ISS Workshop, Nairobi: BY INVITATION ONLY: Regional Dimensions of Conflict in the Great Lakes Region

Date: 2011-09-12 to 2011-09-13

Venue: , La Mada Hotel, Nairobi

SUMMARY REPORT

Regional Dimensions Of Conflict In The Great Lakes Region

The Great Lakes region has been home to some of Africa’s most intractable and turbulent conflicts. These conflicts have not been confined to national borders but have had regional dimensions and implications that have further exacerbated their scope and negative impact on the region.  Given the challenges facing the various past efforts at conflict resolution as well as the fluid dynamics of the conflicts, it is important that the various dynamics that inform the conflicts are continuously examined for purposes of elaborating and contributing towards better informed and sustainable interventions. In this context, the Regional Centre on Small Arms (RECSA), the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) and the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGL/R) organized a regional workshop to deliberate and interrogate the changing regional dimensions of conflict in the Great Lakes and analyse challenges and prospects for sustainable peace.  This workshop was made possible through funding provided by the European Union to RECSA, the Government of Switzerland to ISS and UN-OHCHR to ICGLR.  The African Conflict Prevention Program of the Nairobi office of the ISS hosted this workshop on 12-13 September 2011 at Hotel LaMada, Nairobi, Kenya. 

The regional scope of this particular workshop was largely limited to issues pertinent to four countries namely Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and to a lesser extent Tanzania and Kenya. It brought together approximately 35 key stakeholders from the respective countries drawn from government, academia, development partners and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs).  Nine regional thematic presentations were made as follows: key drivers and triggers of Great Lakes conflicts- Andrews Atta Asamoah, Senior Researcher, ISS; the impact of small arms on conflicts- Francis Wairagu, Gender and Research Officer, RECSA; profile and analysis of illegal armed groups- Singo Mwachofi, Program Officer-Peacebuilding, ICGLR; conflict and sexual gender-based violence- Nathan Byamukama, Program Officer-Cross Cutting Issues, ICGLR; links between illegal exploitation of natural resources and conflict- Nyambura Githaiga, Researcher, ISS; the role of regional bodies in promoting sustainable peace- Dr. Connie Mumma Martinon, Consultant Researcher; forced displacement and conflict-Dr. Khoti Kamanga, Director, Centre for the Study of Forced Migration, University of Dar es Salaam; regional implications of the conflicts on political, social and economic development-Frank Muhereza, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Basic Research; and, and human rights dimensions of regional conflicts- Dr. Isabell Kempf, Regional Human Rights Advisor, ICGLR.  The Key issues arising from the presentations are summarised as follows.

This presentation introduced some of the regional aspects of conflict in the Great Lakes and the key causes.  The central arguments were that the causes and dynamics of conflict in the region have become a security complex and as such a regional level of analysis should be applied to capture the different dynamics introduced by regionalisation.  Defining drivers of conflict as factors underlying or sustaining conflict, six main drivers were identified on the basis of their relevant regional dimensions.  These include trans-nationality of ethnicity, which regionalizes politicized ethnicity; politics of exclusion (political, ethnic and generational; state weakness that creates governance and security vacuums; presence of exploitable fungible natural resources which factor in war financing; greedy actors and proliferation of small arms and light weapons.  Looking at the Great Lakes region as a security complex will be a strategy to effectively target regional drivers of conflict while simultaneously mitigating national drivers of conflict.

The impact of the small arms and light weapons (SALWs) proliferation in the region has heightened the violent nature of regional conflict.  Dynamics of proliferation include the aspects of supply, demand and misuse, with misuse being the element of concern.  Regional dimensions of this particular theme of conflict are most evident with the spill over effects of SALWs proliferation across the state borders.  Figures floated on the number of illegal SALWs in circulation are not reliable due to the illegality of these SALWs, which makes it impossible to count actual numbers.  Tackling the problem of SALWs proliferation is further compounded by the fact that misuse of SALWs is symptomatic of other root causes of conflict such as poverty, youth unemployment, political and social alienation.  So whereas they are an immediate cause of concern in the Great Lakes conflicts, sustainably mitigating their impact will require success in addressing other root causes of conflict that influence the demand for these illegal SALWs in the region.  Apart from the impact of SALWs on the lethality of conflict, their long life span indicates a potential for continued misuses even after a particular conflict is resolved.  Regional initiatives to deal with proliferation of SALWs will require cooperation amongst law enforcement agencies, comprehensive, Security Sector Reform, and a shift from a project focus on SALW to long term engagement with more holistic objectives such as good governance for stability and peace.

