The International Conference on the Great Lakes: new hope for refugees?

The International Refugee Rights Initiative (IRRI)
Refugee Rights News
Volume 1, Issue 2
December 2004

November 20 saw the culmination of the first phase of a major regional and international process focused on the creation of peace and stability in the Great Lakes region—the International Conference on Peace, Security, Democracy and Development (Great Lakes Conference process). Further to a five day meeting in Dar es Salaam, Heads of State of eleven African countries (Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Republic of Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia) came together to agree a Declaration on Peace, Security, Democracy and Development as the new foundation stone for the development and regeneration of the region.

NGO concerns taken into account

In our last issue, Refugee Rights News reported on NGO preparations for this meeting, focusing on proposals coming from civil society for improving protection of the displaced in the region. (See “Protect Refugees and Build Peace: Great Lakes NGOs Shout Loud” in Refugee Rights News, October 2004). In April 2004 at a conference in Kampala entitled “Ten Years after the Rwanda Exodus: Assessing Refugee Protection in the Great Lakes” NGO participants had agreed a detailed set of recommendations intended for consideration by States in drafting the Declaration. It is encouraging to see the extent to which regional leaders have incorporated elements of this agenda for action into the final document which was adopted at Dar es Salaam.

What the Declaration promises

Through the Declaration, States in the region have reaffirmed their commitment to
comply with the OAU and UN Refugee Conventions, as well as to observe and apply the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement. They also agree to address the plight of long term refugee crises, promote local integration and voluntary repatriation and to “establish a regional mechanism and national systems enabling resettlement locally.”

Echoing the recognition by NGOs at the April conference that “restitution of property and land is critical to sustainable refugee return and to prevention of future conflict.” Heads of State also pledged to ensure that “refugees and displaced persons, upon return to their areas of origin, recover their property with the assistance of local traditional and administrative authorities.”

Another key concern for refugees in the region—security—is addressed by an extensive provision in the Declaration which acknowledges the critical importance of effective separation procedures for the protection of refugees and the maintenance of security. Heads of State have now agreed to create a “regional mechanism for the identification, disarmament and separation of combatants from civilian refugees and displaced persons, and their confinement in distinct facilitates to prevent them from manipulating refugees and displaced persons for political or military purposes.” Such a mechanism was a specific recommendation of the April NGO conference.

The contentious area of citizenship, recognized as an important factor in both preventing displacement and finding durable solutions for refugees at the April NGO session, is addressed obliquely in the Declaration: states have agreed to ratify the UN Conventions on Statelessness and to work to “harmonize related laws and standards.”

Where to from here?

There is a long way to go to see the ambitious undertakings in the Declaration translated into concrete action. In the realm of security, for example, the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Congolese government have faced huge difficulties in disarming and demobilizing militias. A regional mechanism attempting to take on such tasks is likely to face similar daunting challenges. Recent threats by Rwandan President Paul Kagame to deploy troops into the Democratic Republic of Congo to forcibly disarm the militias, however, have been a chilling reminder of the stakes involved.

That host states continue to have concerns about the presence of refugees on their territory undoubtedly adds to the challenges facing advocates in the region. A negative note was sounded in the Declaration, which in its preamble linked the presence of refugees and IDPs to environmental degradation. During the run up to the adoption of the Declaration discussion of this aspect the refugee “burden” had even threatened to derail agreement on the Declaration as a whole. A number of governments in region took the position that early drafts of the Declaration did not give sufficient attention to the role which refugees, internally displaced people and conflict could play in endangering the environment. Although a reference to such concerns did remain in the final draft it is heartening that the leadership of fellow states prevailed in ensuring that these preoccupations did not overshadow the agenda as a whole (See The East African, November 15-21, 2004, page 1).

The beginning of a process

Follow-up is key to making the promises of the Declaration a reality. Although states have agreed that the undertakings in the Declaration have immediate effect, specific mechanisms to shepherd the process have been created, including a Regional Inter-Ministerial Committee. This body has been charged with developing programs of action with “concrete, achievable and measurable” goals. A second Heads of Sates conference is intended to consolidate this work and culminate in agreement on a Pact on Security, Stability and Development in 2005.

Members of the Group of Friends (a group of states outside the region and international organizations dedicated to supporting the Great Lakes process) announced after the signing of the Declaration that they will offer “continued financial, political and technical support” in the second phase. NGOs in the region also have an important role to play in ensuring that regional governments stay true to their commitments in the Declaration and that they are provided with the material and technical resources to give them practical effect.

The full Declaration is available on the website of the African Union.

Read the full report of the conference, “Ten Years After the Rwanda Exodus: Assessing Refugee Protection in the Great Lakes."