As many African countries celebrate their 50th year of independence, the Great Lakes region is facing a multitude of security challenges whose management will impact on the region’s peace and stability. In the DRC, the biggest, the richest but also the most fragile country in the region, discussions around a possible withdrawal of the UN Mission (MONUC) under the background of a highly volatile socio-political context - particularly in the East – do raise questions about the sustainability of current peace building mechanisms. In Burundi and Rwanda, two countries emerging from long period of violent conflicts, elections planed for this year will act as indicator for the successor failure of regional and international conflict management tools.

What is at stake in the region, what role can the international community as a whole play? These and other questions will be addressed at the seminar by the following presenters:

SPEAKERS

Roeland van de Geer
EU Special Representative for the African Great Lakes Region

Henri Boshoff
Head, Peace Missions Programme, ISS

Presented by the Africa Conflict Prevention Programme

Please note that discussions occur under ISS Rules.