The East African Community (EAC) Peace and Security Expert, Leonard Onyonyi, has called for the fast-tracking of the ratification process of the Protocol on Peace and Security. Onyonyi was on Monday addressing a capacity building workshop for members of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) in Kampala, Uganda. “We need to protect the integration gains from unintended outcomes,” he said. So far, Rwanda and Uganda are the only countries that have ratified the protocol, which experts argue, if approved, will lead to regional joint military and disaster management actions. Celestin Kabahizi, an EALA member from Rwanda, argued that although the defence cooperation pact had been operationalised, there are critical elements that it does not address compared to the peace and security protocol. The other partner states, Burundi, Tanzania and Kenya, have until mid next month to sign the protocol which covers prevention of genocide, combating terrorism, combating and suppression of piracy and peace and support operations. The Speaker of EALA, Margaret Nantongo Zziwa, said it was important to have dynamic interventions given the fluidity of peace and security operations in the region. “The Peace and Security Sector in the EAC should be dynamic in order to respond to the nature and form of the ever evolving security threats,” she said. Participants at the meeting urged EAC partner states to spend more on security and tackle the causes of persistent conflicts in the region rather than address symptoms.