Two major categories of illegally armed groups in this region are rebel movements and militias with the former taking up arms against a government for political, economic and ideological reasons and the latter being a group illegally organized for the pursuit of political or economic goals.  Three main illegal armed groups present in this region that exists outside of their countries of origin include the Ex-Far Interahamwe (FDLR) from Rwanda present in Eastern DRC; the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) present in Central African Republic, North Western DRC and in Southern Sudan; and the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) present in Eastern DRC.  In the DRC, local militia groups include the Mai Mai Cheka, Mai Mai Kifuafua, Mai Mai APCLS, Mai Mai Pareko and Mai Mai Yakutumba. 

The existence of these groups capitalizes on the breakdown of rule of law and is, largely, sustained by illegal exploitation of natural resources, extortion and raiding of villages.  Although there are differing reasons for the formation of these groups like political rebellion, their illegal modes of sustenance such as plunder and pillaging have increased the incidence of serious human rights violations like rape and killing. In addition they have also enhanced the humanitarian crises in conflict areas; augmented proliferation of illegal SALWs and exacerbated the illegal exploitation and trafficking of people and natural resources.  The regional dynamics of illegal armed groups in conflicts in the region has negatively affected regional inter-state relations on multiple levels and therefore concerted regional strategies should be applied that seek to alleviate vulnerability of populations and strengthen state structures and cooperation.

The link between natural resources and conflict in the region is both direct and indirect.  Direct whereby two or more states fight over the exploitation of natural resources that are present on common borders and indirect in the illegal exploitation of natural resources financing conflicts in the region.  Taking precedence has been the role of revenue-generating, non-renewable, lootable natural resources in regionalisation of insecurity, proliferation of SALWs, violent conflict and regional smuggling networks.  Dynamics of illegal exploitation of natural resources and conflicts has become a security complex owing to contextual challenges such as multiplicity of actors and motivating factors; governance challenges in a weak state presence, failed regulation enforcement and poor infrastructure; the state of the mining industry that is largely informal and unregulated; the prevalence of armed groups and their role in illegal exploitation. All these challenges occur within the broader context of regional interconnectedness. 

Natural resources that should be of benefit to the region have instead been exploited illegally to finance conflict in the absence of rule of law.  The regional dimensions of natural resources in conflict are exemplified by the cross border activities of illegally armed groups, regional smuggling networks and trade in illegally exploited natural resources.  Though curbing this vice demands a regional solution, this is challenged by the will and capacity of respective nation states to domesticate and enforce regulations to stem illegal exploitation and trade in natural resources.  However, with the effect of a growing global awareness of negative impacts of illegal exploitation and continued imposition of stringent international standards for exploitation, countries in the region will need to quickly act to forestall an adverse impact of regional natural resource dependent economies.

The term forced displacement best captures all forms of human mobility with greatest impact for conflict including asylum seekers; all cadres of refugees; internally displaced persons (IDPs); and, illegal migrants.  Refugees is used in reference to rejected asylum seekers, irregularly settled persons, naturalised but not integrated individuals, undocumented persons, returnees and those being repatriated.  With the implication of regionalisation adding fresh impetus to forced displacement and migration, there is a decline in refugees and an increase in irregular migrants due to reasons like trafficking and hostile environmental conditions (economic reasons???).  In the region, the nexus between displacement and conflict has been self-perpetuating with a violent conflict producing IDPs and refugees and in turn increasing internal and regional tensions respectively providing grounds for further conflict.  Yet again, underlying the phenomenon of violent conflict and displacement is localised challenges in  governance, socio-economic equity, geo-politics and climate coping strategies.  The protracted refugees situation in the Great Lakes region should be acknowledged and greater resources directed towards achieving a greater coherence between policy, law and practice with a balance to be attained between border control management and legitimate protection needs of migrants.

Recognising that national conflicts and human rights violations in the Great Lakes region have a regional dimension, institutions such as the ICGLR have served as entry points for the promotion and protection of human rights in the region.  The ICLGR pact on security, stability and development in the Great Lakes region addresses major root causes of violent conflicts in the region through certain human rights protocols and projects.  These include the combat against sexual violence, the rights of internally displaced and returning populations, the combat against illegal exploitation of natural resources, a regional centre on good governance, democracy and human rights including a human rights observatory, the prevention of genocide and the fight against impunity and election monitoring. 

