Security Council meeting 5359-Resu.1

The President

I wish to remind all participants of the appeals made to them this morning to limit their statements to no more than five minutes in order to enable the Council to carry out its work expeditiously.

I give the floor to Her Excellency Mrs. Anne Leahy, Ambassador of Canada for the Great Lakes region.

Mrs. Leahy (Canada)

I should like first of all, on behalf of Canada, to convey our condolences to the Government of Guatemala and to the families of the victims following the deaths on 23 January in the Democratic Republic of Congo of eight Guatemalan military personnel with the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC).

I thank Tanzania for having taken the initiative to invite the Security Council, which regularly considers the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in Burundi, to hold a debate on the regional environment in the Great Lakes region.

This is a timely debate. The process of political transition in both Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo has reached a significant stage thanks to the determination of the Burundian and the Congolese peoples and the support of the international community. The electoral process in the Democratic Republic of the Congo must be concluded. Not only is a successful electoral outcome in the Democratic Republic of the Congo crucial for the citizens and political institutions of that country, but it would also contribute to the stability of the region.

We believe that those national achievements will be consolidated only if the leaders of those countries and of neighbouring States normalize their relations and work together to eliminate the root causes of recurring conflict. To that end, leaders of 11 countries are negotiating a Security, Stability and Development Pact in the context of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region. In itself, that Conference is a confidence-building measure. It has already helped obtain a greater convergence of views on aspects such as the draft protocol on non-aggression, mutual defence and the peaceful resolution of conflicts. The Conference is the only forum in which countries of three African subregions can deal in an integrated way with the linkages between conflict, the exploitation of natural resources, governance and development. It also provides for the participation of civil society.

Canada urges the countries of the Conference to finalize the proposed Pact and to hold the second Summit as early as possible. We look forward to learning about the priority commitments that they will be undertaking to bring about peace in the core of the region and about how they intend to ensure follow-up.

We draw the Council's attention to resolution 1625 (2005), which requests the Secretary-General to implement measures agreed by the concerned countries in addressing the root causes of armed conflict, which is what they are doing in the context of the International Conference for the Great Lakes Region.

For those reasons, as a partner and as co-chair of the Group of Friends of the Great Lakes Region, Canada calls on the United Nations to continue its support, in partnership with the African Union, to enable the Conference to successfully conclude its work.

This debate is essentially an appeal to the leaders of countries to fulfil their responsibility to protect their populations, as hundreds of thousands of people are suffering as a result of situations of conflict and insecurity. At the 2005 world summit, our leaders made a firm commitment to implement the principles of the responsibility to protect, through the Security Council.

Not only do the leaders of the countries of the Great Lakes region bear the responsibility for ensuring lasting peace in their region, but they must shoulder that responsibility with respect to people who were victims of the two worst humanitarian crises in the world, which have been ongoing for a decade in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in northern Uganda. We believe it is essential that the draft resolution recognize that responsibility. Moreover, we underline the importance of the responsibility to ensure the security and access of humanitarian personnel and assistance to vulnerable persons.

During the open Security Council debate on 9 December 2005, we had the opportunity to revisit the issue of the physical and legal protection of civilians. We emphasized that it was important that the Council ensure that that issue remain a top priority in its decisions and actions.

We therefore fully support the reference made in the draft resolution to the provisions of resolution 1649 (2005) aimed at putting an end to the activities of the militias and foreign armed groups in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo -- the Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda, the former Interahamwe, the Forces nationales de libération and others -- which continue to destabilize the heart of the region.

Mrs. Leahy (Canada)

We commend the efforts made by the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the United Nations Operation in Burundi and the United Nations Mission in the Sudan, and we encourage the Secretary-General to find ways for United Nations missions to further support Governments in protecting their citizens.

We again draw to the Council's attention the atrocities perpetrated by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in northern Uganda. The LRA is a tragedy for Ugandans -- particularly women and children at risk -- and is hindering United Nations missions in the region. Once more we call on the Council to include on its agenda the situation in northern Uganda and to examine the possibility of adopting a resolution dealing with the destabilization caused by the LRA in the region.

We know that there can be no peace without justice in the region and that there can be no justice without reconciliation. We acknowledge and support the efforts in various quarters to put an end, through political negotiation, to the many intolerable situations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, the Sudan and northern Uganda.

As for the challenges facing the Sudan, and in view of the impunity with which the militias are still carrying out their activities in the Darfur region, we urge the Council to ensure the implementation of the measures it has taken with regard to war crimes and crimes against humanity, including the monitoring and implementing of its resolutions.

Because atrocities, sexual aggression and sexual violence persist, justice also requires an end to the impunity with which perpetrators violate human rights and humanitarian law. To that end, we strongly support efforts to build independent and reliable national judicial institutions, and we call upon each country in the region to cooperate with and support the International Criminal Court in its investigations of crimes against humanity.

In its resolution 1265 (1999), the Council committed itself to responding to situations where civilians were being targeted or where assistance to them was deliberately obstructed. Our delegation firmly believes that the Council must be timely in its engagement and vigilant in its monitoring and that it must have the political will to draw upon the full range of measures at its disposal in support of civilian protection.

Mrs. Leahy (Canada)

The demographic and physical aspects of the region, as well as decades of population displacement, are challenges that can be overcome only by joint and sustained efforts on the part of the region's leaders and help from the international community. We believe that the appropriate regional and subregional bodies, in conjunction with the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region, must work much more closely together on priority projects aimed at, inter alia, facilitating the reintegration of young people into productive life, recognizing the right of displaced persons to property and establishing infrastructure.

We reiterate the Council's demand, in resolution 1649 (2005), that all States neighbouring the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as the Government of National Unity and Transition, impede any kind of support to the illegal exploitation of Congolese natural resources, particularly by preventing the flow of such resources through their respective territories.

We welcome the establishment of the Peacebuilding Commission at the world summit. We believe that the Commission could focus its attention not only on countries, but also on their regional dimension. Furthermore, we believe that this is an opportunity for the Security Council to follow up on resolution 1631 (2005) by inviting the African Union to cooperate with the Peacebuilding Commission on this issue, thus reinforcing the partnership between the United Nations and the Union.

The President

I now give the floor to Her Excellency Ms. Antoinette Batumubwira, Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Burundi.

Ms. Batumubwira (Burundi)

I am pleased to address the Security Council for the second time in two months. I should like to take this opportunity, Madam President, to wish you, on behalf of the Government of Burundi and of my delegation and on my own behalf, our best wishes for 2006.

I should also like to reiterate our gratitude to the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, and to the Security Council for their tireless commitment to the cause of peace and security throughout the world and in particular to assisting Burundi in its quest for peace and reconciliation. My thanks go also to the United Republic of Tanzania, which took the positive initiative of holding this meeting after having hosted the first Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Great Lakes region.

In addition, I should like to join previous speakers in expressing my condolences to the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC), the Government of Guatemala and the families of the Blue Helmets who lost their lives in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is also appropriate to ask those gathered here to think about the many victims of the tragedies that have taken place and are still taking place in this region.

In recent years, the Great Lakes region, to which my country belongs, has been marked by massive violations of the right to life and periods of paralysis and unacceptable reverses following promises of democratic progress. That is why this United Nations meeting on the Great Lakes region of Africa is so important, because it is being held at a time when a number of countries "on the ground" have been making undeniable progress and laying the foundations for peace and democracy after years of tragedies and transitional processes. Indeed, those countries -- which yesterday were in conflict and today are in transition, emerging from conflict or even peacebuilding -- deserved substantial consultations with the international community with a view to appropriate support measures.

With the adoption of resolutions 1291 (2000) of 24 February 2000 and 1304 (2000) of 16 June 2000, the Security Council has played a crucial role -- which my delegations welcomes -- in organizing the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region under the auspices of the United Nations and the African Union. Those efforts culminated in the first Summit of Heads of State and Government of the region, on 19 and 20 November 2004, which concluded with the signature, in the presence of witnesses from the region and international partners, of the Dar es-Salaam Declaration on Peace, Security, Democracy and Development in the Great Lakes Region.

As a result of the Dar es-Salaam Declaration, we can say that, after having studied the major issues, the countries of the region have now agreed on a number of common principles, protocols and priority action plans that they have defined and that they are committed to following in the common interests of peace, security, democracy and development in the Great Lakes region.

Having accomplished their part of the task, they ask that the international community declare the region a specific zone for reconstruction and development, provided with a special reconstruction fund. Accordingly, we should consider Zone 1 -- including Burundi, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo -- which has been the source of the interconnected conflicts of the Great Lakes region, as a priority within that specific zone. Until zone 1 is safe and stable, particularly in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, everything that has been rebuilt will remain in jeopardy, and the hoped-for results will not be achieved.

Following 12 years of conflict, five months ago Burundi proudly took its place once again within the international community, as a result of a long process of negotiations and transitions and following six elections. For us, this is not an end but only one stage of a lengthy process.

The welcome given by the international community to the significant progress made by Burundi is encouraging. I wish to assure the Council of our commitment to maintaining this momentum and to strengthening our resolve to consolidate the peace that has been restored and the exercise of democracy.

We in Burundi are mindful of the fact that we must urgently take up the tremendous challenges of reconstruction and development. Indeed, our institutions -- democratically elected in a bottom-up process -- will be judged on the basis of whether they can meet the minimum, fully legitimate socio-economic needs of the people of Burundi and achieve ongoing progress, with every day bringing greater peace, stability and prosperity. Indeed, democracy must lead to socio-economic progress.

