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7653rd Security Council Meeting: Maintenance of International Peace and Security - Part 1
Secretary-General Launches Regional Strategic Framework as Members Hear from United Nations, African Union World Bank Officials
Investment, strong leadership, as well as sustained support for State-building and tackling poverty were critical ingredients in crafting a peaceful, prosperous future for countries of Africa’s Great Lakes, the Security Council heard today during an open debate marking the official launch of the United Nations Regional Strategic Framework for the region.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said the Strategic Framework sought to better align United Nations efforts in the region with the objectives of the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework for the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Region, signed in February 2013. The Strategic Framework was based on six pillars: sustainable natural resource management; economic integration, cross-border trade and food nutrition security; mobility; youth and adolescents; gender and sexual and gender-based violence; and justice and conflict prevention.
At issue were major peace and security challenges that had persisted in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the wider region, he said, adding that they required continuing attention. While progress had been made towards stabilizing the country over the last several years, sustained efforts were needed to neutralize all negative forces. Reiterating that peace and security went hand in hand with human and economic development, he said he was “very pleased” with the success of the Great Lakes Private Sector Investment Conference held in Kinshasa in February. It had provided Great Lakes leaders with a rare opportunity to engage with private investors and business leaders from around the world in discussing how to improve the region’s business and investment climate.
High-level United Nations and Government officials from the region briefed the Council on existing challenges and ways forward towards a future of peace and stability. Said Djinnit, the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Great Lakes Region, emphasized that the region still had “a long way to go to achieve long-term stability and development”, with armed groups continuing to kill innocent people and engage in the illegal exploitation of natural resources. Addressing those and other issues while ending impunity would help long-term peace and stability, he said.
Smail Chergui, the African Union Commissioner for Peace and Security, emphasized the importance of building upon regional gains and addressing challenges in a coordinated manner. It was to be hoped that going forward, the outcomes of the Kinshasa Conference would replace hatred and divisiveness with hope for a better future.
Investment was the key to that goal, said Vijay Pillai, Adviser to the World Bank Group’s Vice-President for Africa. While the Great Lakes region represented a stark example of the economic and human costs of conflict driven by weak institutions, the absence of basic services and economic opportunity, fragile security, ethnic divisions, rapid population growth and competition for natural resources, the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework enjoyed strong international support.
During the ensuing debate, many speakers pledged support for the Strategic Framework as a tool for building upon gains made in the fragile region. Many others voiced concerns about the elections scheduled for November in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the worrying situation in Burundi, citing reports of violence, unrest, the closure of media outlets and rampant arrests. Raymond Tshibanda N’tungamulongo, Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, said the region’s recurring conflicts were the result of moral and political failings on the elite’s part, which had culminated in a selective application of international law. “The wounds of the past cannot lock us forever in a hopeless situation,” he said, calling for the adoption of policies that would encourage private investment and regional cooperation.
Eugène-Richard Gazana, Rwanda’s Minister of State for Cooperation, said conflict prevention and resolution had become the centrepiece of the work of the United Nations work since the 1994 genocide in his country. Yet, the Council was still much more focused on crisis management than on prevention. Early warning mechanisms should guide the body’s work in preventing conflict, he stressed. Very few efforts had been made to address its root causes in the Great Lakes region, the instability of which was demonstrated by the current situation in Burundi.
On the latter point, Alain Aimé Nyamitwe, Burundi’s Minister for External Relations and International Cooperation, said his country’s complex situation had not warranted the cutting of aid, emphasizing that the Government had taken steps to address pressing concerns at a time when the security situation was improving. Burundi was currently recovering from a campaign aimed at a violent regime change, and had shown openness in working with the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser.
Also delivering statements were ministers, high-level officials and other speakers representing Angola, United States, Spain, United Kingdom, Malaysia, New Zealand, Egypt, France, Venezuela, Senegal, Japan, Russian Federation, Uruguay, China, Ukraine, Portugal, South Africa, Sweden, Italy, Brazil, Belgium, Australia, Switzerland, Kazakhstan, Netherlands, Canada, Iran (on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement), Georgia, Republic of Korea, Morocco, Germany, Poland, Ireland, Albania and Thailand, as well as the Holy See, European Union and the International Organization of La Francophonie.
The meeting began at 10:05 a.m. and ended at 4:10 p.m.
