Entebbe, 29 April 2015 – The regional consultation framework bringing together delegates from civil society organizations in the Great Lakes region opened on Wednesday, 29 April, in Entebbe, Uganda. The meeting aimed to support a regional civil society initiative focused on the implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework Agreement for the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the region.
The framework, which brought together representatives of civil society from the DRC, Burundi, Rwanda, and Uganda, seeks to establish groups capable of influencing regional governments in favor of implementing the Addis Ababa Framework Agreement.
It also aims to strengthen the civil society forum of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), as well as to build trust among the countries concerned.
On the eve of the meeting’s opening, the facilitation team validated the topics for discussion in line with the six thematic areas on the agenda. Only the focal points from Burundi were unable to attend due to the political situation prevailing in their country.
According to Thomas D’Aquin Muiti, President of North Kivu’s civil society, civil society organizations are agents of change. To this end, they must encourage their respective governments and the international community to honor their commitments under the Addis Ababa Framework Agreement signed on 24 February 2013.
The meeting was organized by the Office of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General of the United Nations for the Great Lakes Region. It opened on Wednesday, 29 April, and concluded the following day, 30 April.
Eleven African countries signed the Addis Ababa Framework Agreement to help restore peace in the Great Lakes region and in eastern DRC, which has been affected by national and foreign armed groups. At the time, the Heads of State of the Great Lakes committed to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of neighboring countries and to refrain from supporting armed groups in any way.
By Christian Mapendano Habamungo, Radio Okapi/MONUSCO