Twelve years of lethal conflict and instability have taken a heavy toll in human life and have resulted in the displacement of numerous people within the country and in many refugee flows outside the country, generalized poverty -- the current rate is 68 per cent -- and the destruction and degradation of the socio-economic infrastructure. The destructive effects of conflict can be seen in particular in the health and education infrastructures; in the area of housing and of the ecosystem; in food insecurity, which is exacerbated by weather conditions in some parts of the country; the spread of the HIV/AIDS pandemic; and the crushing debt load for Burundi, which is now the fourth-least-developed country in the world -- and those are just some of the issues.

Along these lines, in order to allow the international community to help us in our efforts to coordinate and mobilize resources, a programme of action based on the Millennium Development Goals will be made available. Initially, a donors conference will be held on 28 February 2006, on an emergency basis, which will allow us to take action very swiftly and implement quick-impact projects to benefit a population that has very urgent needs. After that, a roundtable of donors is scheduled for the end of September 2006, based on the strategic framework to combat poverty -- a document which will soon be completed.

We are hopeful that these two forums will yield concrete results. Our hope and our optimism with respect to international support that is geared to our specific needs in terms of stepping up reconstruction and growth, economic recovery and post-conflict development are based not only on our own success but also on the commitment of our traditional partners and of all of those who are working to ensure that our shared values prevail and who, throughout the world, understand our insistence on the existence of interactive linkages between peace, democracy, stability and development.

On 20 December 2005, the Security Council, together with the General Assembly, established the Peacebuilding Commission, which we welcome. This is for us a very encouraging sign of the will of the international community to promote, on a priority basis, greater solidarity and international cooperation leading to a substantial increase in levels of assistance to countries emerging from conflict.

That intergovernmental advisory body -- which represents a very positive development -- will find in Burundi an operational framework managed by a national coordinating committee for assistance, established by the Government on 12 December 2005, which is working in concert with our development partners.

In November 2005, I gave a generally positive picture of the security situation in Burundi. Reforms in the areas of defence and security, and particularly the integration within the Burundi National Defence Force and national police of the former armed forces of Burundi and of the six former armed movements that signed ceasefire agreements with the Government, have taken place to the satisfaction of the two parties, and the two entities are already up and running.

Against the backdrop of the upcoming establishment of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, we have been freeing political prisoners, in keeping with the recommendations of the Arusha Agreement. In the area of good governance, an anti-corruption law has been adopted by the National Assembly.

With respect to the question of the Palipehutu-Forces Nationales de Libération (Palipehutu-FNL), which continues to send mixed messages while remaining intransigent and maintaining its alliance with the Forces Démocratiques de Libération du Rwanda (FDLR) in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a resolution of the problem will require robust measures. That is also the view of the Tripartite Plus Joint Commission, as set out in the letter dated 21 October 2005 addressed to the Council and in resolution 1649 (2005) of 21 December 2005, which requires, among other things, the establishment of a consistent overall strategy for the disarmament, repatriation and reintegration of foreign combatants operating in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

We are pleased to inform the Council that Palipehutu combatants are surrendering to the Burundian authorities within the country and to the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in order to be repatriated, proof of the isolation of that group, against whose leadership sanctions have been imposed.

The Great Lakes region is working actively to become an area of lasting peace and security, of political and social stability, and of shared growth and development. The leaders of the countries concerned have individually and collectively made a commitment in that respect. Burundi would like to reiterate its determination to ensure the successful outcome of the international conference process in the Great Lakes. In so doing, we would like to be assured of ongoing support from the United Nations, the Security Council and the Group of Friends, to which we would like once again to convey our appreciation for the considerable assistance it has provided since the beginning of the process.

The President

I give the floor to Mr. Georges Rebelo Chicoti, Deputy Minister for External Relations of Angola.

Mr. Chicoti (Angola)

Madam President, I would like to congratulate Tanzania on its assumption of the presidency of the Council for the month of January and to express satisfaction at the attention devoted to Africa. This is in the best tradition of Tanzania's dedication to the most worthy causes of our continent.

May I also commend Mr. Ibrahima Fall, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the Great Lakes Region, for the key role that he and his team are playing in the implementation of the Great Lakes agenda.

During Angola's two-year term as a non-permanent member of the Security Council, this body, as well as the Ad Hoc Working Group on Conflict Prevention and Resolution in Africa, held meetings on the same issue.

My delegation is therefore very appreciative to you, Madam President, for keeping alive the interest of the Security Council, and, through it, the interest of international community in the problems affecting this important region.

This is also the right place to thank the international Community in general and in particular the members of the Group of Friends of the Great Lakes region for their moral and material support to the Conference. We therefore appeal for the continuation of this support.

The holding of the first Summit Conference and the adoption of the Dar es-Salaam Declaration constitute a turning point in the history of the region. The full participation in the Conference of all States concerned is a clear demonstration of the regional dimension of the problem and also an expression of the capacity of our peoples to overcome differences when vital common interests are at stake.

The Great Lakes region, considered in the past as a disastrous and conflict-ridden area, is gearing up for an overdue revival that has brought hope back to our peoples.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo held a constitutional referendum successfully -- an important step towards the consolidation of the transitional arrangements before the forthcoming elections.

In neighbouring Burundi, the holding of presidential elections in August 2005 ended the transitional period and opened a new era of national reconciliation and economic recovery. In the Central African Republic, constitutional order has been restored. The United Republic of Tanzania has held successful general elections, while Angola, Zambia and Uganda are preparing for elections. The peace process in the Sudan is under way, in spite of the instability in Darfur, the consequences of which should be adequately addressed. Those are clear signs of the commitment of the countries of the region to reach peace, democracy and development, in conformity with the goals of the International Conference on the Great Lakes.

My delegation is deeply concerned, however, by the continuation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo of atrocities committed by criminal groups responsible for hundreds of summary executions, rapes, beatings and hostage-taking of civilians. The national army of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have taken action against those criminal groups. We commend that action. In our view, it represents a sound lesson for the concept of United Nations peacekeeping operations, as it gives a clear indication of the measures to be taken against criminal groups that choose to challenge the international community and the will of a nation to live in peace.

The sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Democratic Republic of the Congo must be respected and preserved. In that regard, I want to reiterate the commitment of my Government to continue to train the Congolese national army, together with other partners, particularly Belgium and South Africa.

In my own country, in the three and a half years of peace and the post-conflict era that we have experienced, the strategic priorities of the Government of Unity and National Reconciliation have been directed towards the social and productive reintegration of demobilized soldiers and people displaced during the war, towards improving the delivery of basic social services to people throughout the country, and towards macroeconomic stabilization. As a result of those efforts, the climate of tolerance and democratic cordiality between the political parties has been re-established and the country is rapidly proceeding with the organization of free, fair and transparent elections following the approval by the National Assembly of the electoral package in July 2005 and the establishment of the National Electoral Commission.

In the economic and social fields, considerable improvements have been achieved. Since the end of the conflict, the share of the budget allocated to the social sector has increased from 12 per cent to 60 per cent. That has enabled, among other actions, the reintegration of four million displaced people in their areas of origin or choice, while we continue with the implementation of the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programme. Angola needs the support of the international community in order to improve its landmine clearing programme and the rehabilitation and reconstruction of economic infrastructures destroyed during the war.

Angola is committed to sharing its experiences of post-conflict recovery and to contributing to the materialization of the main objectives of the International Conference on Peace, Security, Democracy and Development in the Great Lakes Region.

In that connection, in September 2005 the Republic of Angola hosted in Luanda the meeting of the Regional Preparatory Committee of the Conference on the Great Lakes region. The Luanda meeting dealt with such issues as the joint security management of common borders, combating transnational crime and terrorism, the development of border zones and human security, as well as non-aggression and mutual defence.

The deployment of four United Nations missions in States members of the International Conference on the Great Lakes -- Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic and the Sudan -- should be duly used to address the cross-border issues and other challenges, including monitoring of the arms embargo in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

By working out a protocol against the illegal exploitation of natural resources, the members of the International Conference on the Great Lakes region have shown that they are committed to dealing with that crucial issue. However, the efforts of the region should be complemented by the implementation of the relevant provisions of Security Council resolution 1625 (2005), in particular those regarding the illegal exploitation of and trafficking in natural resources and high-value commodities.

In our view, finding long-lasting solutions to African conflicts is also a development challenge, considering the devastating impact of conflict on development. That should also be the approach of the international community towards the problems affecting the region.

Bearing that reality in mind, the countries of the Great Lakes Conference are in the process of negotiating an important legal framework to promote development, including a protocol on a specific reconstruction and development zone, as well as a special fund for the reconstruction and development of the Great Lakes region.

The adoption of Security Council resolution 1631 (2005) opened a new era of cooperation and coordination between the United Nations and regional organizations. The African Union and subregional organizations may play their role if an effective response is given to the problems of the lack of resources and of how to make partnerships between the two mechanisms as efficient as possible. Useful lessons on the negative impact of the lack of resources should therefore be drawn from the deployment of the African Union's missions in Burundi and the Sudanese region of Darfur, while reflecting on the improvement in cooperation between the Security Council and regional organizations.

Before I conclude, allow me to stress that the coordinated conduct of the process of the International Conference on Peace, Security, Democracy and Development in the Great Lakes Region by the United Nations and the African Union offers a good example of cooperation and coordination between the two organizations.

For my delegation, the newly established Peacebuilding Commission should also benefit from the experience and expertise developed in the Great Lakes process.

Finally, my delegation expresses its full support for the draft resolution before us.

The President

I now give the floor to the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Zimbabwe, His Excellency Mr. Simbarashe Mumbengegwi.