Challenges exist toward the upholding of human rights in the region with a lack of/or weakness of independent national human rights institutions/organisations.  The question of whether to pursue justice versus peace and reconciliation plays in to the fact that human rights violations and impunity fuel insecurity and renew conflicts.  In the absence of strong and active national independent human rights institutions, monitoring human rights violations on a regional scale then becomes problematic.

The rising occurrence of sexual and gender based violence (SGBV) in conflict within the Great Lakes region is a grave concern.  The damaging long-term psychosocial impact of SGBV on affected women, men and children will subsequently have negative implications on their contribution towards regional growth and development.  A three-pronged challenge in combating SGBV is fighting impunity, assisting victims and prevention.  Most of the focus has been on fighting impunity and assisting victims with little strategic intervention on preventing SGBV.  Research on SGBV in the region shows that there is a high incidence of mass rapes of women, men and children by armed gangs or civilians for reasons of rituals, revenge and ethnic cleansing. The social stigma associated with SGBV has resulted in a great number of cases going unreported and this is particularly so in the case of men who have been victims of SGBV.  This has meant that the victims continue in live in dysfunction with pscyho-social and bodily trauma affecting their capacity to engage in productive livelihoods. It has been widely believed that SGBV is rampant due to impunity but punishment is only part of the solution.  Emphasis needs to be paid to preventing SGBV by seeking to address the root causes of SGBV in the Great Lakes region such as the context of conflict that introduced an atypical lifestyle that is characterised by the use of force to fulfil needs in the absence of rule of law. 

The interconnectedness of armed conflicts in the Great Lakes region has had regional implications on the economic, political and social spheres of the region.  Direct costs of armed conflict in the region are a reduced domestic capital formation, cumulative Gross Domestic Product losses, destruction of infrastructure, diversion of state financial capital from productive use to conflict related spending like military, medical and humanitarian needs.  Indirect economic costs of conflict include a loss of state revenue from illegal exploitation by conflict entrepreneurs, environmental and natural resource degradation, reduced regional trade, burden of refugee influx and dysfunction service delivery entrenching poverty.  Politically, the regional implications of conflict have been felt in the undermining of diplomatic relations, destruction of state institutions contributing to state fragility, unduly competitive military spending in self-defence, confluence of intra and inter state armed conflict and trans boundary human rights violations.  On the social front, regional implications of conflict have been the impact of SGBV on women, men and children, psychosocial effects of conflict trauma and population displacement.  Some of the challenges faced by the interventions to mitigate regional implications include internal democracy and political governance of member countries, conflict drivers that originate from outside the GLR, multiplicity of regional frameworks and political commitment of members states to these frameworks as well as contradictions in western interventions like the ‘Right to Protect’.  Effort should be made to increase investment in visible interdependence and support for bilateral stability for all countries in the Great Lakes region. 

Regional bodies that cover the Great Lakes region (specifically Burundi, DRC, Rwanda and Uganda) include the International Conference of the Great Lakes Region (ICLGR), the East African Community (EAC), the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), the Economic Community of the Great Lakes Countries (CEPGL) and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA).  Most of these bodies were initially established for economic growth and regional integration but have now expanded their mandate to include security.  The success of these regional bodies has been challenged by context of intractable and protracted conflict in the region, a heavy dependence on donor funding, weak institutional capacity, slow decision making processes, multiplicity of bodies and lack of strategic harmonisation, lack of accountability to civilians most impacted by conflicts and a lack of coherence in understanding and approaches to resolving conflicts in the region.   There is need for regional bodies to implement better coordinated strategies in dealing with the regional dimensions of Great Lakes conflicts and this will begin with a more coherent understand on root causes of conflicts in the region and common approaches for mitigation. 

Conclusion

This workshop concluded with a commitment from participants to explore national and regional initiatives to achieve sustainable peace in the Great Lakes region that encompass five identified avenues.  These are to address root causes of conflict and violence; promote inclusive democracy, good governance and state capacity, enhance justice, human rights and rule of law, strengthen regional capacities and promote judicious use of shared natural resources.  Following this workshop, ISS will take the lead in coordinating a partners roundtable to better articulate a regional strategy for sustainable peace in the Great Lakes region to promote better coordination and coherence of existing initiatives and address identified challenges and gaps.