ICGLR national coordination hosts stakeholders’ workshop

Isae Bagabo, ICGLR national coordinator. (photo Jean-Christophe Nsanzimana)

The national coordination of the international conference on Great Lakes region (ICGLR) hosted a one-day workshop on the implementation on the pact on security, stability and development in the region.

The main purpose of the workshop is to achieve a common understanding and consensus amongst stakeholders on the various responsibilities undertaken by all the concerned parties.

“The Great Lakes region has experienced recurrent conflicts and persisting insecurity, we as the government share with you the responsibility of finding a way of implementing the pact of peace, security and stability,” Eugene Kandekwe, a staff from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told the participants.

“We have to make this region a space of sustainable peace and security.”

Josephine Bambaza, the peace and security cooperation officer at Rwanda’s Ministry of Internal Security mentioned some impediments as of the application of pact of peace among the member countries. She said there is a difference in levels of commitment among the member states which may paralyze some activities.

“We also face persisting conflicts due to armed groups who are still in the region, they include Interahamwe militia and FDLR in Eastern DRC, etc” she noted.

Isae Bagabo, the national coordinator of ICGLR is of the view, that a joint discussion over different responsibilities of the respective stakeholders will help everyone to be aware of who does what and would help parties to understand the required improvements as it has been the case during ICGLR previous summit.

For example, he said, on various meetings that ICGLR hosted very recently bringing together the head of states and ministers of foreign affairs from member countries resulted a common understanding of the DRC conflict.

“Another conference will be hosted on the 7th of September in Kampala to study the recommendations taken by the joint ministers of defense about establishing a neutral force to control security at borders, especially focusing on resolving the Eastern DRC case,” he said hoping it will also come up with important recommendations.

Bagabo hopes that this workshop comes at the right time when Rwanda is preparing to host an important meeting of the stakeholders on border security cooperation scheduled to take place in next September.

Posted by Jean-Christophe Nsanzimana on Aug 29 2012. Filed under Daily News, Other News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.