Mr. Mumbengegwi (Zimbabwe)

I am delighted to see you, my sister and dear colleague, presiding over this important meeting as President of the Security Council for this month. I note with appreciation that, barely a month after the successful elections in your great country and your subsequent appointment as Minister for Foreign Affairs, you have managed to redraw the attention of this body to the issue of the Great Lakes region. In doing so, you have redirected this principal organ of the United Nations to focus on its core business of the maintenance of international peace and security.

It is fortuitous that the question of peace and security in the Great Lakes region is being considered under the presidency of the United Republic of Tanzania, a country that, for decades, has borne the brunt of hosting thousands of refugees from the region and beyond. Your country was also home to our liberation movements in the southern African region. We salute the gallant, hospitable and generous people of Tanzania. It was therefore logical that Dar es-Salaam, the haven of peace, was the venue of the first International Conference on the Great Lakes Region in November 2004, which was held under the auspices of the United Nations and the African Union.

Let me indicate here that the Great Lakes region is the linchpin for the attainment of lasting peace and stability in many parts of Africa. Conflicts in that region could impact negatively on countries in other regions and hamper efforts towards the common goals of development and regional integration. Zimbabwe is closely linked to the Great Lakes region through common membership in regional organizations, such as the Southern Africa Development Community and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa. It is in that light that we value the resolution of conflict in the Great Lakes that this debate seeks to promote.

The success of any peace process rests on the political commitment made by the leaders of the countries concerned, and that in turn is demonstrated by integrity, transparency and the ability to trust and be trusted, each by the other. However, the attainment of enduring peace takes more than just political commitment. It requires that the root causes of conflict in the region, which have long been identified as lack of development in all its aspects, be addressed. That is where the international community has a big role to play.

The first International Conference on Peace, Security, Democracy and Development in the Great Lakes Region showed that the international community was coming to grips with the Great Lakes problem. The Dar es-Salaam Declaration clearly indicated the direction the peace process must take and how the international community can strengthen it. Let me recognize here the role that the African Union has played and continues to play in that process. Indeed, it is only natural that the African Union, through its Peace and Security Council, should take the lead in efforts to seek a lasting solution to problems in the Great lakes region. While welcoming the progress that has so far been made towards the consolidation of peace and stability in the region, we are cognizant of the fact that Africa falls short on the resources necessary to put in place mechanisms to ensure lasting peace in conflict areas. We therefore welcome the continued efforts of the United Nations and the international community to support the peace process and post-conflict reconstruction in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi and Rwanda.

With regard to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, there is an urgent need to assist the Government in order to enable it to hold free, fair and transparent elections following the successful referendum on the constitution. Resources are needed in order to continue to improve the institutional and infrastructural capacities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. While violence in the country has declined in the past year, the need to further create a stable and peaceful environment, both for the holding of elections and for the return of refugees and displaced persons, remains paramount. The United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo requires the continued support and mandate of the Security Council to enable it to get on top of the situation and to disband all militias and rebels based in the country.

The newly elected Government in Burundi needs to be supported through a visible, predictable and concerted international effort aimed at instituting a credible reconstruction effort to lay the basis for sustainable development.

The attainment of lasting peace in the Great Lakes region goes beyond the provision of humanitarian assistance. In our view, the newly created Peacebuilding Commission should be the leading United Nations organ to address the challenges in the Great Lakes region and elsewhere. It has its work cut out for it with regard to the countries of the Great Lakes, and its success or failure may be judged by its ability to address those and other challenges in Africa, as well as similar situations in other parts of the world.

Let me conclude by calling on the United Nations to facilitate the holding of a second Great Lakes summit with a view to identifying ways to implement the Declaration of the first International Conference on the region. We need to focus on practical aspects of cooperation between the United Nations system and the African Union's Peace and Security Council. It is our belief that the inter-agency coordination of the United Nations system needs to be enhanced to spearhead post-conflict reconstruction for the long-term stability of the Great Lakes region.

Nana Effah-Apenteng (Ghana)

Let me first express my delegation's delight in seeing you, Madam, preside over the Council's deliberations. We commend your delegation for organizing this timely debate on the Great Lakes region of Africa during your presidency.

My delegation would also like to welcome the various ministers of foreign affairs who have graced this meeting with their presence.

For more than a decade, the Great Lakes region has been in profound turmoil. Through a game of shifting alliances, and because of geographical proximity in an area with porous borders, conflicts have tended to merge, thus giving rise to a huge zone of instability. That vast and resource-rich region has been the theatre of widespread conflicts that have brought death and destruction, displacement and great suffering to its inhabitants.

The Security Council has rallied the support of the international community in responding to the grave challenges posed by those disastrous conflicts. Apart from undertaking various field tours in the area, the Council has mandated the stationing of thousands of United Nations personnel, including peacekeepers, who have not only saved lives but also alleviated the suffering of many displaced persons, including the most vulnerable segments of the population, especially women and children.

My delegation remains convinced that the desired breakthrough for peace can be attained in the Great Lakes region, as it was in Sierra Leone and Liberia, after 15 agonizing years of seemingly intractable conflicts.

Now more than ever, sustainable peace seems very much within reach. Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo have taken their first brave steps towards a new era of democratic governance and enduring stability. We also consider as a decisive turning point in the peace process the First Summit of Heads of State and Government held in December 2004 in Tanzania, the most important outcome of which was the Dar es-Salaam Declaration of Principles on Peace, Security, Democracy and Development in the Great Lakes Region. The declaration is a bold attempt to tackle head on the issues that clearly constitute the foundation for lasting stability and sustainable development in the region.

It is on the basis of an agreement between the concerned parties, within this broad framework, that we can hope to resolve the threats posed by the continuing presence and activities of the foreign armed groups and militias, such as the Forces Démocratique de Libération du Rwanda (FDLR), the Palipehutu-Forces Nationales de Libération (FNL) and the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), and bring an end to the atrocities committed against the local population and attacks against United Nation personnel and humanitarian workers. The recent clashes between suspected elements of the LRA and United Nations peacekeepers in the eastern part of the Democratic republic of the Congo, which resulted in the death of eight Guatemalan soldiers and serious injuries to five others, serve to underscore the imperative need for forceful action to counteract the group's outrageous and violent conduct, which continues to pose a threat to peace, security and stability in the whole region.

The Governments of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda are to be commended for their very constructive engagement with the militias, leading to the peaceful repatriation of some FDLR members to Rwanda. We also support the ongoing political and military pressure being exerted on such forces through joint operations by the Congolese Government and the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC). In the same vein, we welcome the initiatives of the Tripartite Plus Joint Commission, comprising Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and Uganda, to increase dialogue among the countries in the region.

It is evident from the outcome of the first Summit that only a comprehensive and integrated strategy, drawn up in a transparent way and with the participation of all the relevant stakeholders, would provide the best tonic for a durable solution to the myriad problems and conflicts that have bedeviled the region. We therefore endorse the Secretary-General's plea to the Security Council to convey a strong message of support for the International Conference on the Great Lakes region and to urge the parties to renew their commitment to respect both the spirit and letter of the Dar es-Salaam Declaration and to make every effort to hold the Nairobi Summit and sign the Security, Stability and Development Pact.

It should also be possible for the parties to agree on a specific date for the second Summit within the coming weeks so that the meeting can take place soon after the end of the transition process in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in June this year.

Clearly, the process of achieving peace, security and development in the Great Lakes region requires a collaborative effort of regional and international proportions. Every conflict in the region has been identified as having cross-border linkages and effects. Consequently, a regional approach involving African ownership and international partnership needs to be enhanced. From this perspective the implementation of resolution 1625 (2005) on conflict prevention can be applied to the situation in the Great Lakes region.

In a wider context, there is the need to further enhance the burgeoning cooperation between the United Nations and the African Union (AU) in accordance with Chapter VIII of the United Nations Charter, and as recently reaffirmed at the world summit and in resolution 1631 (2005). We therefore call for strengthened coordination and communications between the United Nations and the AU, particularly between the Security Council and the African Union's Peace and Security Council in mediation and peacekeeping efforts in the Great Lakes region. Aligned to this concept of practical cooperation is the need to ensure that the time frame for the international community's coordinated intervention in crises identified in the region is shortened.

In the past, Council members have had the occasion to urge African countries to adhere to the African Union Non-Aggression and Common Defence Pact, adopted in Abuja on 31 January 2005, and to sign, where appropriate, subregional pacts on peace, security, democracy, good governance and development. By the same token, the role of the United Nations system in supporting the implementation of the Pact needs to be further strengthened. Such action in the region would be consistent with the objectives of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD).

My delegation earlier mentioned the success chalked up in the Burundi peace process. It is our considered view that Burundi is a classic case which provides a maiden and golden opportunity for the Peacebuilding Commission to exercise its mandate in helping a smooth transition from war to peace. Similarly, the Democratic Republic of the Congo could be considered by the Commission, in the event of the successful completion of its electoral timetable.

We share the view that wars are not acts of God. They are caused by men, by man-made institutions, by the way in which man has organized his society. What man has made, man can change. This organ, which has the primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security, has been presented with yet another opportunity to make positive and decisive contribution towards the achievement of lasting peace and security, and bring to closure a long and protracted period of conflict and instability in the Great Lakes Region. Let us seize the moment to act. We support the draft resolution that has been prepared by the delegations on the region.

