International Conference on the Great Lakes Region Forum of Parliaments of the Member States

Last Updated on Wednesday, 05 September 2012 13:02 Written by Communications Intern Monday, 05 September 2011 08:59

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Great_Lakes

Caption: The members of the Executive Committee of the ICGLR-PF, the Political Coordinators from AWEPA and the Representative from the Executive Secretariat of the ICGLR.

 
Political Coordinators
Hon. Alain Destexhe (Belgium)
Ms. Therese Frösch (Switzerland)

 

 

 

 

Background

Within the framework of the regional peace process following the conflicts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), a pact on security, stability and development was signed by the eleven member states within the scope of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), in Nairobi, in December 2006. AWEPA was contacted by Mr. Ibrahima Fall, then Special Representative of the Secretary General of the United Nations, in which AWEPA committed to supporting the ICGLR's parliamentary initiatives. Up till then parliaments had not been involved in the process and parliamentarian action was required for the ratification of the above mentioned pact. The Parliaments concerned decided to organise their action in the form of a Forum. The process began in Kinshasa, in February 2007, and was completed in Khartoum, where the Forum held its first plenary session in September 2010.

Objectives

AWEPA supports the ICGLR Parliamentary Forum, in particular by facilitating the meetings of the Executive Committee and the Plenary Sessions of the Forum, in compliance with the objectives of the Pact onsecurity, stability and development.

In 2011, it was important to ensure the running of the Forum in cooperation with the Parliaments of DRC, Rwanda and Sudan, the members of the Troika in charge of following up on the Forum. With financial support from Belgium and Switzerland, AWEPA jointly organised the second Plenary Session in Kampala, in December 2011.

Impacts

As it stands, the operation of the Forum can be partially attributed to the action of AWEPA which is honouring the commitments it expressed in Kinshasa, in February 2007. It can be said that the appropriation by the members of the Forum is a reality, as a Secretary General proposed by the Parliament of Rwanda was appointed at the Plenary Session in Kampala and the question of installing the headquarters of the Forum in DRC is currently being arranged. AWEPA invested efforts to obtain these results and is particularly delighted with the clear improvement in relations between the parliaments of Rwanda and the Congo. An improvement that emerged in particular following bilateral visits by parliamentarians that it facilitated, in Kinshasa and Kigali, in December 2009 and April 2011 respectively.

Example Activity

Executive Committee Meeting for the Preparation of the Kampala Plenary Session, 25-26 May, Kinshasa, and the 2nd Plenary Session of the ICGLR-PF, 11-13 December, Kampala

AWEPA organised three activities as part of this programme: two meetings of the Executive Committee and a Plenary Session of the Forum. The Executive Committee meetings consisted of making preparations for the Plenary Session initially planned in Kinshasa. At the Plenary Session organised in Kampala in December 2011, in addition to administrative questions, such as the final adoption of the founding texts of the Forum and the appointment of the Secretary General, sensitive subjects were covered, such as the illegal exploitation of natural resources and the treatment of women in conflict zones.

Donors

Belgium_Min_Foreign_Affairs  Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

 

Switzerland_SDC  Switzerland (SDC) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
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