiatives in the region.

Delivering a lecture on the implementation of the Pact on Security, Stability and Development in the Great Lakes Region, at NUR, on Thursday October 8, Dr. Sezibera called upon the university community to understand and own up the content of the pact, the projects and protocols.

In his discussion, he explained the process of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) and the progress on the implementation of the pact on Security, Stability and Development in the Great Lakes Region and the expected role of the university community.

Ambassador Sezibera, who is also the National Coordinator of the ICGLR , said that many people in the region, described as ‘Afro-Pessimists’ look at the pact   aimed at fostering security, stability and development  in the region with scepticism and only wait for foreign intervention in finding solutions to regional problems.

"As the members of the elite class in the country, it is your duty to disseminate and create awareness about the Pact among the Rwandan population through the services you offer to the community,’ said Ambassador Sezibera.

The Pact is aimed at providing a legal framework governing relations between the eleven member countries and creating conditions for security stability and sustainability development between member states through protocols like that of non-aggression, mutual defence and peaceful resolution of conflicts among members, prevention of illegal exploitation of natural resources in the Great Lakes Region and property rights of returning populations.

ICGLR was prompted by the tragic conflicts that had become unrelenting on the African Continent and in particular, in the Great Lakes Region. It was supported by United Nations and the African Union.

The ICGLR is a process which has undergone three phases; the first that started in 1999-2004 consisted of dialogue and consultations leading to the adoption of the Dar es Salaam Declaration, the second from 2005-2006 looked at the preparation and adoption of the Nairobi Pact and the third that started in 2007 looking at the establishment of the institutional framework and implementing the Pact and its components.

It is a regional and international response to the challenges of the region to transform it into a space for sustainable peace and security, political and social stability, shared growth and development and cooperation and convergence.

Ambassador Sezibera said that challenges facing the ICGLR process included its understanding and ownership by the populations of the region.

"There are different levels of political commitment among the member states and this may paralyse its progress. The issue of sustainable funding for implementation still presents a challenge to the region,” observed Sezibera.

Different participants during the lecture questioned the relevance of the protocols in light of the current conflicts in member states like the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Tanzania where protocols like that of non-aggression, mutual defence and peaceful resolution of conflicts among members states and that of property rights of returning populations have been disregarded.

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