Mr. De La Sablière (France)

Allow me first to say how pleased we are to have you, Madam President, presiding, and to pay tribute to Tanzania, whose dedication to peace in the Great Lakes region -- to which today's meeting attests -- is well known to us. I should like also to greet the ministers and envoys present, especially those from the countries of the region, who have come to New York to take part in our debate. The members of the Council who accompanied me on missions we have conducted in Central Africa join me in welcoming them. Finally, let me say how much we appreciate having in our midst in this Council another country from that vast region, the Republic of the Congo, to which I wish to convey our congratulations upon the accession of President Sassou Nguesso to the presidency of the African Union.

What is taking place in the Great Lakes region of Africa concerns us all. To a great extent, it is there that peace, security and democracy may succeed or fail for all of Africa, as may the development of that vast region. It is likewise of concern to us all because one cannot overstate the suffering that the population of that region has endured, and which we continue to witness today.

It is hardly surprising, then, that the United Nations should be deploying its largest peacekeeping operation today to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The international community has invested great efforts in advancing peace in the Great Lakes region. United Nations activity in this regard is well known. It is likewise often pointed out that we should pay tribute to the leaders of the region, of the African Union and of a number of countries which, like South Africa or Tanzania, have spared no effort to bring peace to the region. Thanks to those combined endeavours, we have succeeded in placing the initiatives being pursued in the region on a positive track. Burundians can be proud of the successes scored there, and the Congolese clearly seem to be moving in the same direction.

Nonetheless, all of this remains quite fragile. Major obstacles have yet to be overcome, as the President of the European Union pointed out earlier. For my part, I would stress the following points.

First, the international community must focus its efforts on the priorities. The first is elections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Those elections must be brought to a successful conclusion in the time remaining before 30 June. The elections are important, but are not an end in themselves. They respond to a deep aspiration among the population for peace and reconciliation, and one cannot help being moved by the hopes that they inspire in the people. When we went to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, we clearly saw how much the Congolese people wanted those elections.

We must succeed in this process, because we must dispel the uncertainty. Democratic institutions must be set up in the Democratic Republic of Congo, because that great nation -- that vast territory within the heart of Africa -- must have a solid and stable State, and a solid and stable Democratic Republic of the Congo is the best guarantee for the development of the entire region and is crucial for the region's stability.

There are three essential requirements for the success of the political process in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. A truly integrated national army capable of providing security for the country and its borders must be established; the reconciliation efforts must continue, so that no one is excluded and that no one can exclude himself from public life; and the rule of law must be established throughout the territory, with the wealth of the nation being managed in a transparent fashion.

In Burundi, peacebuilding is a matter of urgency. More than ever before, we must support that country, which has become a successful model for reconciliation in the region, so as to guarantee that the achievements of the Arusha process become permanent.

I would like to say a few words about relations among the countries of the region. Much remains to be done if we are to improve the dialogue that is essential among those countries. There is still too much suspicion, too many hard feelings, too much mistrust. The second Summit of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region, of which we have high expectations, must not be a missed opportunity. It is therefore very important to focus on the crucial issue of peace and security.

Armed groups are a problem of particular concern in the region. Whether or not they are a threat to the security of States, they are, today, the main cause of the population's suffering. We must tackle that problem together. However, there will be no solution until the armed groups stop receiving support from the outside and until they stop the traffic in arms and natural resources that fuels their activities. Of course, there can be no solution that is exclusively military in nature.

In conclusion, I would like to return to the question of the suffering of the people. In our work in the Council, this is always at the heart of our concerns. We must always remember the tragedy of the Rwandan genocide. At that time, the international community did not live up to its responsibilities, and today, when talking about the region, the question of the protection of civilians is on everybody's mind. That is one of the most important elements of the draft resolution that we will be adopting shortly.

It is not to be tolerated that children, women and other vulnerable people find themselves at the mercy of brutal criminal groups, such as the Lord's Resistance Army. We must all focus our attention on the humanitarian tragedy in northern Uganda. Mr. Douste-Blazy, the French Minister for Foreign Affairs, will be visiting Uganda in a few days' time in order to discuss with our Ugandan partners what we can do in order to improve the situation.

Eight Guatemalan Blue Helmets serving in the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo were killed last Monday. The problem has taken on a regional dimension, and it is time for the Security Council to address it. We believe that the draft resolution on which we will shortly be voting, which follows up on the Jan Egeland, will make it possible for us to move forward.

Mr. Wang Guangya (China)

The Chinese delegation would like to thank Tanzania for having taken the initiative to convene this public meeting on the situation in the Great Lakes region. I would like to welcome you, Madam Foreign Minister, and to thank you for personally presiding over this meeting.

I would like to extend a warm welcome to the Foreign Ministers and other high officials of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Namibia, Botswana, Rwanda, the Sudan, Burundi, Angola, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Uganda and Zambia, as well as to the representatives of the African Union, who have travelled from afar to attend this important meeting. I would also like to welcome the Foreign Minister of Belgium, the European Union Commissioner and the special envoys of the Netherlands and of Canada, who have come here to participate in our discussion.

During the past decade or so, the Great Lakes region has witnessed a great deal of turbulence and conflict, which has had a huge impact on peace, security, economic development and social stability in that region and in the African continent as a whole. In recent years, despite the continuation of disputes and conflicts in some areas and the constraints on overall economic and social development, encouraging progress has been achieved as a result of the efforts of the countries and peoples of the region, with the assistance of the international community.

There is common understanding on all sides that without stability in the Great Lakes region, there can be no peace in Africa, and that without prosperity in the Great Lakes region, Africa's renaissance cannot take place. China supports United Nations efforts to address the special needs of the Great Lakes region and advocates that the Security Council put the question at the top of its agenda and make more substantial inputs.

There is an old saying in Chinese: With united and determined will, mountains can be moved. The hard-working and ingenious people of the Great Lakes region long for a stable and prosperous life. That is their will, which, in due course, will yield the hoped-for results. The Great Lakes region is endowed with rich natural resources, and now that the situation is moving in a positive direction, we are convinced that it will not be long before peace is fully restored and stable development achieved in the region.

China is of the view that in order to resolve the conflict in the Great Lakes region in a comprehensive manner, achieve national reconciliation and bring the political transition to fruition so that the region can embark on the road to sustainable development, a number of issues require special attention.

First, the will of the countries concerned must be fully respected. The positive developments in the Great Lakes region are inseparable from the will and efforts of the Governments and peoples concerned. The advance of political transition in both the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Burundi is based on the broad support of the people. The facts on the ground show that, without the political will of the countries concerned and the participation of the local people, there cannot be lasting peace. In helping the countries of the Great Lakes region, the international community should heed their concerns and their proposals.

Secondly, comprehensive cooperation at the subregional level should be further strengthened. The interests of the countries of the Great Lakes region are closely linked. It is vital for the countries and the parties concerned in the region to seek a proper solution to the relevant issues through consultations and dialogue on the basis of mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity. All countries concerned should honour the commitments they have undertaken and restore stability throughout the Great Lakes region and ensure good-neighbourly relations among each other in pursuit of peace, prosperity and the development of the region as a whole.

We hope that the second Summit of the International Conference for the Great Lakes Region will be convened soon and that it will once again be crowned with success, producing a programme of action for the promotion of the peace, harmony, development and progress of the Great Lakes region.

Thirdly, assistance by the international community should be maintained and increased. The political process in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is at a critical juncture. Preparations for the elections urgently require the support of the international community. In Burundi's transition towards post-conflict reconstruction, international assistance remains essential. We hope that the international community and other African regions will continue to actively support the Democratic Republic of the Congo in its disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programme and the election process and help consolidate peace in Burundi. It remains imperative that we support the unremitting efforts of those two countries to achieve peace, stability and economic reconstruction.

China wholeheartedly supports the continued important United Nations role in that regard. The Security Council should give positive consideration to all reasonable requests of the countries of the region and act accordingly. We hope that the newly established Peacebuilding Commission will also make the post-conflict reconstruction of the Great Lakes region a priority item on its agenda.

As a true friend to all countries of the Great Lakes region, China has always followed closely the developments in the situation in the region. We have made practical efforts to promote the peace processes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in Burundi, we have actively participated in United Nations peacekeeping operations, and we have provided bilateral assistance, within our capacities, to the economic and social development of those two countries. We are ready to continue and strengthen our comprehensive cooperation with countries of the Great Lakes region and to play a positive role in promoting the early achievement of lasting peace and prosperity in the region.

In conclusion, the Chinese delegation supports the draft resolution prepared by the United Republic of Tanzania (S/2006/51) and would like to thank the Permanent Mission of Tanzania for its diligent work in that regard. We believe that the adoption of the draft resolution will have a positive impact on the efforts to promote the stability and development of the Great Lakes region.

The President

I now give the floor to His Excellency Mr. Raphael Tuju, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Kenya.

Mr. Tuju (Kenya)

I am happy to participate in this debate on peace, security and development in the Great Lakes region. Permit me to take this opportunity to congratulate you, Madam Foreign Minister, on your assumption of the presidency of the Security Council and on your personal efforts in convening this debate. I assure you of my delegation's support.

Kenya applauds Tanzania's initiative aimed at strengthening collaboration between the United Nations and the African Union. That initiative has several antecedents both here at the United Nations and in Africa, all aimed at preventing armed conflict and securing thriving democratic peace in Africa. Indeed, the African Union's motivation in establishing its own Peace and Security Council was informed by the need to address the chronic cycle of conflict and instability that plagues our continent.

There has been tangible progress in focusing the attention of the international community on the problems of the Great Lakes region. Kenya and countries of the region have been involved in solid collaborative efforts to stabilize the region. The lessons learned from previous experience in the region and elsewhere motivated the international community to convene the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region, which eventually, in November 2004, led to the adoption of the historic Dar es-Salaam Declaration on Peace, Security, Democracy and Development in the Great Lakes Region.

I consider the second Summit of the International Conference on Peace, Security, Democracy and Development in the Great Lakes Region, which will take place in the middle of this year in Nairobi, to be very important. But I hasten to add that it will be as important as we choose to make it; otherwise, it will be just another of those conferences that come up with the right resolution language and nothing more. But we cannot afford that, given the crisis we have in the region.

I should like to draw the Council's attention to one of the most important root causes of conflict in our region: ethnic tensions. Many of the countries in the region are actually only geographical phenomena with ruler-drawn borders and therefore not nation-States. For example, in my country, Kenya, we have some 42 different nationalities, which are often referred to as tribes. Our greatest challenge as a country is how to forge lasting nationhood out of that diversity. Our diversity is a blessing in many ways, but it is also a curse of which we are quite aware. The curse elements include those moments when ethnic tensions require only a small trigger, and riots in the streets may ensue.

In North America, Europe and Asia, when tensions such as those along racial divides culminate in riots in the streets, there are enough resources and mechanisms to manage and contain the stress. In our region, where the coping institutional frameworks are mostly in their embryonic stages, ethnic tensions that spill into the streets have, sadly, degenerated into full-scale civil war and, in many instances of which we are all too aware, genocide. We have seen this even in those countries that were previously perceived to be stable: Rwanda and, at the moment, Côte d'Ivoire. We are all surprised, yet we should not be, because we know that those tensions are actually there, albeit below the surface. I submit that because we know that these ethnic tensions exist -- usually below the surface -- we must, as a region, confront the challenge boldly and decisively within the context of conflict prevention, rather than relying only on the fire-brigade and ambulance approach to conflict management.

I would like to congratulate the Tanzanian Government through you, Madam President, because in our region it was probably only Tanzania that, quite early in its history, managed to build a stable nationhood and to reduce the inter-ethnic tensions that mark most of the countries in the region. That is a legacy of the vision of Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, which all of us, together with Tanzanians, should forever cherish.

As we work towards the second Summit of the International Conference on Peace, Security, Democracy and Development in the Great Lakes Region, and even as we welcome the establishment of the Peacebuilding Commission, we must not forget the fact that, historically, as many as 50 per cent of resolved conflicts recur within a period of five years. That is a very high failure rate: odds of 50-50 are for gambling, not for finding solutions. The high rate of relapse should awaken us to the fact that a peaceful settlement that does not address the root causes of a conflict in the short term or make the necessary investment in long-term solutions and prevention programmes is actually very shallow. What is the merit of continuing with an approach that we know will result mostly in relapse? Permanent solutions are within our grasp if we choose to take the right steps. As we go to Nairobi, let us be bold enough to confront the challenge and develop visions, strategies and programmes that can address the root causes.

We are ready to work together, to summon the courage to look in the mirror, to identify the roots of the problem and to work together with Ambassador Ibrahima Fall, Special Representative of the Secretary-General, to address them. We welcome the renewal of the mandate of his Office. However, we feel that its mandate and role should be oriented towards the long term, not just towards conflict resolution and post-conflict management; it should also prioritize conflict prevention.

I take this opportunity to express my gratitude to our partners, the Group of Friends, for their invaluable support for our region. I pay a special tribute to Denmark, Canada and the Netherlands, not only for their engagement in our region, but also for helping to sustain the interest of others.

We all agree that peacebuilding is important work, although it is a lengthy process. Rather than describing the obstacles, of which we are all aware, I would like to add that the next concrete steps should be on the humanitarian and social fronts. I propose the following.

First, we should create an environment that ensures better protection and welfare for refugees, internally displaced persons and stateless persons. States have to comply with international instruments on human rights and also identify and disarm combatants and separate them from civilians.

Secondly, we must set up a regional legal framework for the protection and assistance of internally displaced persons.

Thirdly, we must implement the legal framework on the property rights of returning internally displaced persons and refugees. Article 69 of the 2004 Dar es-Salaam Declaration commits us to that objective. We should finalize the relevant protocol quickly.

Fourthly, we must work within the region to ensure the safety and security of humanitarian workers and associated personnel during the conduct of their duties, as well as to ensure free and unhindered humanitarian access to persons in need of assistance.

Kenya welcomes the establishment of the Peacebuilding Commission. This forum affords us a historic opportunity to test-run the Peacebuilding Commission in the Great Lakes region, the Horn of Africa and other areas of conflict. After our discussions today, the ideas embodied in the draft resolution should be adopted and speedily implemented in the Great Lakes region and in the Horn of Africa, and the benefits should accrue to the many people who have longed for peace and tranquillity, which have proved so elusive.

In concluding, I would once again urge that, while we convene important forums such as today's, we must remember that it is pertinent always to address the root causes of conflict and to always seek the direction and the views and input of the victims and urgently address their grievances to the extent possible.

I take this opportunity to extend a very warm welcome to those who will be participating in the second Great Lakes Conference in Nairobi.

The President

I give the floor to Mr. Sam K. Kutesa, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Uganda.

Mr. Kutesa (Uganda)

On behalf of my delegation and on my own behalf, I would like to congratulate the United Republic of Tanzania on its assumption of the presidency of the Security Council for this month of January. I wish to pledge Uganda's full support during Tanzania's presidency, and I am delighted, Madam President, to see you presiding over the Council.

May I also take this opportunity to register our appreciation to the United Republic of Tanzania for the initiative of convening this important meeting at this time, when many of the countries of the Great Lakes region are grappling with the challenges of peace, security, justice, post-conflict reconstruction and development.

Before I make my comments, allow me, on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Uganda, to convey our condolences to the Government of Guatemala, the United Nations and the families of the eight United Nations peacekeepers who died in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo at the hands of the notorious terrorist group known as the Lord's Resistance Army.

One of the best formulas that our countries have designed for resolving the contradictions in the region was the Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement in 1999 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which was supplemented by the Luanda Agreement between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the Pretoria Agreement between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2002. The tripartite plus agreement between Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and Burundi, which was concluded in 2004 to deal specifically with the issue of negative forces, is another mechanism in that respect. We have also witnessed the successful conclusion of peace initiatives in Burundi and Southern Sudan. The ongoing International Conference on the Great Lakes Region has provided a framework for a vision integrating peace, security, stability and development.

It is clear that in the last five years the Great Lakes region has recorded some positive trends. The fact that the Security Council is discussing the Great Lakes region today gives us hope that those initiatives will be supported, so that the positive trends can be maintained.

My delegation is happy to state that Uganda has played, and will continue to play, an active role in support of the implementation of all these processes in various capacities.

Uganda has participated in the Regional Peace Initiative on Burundi, as Chair. It has also held the chairmanship of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), under whose auspices the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in the Sudan and the Somali peace and reconciliation agreement were concluded. In addition, Uganda chaired the Political Committee which oversaw and monitored the implementation of the Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement. We continue, along with our partners in the region, to host the Tripartite Plus meetings and to participate actively in the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region.

On its own accord, Uganda has taken measures to ensure that its territory is not used by negative forces to destabilize our neighbours. Those measures include expelling Congolese militia in August 2005; handing over other militia to the Congolese Government in December 2005; initiating a verification process with respect to various allegations, jointly conducted by the Uganda-Democratic Republic of the Congo military intelligence team, with the support of the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC); and engaging with our neighbours in the region through joint border meetings, diplomatic representation, exchange of special envoys, joint verification mechanisms, joint security liaison offices, Amnesty Commission offices, and so on.

My delegation believes that there is a strong link between conflict and poverty in the Great Lakes region. I wish therefore to pay tribute to the Secretary-General for the initiative on the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region, which will help to build confidence in the region as well as to create capacities and an impetus for good neighbourliness, regional cooperation and economic integration, together with sustainable peace, post-conflict reconstruction and development.

We call upon the international community to continue to support the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region's constructive process, including the implementation of the priority programmes, projects and protocols designed to entrench a culture of stability, security, good governance and development, based on the Dar es-Salaam Summit Declaration of November 2004.

The recent progress made with respect to the peace initiative in our region clearly indicates that prospects are more promising than ever before for transforming the Great Lakes region from a zone of conflict to a region of peace, stability, prosperity and cooperation in Africa.

My delegation strongly believes, however, that the most urgent challenge and the biggest obstacle to peace in the Great Lakes region remains the problem of the negative forces, especially the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), the Forces Démocratiques de Libération du Rwanda (FDLR), the People's Redemption Army (PRA) and the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). It is important to recall that negative forces were the genesis of the Great Lakes conflict in the 1990s. They continue to cause untold suffering to civilian populations, resulting in excessive loss of life, humanitarian crises in refugee and internally displaced person (IDP) camps, and deepening levels of poverty in the region. The LRA, for example, has caused a massive humanitarian crisis, with 1.5 million IDPs in northern Uganda, millions of IDPs in southern Sudan, and the hampering of the return of 280,000 Sudanese refugees. I therefore appeal to the Security Council to focus on the question of foreign negative forces as one of the most urgent threats to regional peace and security in the Great Lakes region.

Uganda is committed to the objectives and mechanisms of the Tripartite Plus Joint Commission mechanism between Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and Uganda as a critical component of the post-Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement activities for addressing the outstanding issue of negative forces in the Great Lakes region. We are therefore encouraged by the recent joint MONUC-Democratic Republic of the Congo armed forces operations to disarm the ADF and PRA and by efforts to disseminate information about the effectiveness of amnesty provisions in Uganda.

In that context, we look forward to the report of the Secretary-General and to a positive debate in the Security Council in March 2006 on our request for a strengthened mandate under Chapter VII, to enable MONUC to carry out an effective disarmament of the FDLR, the ADF, the National Army for the Liberation of Uganda (NALU), the PRA and the LRA operating in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

My delegation wishes to take the opportunity of today's debate to engage members of the Security Council on the question of the LRA, a well-known terrorist group based in southern Sudan and in the Garamba National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which has caused thousands of deaths and inflicted tremendous suffering on the people of northern Uganda and southern Sudan as well as on animal populations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

For far too long, the Uganda People's Defence Force has single-handedly fought against the LRA terrorist group using a two-track policy combining military pressure and political negotiations based on peace initiatives and an effective amnesty regime, as well as measures to protect the civilian population from attacks and abductions. Uganda is also committed to working with the United Nations Secretary-General, the core partner countries -- namely, the United Kingdom, the United States, Norway and the Netherlands -- the European Union and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to address the practical challenges of the humanitarian situation in northern Uganda.

Although the military campaign has not completely eliminated the LRA threat to civilian population and aid workers in the Acholi subregion in northern Uganda, the UPDF has succeeded in severely weakening the LRA by reducing it from 3,000 to about 500 to 600 through defections and capture; rescuing about 18,000 abductees, including women and children, largely from the southern Sudan; stopping further abductions; taking over LRA bases in northern Uganda and the southern Sudan; and restricting LRA leaders north of Juba and Garamba National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Security has been tightened around internally displaced persons camps, including by providing escorts for civilians and aid workers. Except for the hard core LRA rebels who still believe in Joseph Kony's "holy spirit" of cult and myth, many are now defecting while on mission to commit atrocities in Uganda. We are convinced that the leadership of the LRA will never cross back into Uganda without being captured and handed over to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The Government of Uganda has also embarked on a number of peace initiatives to have the LRA conflict resolved through a negotiated settlement. An amnesty act, enacted in the year 2000, and its implementing Amnesty Commission have been put in place to accommodate those who renounce rebellion and promote reconciliation. Over 2,000 LRA rebels have taken advantage of the amnesty provisions. Major efforts for a negotiated peace settlement originated or supported by the Government since 1994 have included the Government initiatives and those of the Carter Center and of the Acholi Religious Leaders, and the Bigombe Initiative. Unfortunately, due to the lack of a political agenda by the LRA and pressure from its external backers, efforts for political negotiations with the LRA have been fruitless. As a gesture of good will and political commitment to a negotiated settlement, the Amnesty Act remains in force, and the Ugandan Government negotiating team is also in place.

I have circulated to the Security Council a document entitled "Uganda Government Interventions on the Humanitarian Situation in Northern Uganda", which details the Ugandan Government's commitment to effective interventions, in cooperation with the United Nations agencies and NGOs, to deal with the security and humanitarian situation in northern Uganda.

My delegation believes that there are strong factors that create, with the support of the United Nations Security Council and the international community, an historic opportunity to decisively deal with the LRA now. Following the Comprehensive Peace Agreement for Southern Sudan, both the Government of the Sudan and the regional government in southern Sudan have shown willingness to cooperate with Uganda in dealing with the threat posed by the LRA. Indeed, we hope that the agreement between the UPDF, the Sudan People's Liberation Army and the Sudanese army will bear fruit in the near future. The ICC has documented evidence and has indicted the top five LRA leaders for crimes committed against humanity in the Great Lakes region. And we have seen that, when given an adequate mandate, a United Nations force such as MONUC, working with the army of the host country, such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, can be effective against negative forces such as the ADF. Lastly, the African Union (AU) and other subregional security mechanisms are now more willing and ready to play an effective role in dealing with negative forces as a threat to the maintenance of regional peace and security in Africa.

My delegation would therefore like to strongly urge the Council to undertake the following measures.

First, it should send a clear message that the countries in the Great Lakes region have the responsibility and obligation not to allow safe havens for terrorists and negative foreign rebel groups to destabilize their neighbours in the region.

Secondly, the Council should strongly support sustained efforts of MONUC and the Forces Armées de la République Démocratique du Congo (FARDC) to forcefully disarm the negative armed groups in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo and to respond positively to the request contained in the letter of the Foreign Ministers of the Tripartite Plus Joint Commission on the Great Lakes region, dated 21 October 2005 (S/2005/667, annex).

Thirdly, the Security Council should strongly condemn the LRA's attacks against civilians and humanitarian workers, call for the immediate cession of all the violence and urge those countries and groups that provide financial, material and logistical support to the LRA to meet their international obligations by immediately ceasing such support to the LRA.

Fourthly, the Council should call on the Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to take seriously their national and international obligations to ensure that their territories are not used to harbour negative elements that cause insecurity in the Great Lakes region.

Fifthly, it should urge the Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to intensify military pressure to disarm the LRA as a negative foreign force operating from their territories and to cooperate fully with the ICC by implementing the arrest warrants issued by the Court on LRA terrorist leaders and to hand them over to the ICC.

Sixthly, under Chapter VII of the Charter, the Council should mandate MONUC and the United Nations Advance Mission in the Sudan (UNAMIS) to assist the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Sudan to disarm the LRA elements operating in the southern Sudan and in Garamba National Park and in executing the ICC arrest warrants for the LRA leadership.

The Security Council should encourage countries of the Great Lakes region to enter into or strengthen various bilateral and regional arrangements, including joint security liaison and coordinated operations, joint verification mechanisms and other mechanisms to deal with negative forces, including the extradition of those not willing to take advantage of existing credible and effective amnesty regimes, as in the case of Uganda.

The Council should welcome and fully support the AU initiatives intended to forcefully disarm foreign negative forces and to urge the United Nations and the international community to extend to the AU the necessary logistics and political support.

The Council should support the establishment of a coordinating and monitoring mechanism in Kampala between the Government of Uganda, the United Nations -- the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the Department of Political Affairs, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the United Nations Children's Fund -- and the core countries, including the United Kingdom, United States, Norway, the Netherlands and others, as well as the AU and representative credible NGOs, to strategically address the humanitarian situation and resettlement of internally displaced persons in northern Uganda.

The Council should treat the Great Lakes region as a special post-conflict reconstruction zone with components for different countries and therefore adopt the zone as one of the key priorities under the Peacebuilding Commission recently established by Security Council resolution 1645 (2005) and General Assembly resolution 60/180.

Finally, my delegation urges the Security Council to support the establishment of a Great Lakes reconstruction fund.

The President

I now give the floor to the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Zambia, His Excellency Lieutenant General Reverend Ronnie Shikapwasha.

Mr. Shikapwasha (Zambia)

Madam President, allow me to congratulate you upon your country's assumption of the presidency of the Security Council for the month of January. The occasion is special in that the United Republic of Tanzania has also served as Chair of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region since the first Summit, in Dar es-Salaam in November 2004, when our heads of State and Government adopted the Dar es-Salaam Declaration on Peace, Security, Democracy and Development in the Great Lakes Region. We therefore wish you success as you preside over the affairs of this Council.

Zambia shares the view that peace and development are two sides of the same coin. We believe that there cannot be durable or lasting peace and security without sustainable human development and, conversely, that there cannot be any meaningful development without peace and security. We also believe that the absence of war does not always guarantee human security and dignity, particularly where poverty levels are high; nor does it guarantee peace.

Zambia therefore maintains that, since gaining political independence, many countries in the Great Lakes region, like other former colonial countries, have had to deal with the challenges of correcting the ills and inadequacies of the colonial past, while at the same time trying to meet the demands of newly independent populations to provide for new jobs, more schools, hospitals, housing and so forth. In short, peace and security have depended very much on the fight against poverty and underdevelopment; hence, the need to emphasize peacebuilding and development as a linchpin of the peace process in the Great Lakes region.

Furthermore, in accepting the fact that the root causes of Africa's wars, conflicts and political instabilities are complex and multifaceted, Zambia suggests that the approach of establishing linkages between the four thematic areas already identified in the peace process in the Great Lakes region should be maintained and strengthened.

Within that context, we believe that the emphasis on peacebuilding and development should take centre stage in the achievement of peace and security in the Great Lakes region. Therefore, Zambia would like to associate itself with the efforts towards the operationalization of the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission within the context of the 2005 world summit outcome. Zambia as a nation is always seeking peace and peaceful means to attain world peace, looks forward to contributing to the activities of the Commission and is available to host any programmes and projects that will be deemed necessary in order to add value to the peace process in the Great Lakes region.

I would be remiss in my contribution if I did not account briefly for Zambia's activities in the peace process of the Great Lakes region. Within the context of peacebuilding and development, Zambia has continued to participate in United Nations and African Union peacekeeping missions, thereby maintaining its profile in global and international relations. At the regional level, every effort has been made to share the regional ownership of solutions to most of the root causes of poverty and underdevelopment in the Great Lakes region through Zambia's participation and membership in the African Union, the Southern Africa Development Community and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, and, only recently, as a new signatory to the Peer Review Mechanism of the New Partnership for Africa's Development.

At the national level, it is important to note that in 2005 Zambia held workshops for youth, women, the media, civil society, non-governmental organizations, the private sector/permanent secretaries as policy implementers, and parliamentarians in order to strategize their respective roles in the implementation of the Dar es-Salaam Declaration.

In the area of democracy and good governance, Zambia has just successfully completed a review of its electoral laws in readiness for this year's presidential, parliamentary and local Government elections. Meanwhile, a new draft constitution is in the process of being made ready for enactment by Parliament.

Zambia would like to join those members that have commended the work that the Group of Friends has been doing in the peace process in the Great Lakes region. Zambia is aware and shares with the Group of Friends its understanding of the negatives encountered in the process. We want to encourage the Council, however, to see that the road to peace is not always peaceable in itself. Our experience in the fight for freedom for southern Africa in particular bears testimony to that. Let us therefore stand firm together. We are encouraged that the future holds great promise for the Great Lakes region. Let us turn those challenges into a greater vision for that area with such great potential for regional and world peace.

As we approach the second summit in Nairobi, which will launch the pact on security, stability and development, the participation of both the Group of Friends and the joint United Nations/African Union secretariat in Nairobi is bound to become more crucial and dependable. We would therefore appeal to the United Nations to continue to maintain its important role in the peace process not only by extending the presence of the joint United Nations/African Union secretariat, but also by strengthening the administrative role of its staff in Nairobi.

The President

I give the floor to the Ambassador of South Africa to the Great Lakes region, His Excellency Mr. Kingsley Mamabolo.

Mr. Mamabolo (South Africa)

Allow me, Madam, to congratulate you on your assumption of the presidency of the Security Council for this month. We applaud the initiative you have taken to hold this open debate on peace, security and development in the Great Lakes region. We also take this opportunity to thank and congratulate the Secretary-General and the Security Council for the various initiatives taken to address issues related to African conflicts. Those initiatives have led to tangible results and steady progress in conflict prevention and the establishment of peace, stability and security on the African continent.

Africa has, through the establishment of the Peace and Security Council, created an environment conducive to the establishment of a strong institutional partnership with the Security Council in the areas of international peace and security. South Africa is encouraged by the visible progress that the partnership between the United Nations and Africa has made in the areas of peace and security and urges the strengthening of that collaboration in terms of Chapter VIII of the United Nations Charter. There is a need to create a structure that will enhance that institutional cooperation in order to ensure effective and coordinated action between the Security Council and the African Union's Peace and Security Council. It was in that understanding that we welcomed the Security Council's presidential statement on the institutional relationship with the African Union that was issued after their meeting in the Sudan in 2004.

Experience has shown us that cooperation with regional structures can enhance the maintenance of international peace and security. We believe that the result of this meeting should intensify collaboration between the Security Council and other important actors in the Great Lakes region, notably the International Conference on the Great Lakes, coordinated by the Special Representative, Ambassador Ibrahima Fall, as well as the African Union Peace and Security Council. We need to develop collaborative structures that could include the follow-up mechanism intended to assist in the implementation of the regional confidence-building mechanisms following the second summit of the International Conference.

The debate today should help us focus attention on the rapid progress being made in the situation in the Great Lakes. The progress that is being made through intraregional discussions is commendable, and South Africa believes that those discussions, not to mention the success that the decisions have achieved, contribute directly to the reduction of tensions in the region.

For example, the reduction of regional tensions is an important backdrop to the progress being made in the transition process in the Democratic Republic of the Congo itself. South Africa commends the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo on its progress in voter registration. In addition, South Africa believes that the operational success of the constitutional referendum is an important indication that the preparations being made for the general election are effective.

That does not mean that the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo will be able to surmount all the operational challenges that the referendum brought to light. The international community has been generous in the financial support provided to the electoral process. However, some of the pledged funds have not yet materialized, and we call on those that have pledged funds to make them available. South Africa, for its part, is planning to provide technical support, training and manpower to the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to support the Independent Electoral Commission's operations in the field.

The Great Lakes region of Africa is on the threshold of establishing lasting peace. A lot of work has been accomplished. South Africa is especially pleased at the progress being made within the region to reduce those issues that cause tensions between the regional States. That progress includes, first, the recent agreement between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda to deal with the elements of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) that were active in Haut-Uele, Orientale Province, and the subsequent elimination of LRA activities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Secondly, the recent agreement between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to permit the establishment of a Uganda Amnesty Commission office in North Kivu will also contribute to the disarming and repatriation of Ugandan combatants.

Thirdly, the success of the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) in dealing with the Congolese Revolutionary Movement (MRC) elements active in Kilo and Mongwalu and the efforts by the Congolese Government, in cooperation with Uganda, to disarm and repatriate those MRC elements that relocated to Uganda are also commendable. However, there remain several issues of concern that have been addressed by the States of the region, albeit without success. For example, the continued presence of the Forces démocratiques de liberation du Rwanda (FDLR) and Mai-Mai forces in the Kivus remains a serious threat to regional stability and the integrity of both the transition in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the regional security-sector reform and disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) processes. The role of MONUC and the national army in identifying strongholds, and putting military pressure on those armed groups to join the DDR process is commendable. South Africa is involved in those operations under the command of MONUC and will continue to support those operations.

The death of eight MONUC soldiers from Guatemala demonstrates that more needs to be done to ensure stability in the region. In that context, South Africa urges States in the region to further strengthen their cooperation in ending the activities of illegal armed groups. We now have an opportunity to create a framework that will strengthen democracy, good governance, the rule of law, the protection of human rights, reconciliation and the participation of civil society, including women concerning issues of peace and security.

We look forward to the holding of the second Summit of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region which will enhance the dialogue that has already been established among countries of the region, most of which had been engaged, not so long ago, in a bitter struggle against each other. The International Conference will also ensure that those countries own and are accountable for the peace process in the region, in order to cement post-conflict reconstruction and development.

In that regard, South Africa welcomes the establishment on 20 December 2005 of the Peacebuilding Commission. Clearly the Commission will have a significant role to play in many African countries, particularly in the Great Lakes region. Burundi, which is emerging from conflict and has successfully completed its peace process, should benefit greatly. The Peacebuilding Commission should constantly contribute to stabilizing the post-electoral phase of institution-building, reconstruction and development in both the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Sudan.

Madam President, we take the opportunity once again to commend you for holding this debate, which focuses attention on the importance of resolutions 1625 (2005), 1631 (2005) and 1649 (2005), and we implore the Security Council to further strengthen those instruments with the adoption of the draft resolution now being considered (S/2006/51).

The President

As 18 more speakers remain, I request once again that representatives limit their interventions to 5 minutes so that others may also intervene. I thank them for their understanding.

I now give the floor to His Excellency Mr. Said Djinnit, Commissioner for Peace and Security of the African Union.

Mr. Djinnit

We are gratified that, at the initiative of the United Republic of Tanzania, the Security Council has decided to hold an open debate on peace, security and development in the Great Lakes region. Madam President, your initiative comes as no surprise to us at the African Union as we are fully aware of the long-standing commitment of your country to the issue of peace and security on the continent as a whole and of the laudable efforts it continues to invest in the promotion of peace, understanding and cooperation, in the Great Lakes region in particular.

I wish to pay special tribute to His Excellency Mr. Jakaya Kikwete who, as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Tanzania, played a leading role in the efforts which culminated in the convening in Dar es-Salaam, on 20 November 2004, of the first Summit of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region. I cannot but seize this opportunity to renew to the United Republic of Tanzania our heartfelt congratulations on the recently concluded peaceful elections held in that country resulting in the election of former Foreign Minister Kikwete as President of the United Republic of Tanzania.

Today's meeting provides us with an opportunity to take stock of the progress so far made in the initiative since the Dar es-Salaam Summit and to deliberate on the best ways and means to create the most propitious conditions for the convening of the second Summit, which is scheduled to be held in Nairobi in the course of this year.

It was in the same spirit of building momentum for the initiative that the Peace and Security Council of the African Union held, in Addis Ababa on 17 June 2005, its first-ever open session, which discussed the process of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region. On that occasion, the Peace and Security Council adopted a declaration in which it reiterated its strong support for the initiative and endorsed the decision of the Dar es-Salaam Summit declaring the region a special reconstruction and development zone accompanied by a special reconstruction fund.

It is encouraging to note that all the draft programmes of action, projects and protocols, and the document on the follow-up mechanism, have been prepared and are expected to be finalized during the forthcoming regional ministerial meeting scheduled to be held in Bangui in mid-February, thus paving the way for the adoption of the proposed Security, Stability and Development Pact at the second Summit.

In addition to the progress in the preparation of the relevant documents, it is also encouraging to note that the regional political environment has improved since the last Summit, in Dar es-Salaam, as a result of the significant progress achieved in peace processes in the region on the one hand, and through existing verification and confidence-building mechanisms on the other. With respect to the progress in the peace processes, we welcome in particular the establishment of the post-transition Government in Burundi, the progress in the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement signed between the Government of the Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) in January 2005 and, the successful holding of the referendum on the Constitution in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, laying the basis for general elections by the end of June 2006 to conclude the transitional period.

For its part, the African Union, which is strongly backing the peace processes in the region, also undertook to contribute to the stabilization of the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo through the neutralization and disarmament of the various armed groups operating in the area, in particular, the members of the ex-Forces armées rwandaises (FAR) and Interahamwe. A reconnaissance mission was recently dispatched to the region and neighbouring countries; it consulted extensively with all stakeholders on the best ways to assist the Democratic Republic of the Congo armed forces, in cooperation with the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC), in neutralizing and disarming the armed groups. The outcome of the mission will be examined soon by the Peace and Security Council, which is expected to authorize our Commission to undertake the preparatory work that is necessary for the deployment of an African Union force, including the development of a concept of operation and the definition of the logistic and financial requirements.

At this juncture, it is worth recalling that the Organization of African Unity, which was closely associated with the development of the idea of convening an international conference on the Great Lakes region, endorsed the initiative in 1994. Since then, it has been working hand in hand with the United Nations in promoting the initiative. In the process, sustained efforts have been made to generate the necessary regional political support that was subsequently solemnly stated in the Dar es-Salaam Declaration.

In Dar es-Salaam, the leaders of the region also affirmed their ownership of the process, while the international community, and in particular the Group of Friends, pledged continued support. For its part, the African Union remains committed to supporting the countries of the region as they prepare for the second Summit, to be held in Nairobi, and during the implementation phase of the Pact. While expressing the African Union's appreciation to the Group of Friends for supporting the preparatory process of the Conference, I would like to call on its members to remain committed to the process beyond the Nairobi Summit.

Although the initial concept of the Conference was developed from a purely security perspective, it has since evolved to include democracy, good governance, economic development and regional integration, as well as humanitarian and social issues. That notwithstanding, security issues remain at the core of the underlying concerns of the initiative. In that respect, I believe that the initiative provides us with a unique opportunity to address a significant security challenge for the continent. Indeed, restoring peace and stability in a pivotal area of the continent, including three vast and wealthy countries, Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Sudan, will undoubtedly have an important and positive impact on peace, security and economic development throughout the continent.

I would also like to underline that the Great Lakes initiative is a clear illustration of the new vision of the African Union as embodied in its Constitutive Act, the New Partnership for Africa's Development, and the Declaration of the Conference on Security, Stability, Development and Cooperation in Africa, recognizing the interlinkages between peace, security, democracy and development and calling for unity that is based not only on geography and common borders, but also on political will and common values.

On the basis of that vision, and inspired by the progress being made in promoting peaceful solutions to the various conflicts afflicting our continent, the African Union has recently embarked on the elaboration of a strategic framework for post-conflict reconstruction and development in Africa. Similarly, the recent establishment by the United Nations of the Peacebuilding Commission is a most welcome development, as it provides the international community with a unique instrument to assist countries emerging from conflict in their transition to reconstruction and development.

Finally, through the Great Lakes initiative, the countries of the region have recognized the value-added that such an initiative would bring to their individual efforts aimed at promoting peace, security, stability and development. They have committed themselves to owning the process and to mobilizing their resources to sustain the initiative.

In the same vein, the continued political and financial support of the international community will be required so as to enable the countries of the region to implement the Security, Stability and Development Pact, to be adopted in Nairobi, in the spirit of partnership, which, together with the principle of ownership, has been guiding the process. I am confident that this Security Council meeting will send a strong and unequivocal message of encouragement and support for the initiative, given the important tasks and formidable challenges that lie ahead in the post-Nairobi phase of the initiative.

The President

I now give the floor to Mr. Ibrahima Fall, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the Great Lakes Region.

Mr. Fall

I should like at the outset, on behalf of the Secretary-General, to join previous speakers in expressing congratulations and gratitude to you, Madam President, for having taken the initiative to organize this important meeting, and to thank your country for the diligent and active manner in which is has been chairing the International Conference on the Great Lakes region.

The report of the Secretary-General (S/2006/46), which it is my honour to introduce to the Council, follows up on his report to the Council of 17 November 2003 (S/2003/1099), in which the Secretary-General described the state of the preparatory process for the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region. Some important progress has been made in that process since November 2003, and the Council has been kept regularly informed, here at Headquarters and during visits on the ground. The most important advance, of course, was the holding of the first Summit of the Conference, at Dar es-Salaam in November 2004.

Furthermore, thanks to the momentum generated by the Conference process, the regional political dialogue that began in 2003 has continued to make progress. That regular framework for diplomatic, political and technical cooperation at the regional level has been conducive to the emergence and strengthening of a climate of trust among the countries members of the Conference, which has helped to facilitate the preparatory work for the second Summit -- the Nairobi Summit -- originally scheduled to take place in December 2005 but delayed until 2006 at the request of a country member of the Conference.

The first Summit of Heads of State and Government of the International Conference was successfully held at Dar es-Salaam on 19 and 20 November 2004, and marked the end of the first phase of the process. The Dar es-Salaam Declaration was an important milestone for the region. It was the first comprehensive regional political document prepared jointly by Governments and non-governmental actors in which leaders offered a candid diagnosis of the ills of the region and agreed on a forward-looking regional vision of peace, security and development, formulating guiding principles and policy priorities on the four key themes of the Conference and charting a road map for the elaboration of a Security, Stability and Development Pact in the Great Lakes region, which is to be concluded during the second Summit.

In the Dar es-Salaam Declaration it was also decided to establish a mechanism for formulating action plans, protocols and specific, achievable and measurable projects. The mechanism has three components: a Regional Inter-Ministerial Committee; a Regional Preparatory Committee; and technical thematic groups.

The Regional Inter-Ministerial Committee, which will be led by Tanzania, which chairs the Conference process, until the holding of the second Summit, is made up of 11 member country ministers in charge of the organization of the conference -- nine of whom have honoured us with their presence today in this Chamber -- as well as of ministers from neighbouring co-opted countries, several of whom are also taking part in today's meeting. The Regional Inter-Ministerial Committee has met to shape, consider and approve the work of the Regional Preparatory Committee. It also liaises with the Group of Friends of the Great Lakes Region and the international community in general, using its good offices to resolve the most difficult questions relating to projects and protocols, prioritizing such protocols and action plans and mediating complex and sensitive political and diplomatic issues. The last meeting of the Regional Inter-Ministerial Committee before the second Summit will take place in Bangui from 21 to 24 February 2006, during which priorities for the draft Pact will be finalized and adjusted.

The Regional Preparatory Committee is the executive body of the Conference. It coordinates the technical preparation of the action programmes, protocols and projects to be submitted to the second Summit. It is made up of the national coordinators of the 11 member countries, as well as of national representatives of women, youth and civil society, and submits its recommendations to the Regional Inter-Ministerial Committee. The technical thematic clusters are the technical organs of the Conference, composed of experts from the Great Lakes region, assisted by experts from the United Nations system, the Group of Friends of the region and regional and subregional economic communities. Those experts are responsible for elaborating projects and protocols.

It is in that context that the joint secretariat of the Bureau of the African Union and the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the Great Lakes Region is responsible for preparing, coordinating and ensuring follow-up on all mechanisms, operations, documents, meetings and other priority Conference activities and for implementing all of that in order to give substance to the Security, Stability and Development Pact by supporting the preparation and finalization of action plans, projects and selected priority protocols.

In that context, the Special Representative carries out political activities in support of member States, preventive diplomacy and confidence-building measures intended to preserve and strengthen the atmosphere of trust essential for continuing the Conference preparation process.

The region's countries have chosen a number of protocols and priority projects, which are combined in action plans corresponding to each of the Conference's four themes. The report submitted for members' consideration summarizes those priority documents.

With regard to peace and security, the protocol on non-aggression, mutual defence and peaceful resolution of conflict is emphasized. That protocol is accompanied by a series of priority projects, all of which are related to joint border security management based on an innovative security architecture that divides the Great Lakes region into 12 cross-border security zones. Those projects include the disarmament of armed groups in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the disarmament of farmers in border regions between the Sudan, Uganda and Kenya. A third project is related to managing the common border between Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and Uganda. Those are specific and concrete border cooperation projects that combine State security with human security, and their implementation brings together governmental actors and local populations.

The other priority projects, in keeping with the Dar es-Salaam Declaration, seek to support, harmonize and strengthen the initiatives of existing regional mechanisms in areas such as combating the proliferation of small arms and light weapons, countering terrorism and transnational crime, demining and combating anti-personnel mines.

In the area of democracy and good governance, the priority initiatives are based on the project for a regional centre to promote democracy, good governance, human rights and civic education. In addition, three protocols -- on preventing crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, on combating the illegal exploitation of natural resources and on judicial cooperation -- complete this picture.

With respect to economic development and regional integration, the priority projects include a mechanism for the certification of natural resources, which is the operational interface of the protocol on combating the illegal exploitation of natural resources; a regional microcredit project; the relaunching of the Economic Community of the Great Lakes Countries; and a framework project establishing cross-border developmental zones to strengthen regionalism and development among States and border populations through cooperation initiatives concerning cross-border natural resources.

Other projects are related to the development of existing infrastructures, such as road, railway and river transport corridors. The one and only protocol concerns the specific zone for reconstruction and development, whose creation was announced by Conference member States in the Dar es-Salaam Declaration.

Finally, in the area of priority humanitarian and social issues, the projects focus on the pioneering protocols on protecting and assisting internally displaced persons, on the property rights of repatriated persons, on sexual violence against women and children and on humanitarian workers' access to populations in need. In addition, Conference actors have always sought to integrate, in a practical manner, the highly important cross-cutting themes of gender, HIV/AIDS, human rights, the environment and human settlements into the protocols and priority projects.

Once it has been signed, the Pact must be subjected to the test of implementation. To that end, the countries members of the Conference have planned to establish a simple regional follow-up mechanism, whose activities must be supported by the United Nations and the African Union. It is already agreed that its role will be to supervise the implementation of the Pact, to work to prevent, manage and resolve conflicts in the region and to maintain close working relationships with the regional and international institutions involved in implementing the Pact.

As the protocols and priority projects indicate, the draft Security, Stability and Development Pact for the Great Lakes region seeks to address the root causes of insecurity, conflict and instability in the region through an integrated regional approach and by emphasizing the links among the four themes of the Conference. These projects and protocols might have seemed numerous during the first phase of the Regional Preparatory Committee's work. However, on the basis of ministerial directives, the Committee subjected them to a rigorous priority-setting exercise at its meeting in Luanda in September 2005.

Here, I should emphasize once again the close links that exist among the priority projects corresponding to each theme and among the projects corresponding to the four themes of the Conference, within the framework of an approach based on human security. As the Dar es-Salaam Declarat