Greasing the wheels of reconciliation in the Great Lakes region (Joseph Yav Katshung*)

Introduction

Several interconnected elements have shaped the confl ict in the Great Lakes region,
including the interests of neighbouring countries, competition over natural and economic
resources concerns over instability and lack of security, and ethnic chauvinism, to name but
a few. This generally applies to all countries in the region, namely Burundi, the Democratic
Republic of Congo (DRC), Rwanda and Uganda. In addition, these countries are affl icted
by poor governance and political opportunism, which leads to military action being used
to resolve essentially social, political and economic problems (Cartier-Bresson 2003).

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If realistic possibilities for confl ict resolution and transformation are to be developed,
concerns about resources and security will have to be addressed. This article will
focus only on the issues of resources and security, and will offer a perspective on how
to transform confl icts by using resources and security as tools of reconciliation and
reconstruction in the Great Lakes region.
Security and resources as sources of
confl ict in the Great Lakes region
Security concerns
Security remains a major issue throughout the region. There is a long history to the
sources of confl ict in the region. However, the recent cycle of violence in the region
began with the 1993 civil war in Burundi, which was followed by the 1994 Rwandan
genocide that targeted ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus. Both confl icts resulted in
large numbers of refugees fl eeing to neighbouring Zaire (now the Democratic Republic
of Congo). Before the Rwandan confl ict spread to Zaire, both Tutsis and Hutus had
been residing there in signifi cant numbers. Rwanda, citing the need not only to protect
its own citizens from attacks by Hutus, but also to protect Tutsi Congolese, launched
incursions into the eastern DRC in 1996.
At the beginning of the war in the DRC (1996), Rwanda and Uganda formed an alliance
with the Congolese armed resistance movement led by Laurent Kabila. However, this
'triple K' (Kampala-Kinshasa-Kigali) alliance fell apart in 1998 because of security
concerns cited by Uganda and Rwanda. Uganda maintained that it needed to stop
insurgents, particularly the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and the Allied Democratic
Forces, from attacking Uganda through southern Sudan and eastern DRC. The Rwandan
government invoked the right to 'self-defence' against cross-border incursions into its
territory by DRC-based Hutu militias. In reaction to the growing hostilities, Angola,
Namibia and Zimbabwe justifi ed their military intervention in the DRC stating that
they were seeking to preserve the unity of a Southern African Development Community
(SADC) member state. Chad also provided a small number of troops at the request of
the DRC government.
Political and security justifi cations for Rwandan and Ugandan intervention
notwithstanding, the opportunity to exploit the DRC's lucrative natural resources
also provided several states in the region – Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe – with an
incentive for military intervention. However, while the clamour for economic resources
may well have proved to be an obstacle to peace in the DRC, the confl ict was triggered
by the security concerns of neighbouring states, particularly Rwanda and Uganda, who
argued that it was essential to stop the incursions by various armed groups based in
Congo.
Concerns about resources
One of the most perplexing issues in the DRC confl ict has been, and still is, that of the
exploitation of the DRC's natural resources. Illegal exploitation of the DRC's mineral
resources has been a constant feature in discussions about the war in general and especially
in the eastern part of the country. There is a debate about whether the exploitation of
mineral resources is a main aim for foreign intervention or whether mining initiatives
is a way of fi nancing the war effort. It has long been established that the exploitation
of these resources, including 'coltan' (columbite-tantalite), gold, and diamonds in the
eastern Congo, and diamonds, copper, cobalt, and timber in central DRC, contributed
to and exacerbated the confl ict in the country. Concerned with reports of pillaging of
resources by the foreign forces, the UN Security Council mandated an independent
panel to investigate these allegations. In fact, in its presidential statement dated 2 June
2000 (S/PRST/2000/20), the Security Council requested that the Secretary-General
establish a Panel of Experts on the illegal exploitation of natural resources and other
forms of wealth of the DRC. The objective was to research and analyse the links between
the exploitation of the natural resources and other forms of wealth in the DRC and the
continuation of the confl ict. In its four reports, the UN Panel of Experts has named
senior Ugandan and Rwandese armed forces offi cers and senior government offi cials
and their families who are allegedly responsible for illegal exploitation of the DRC's
natural resources and other abuses. It has also proposed that measures be taken against
the states, individuals and companies most implicated in the exploitation, including
travel bans, fi nancial penalties and reductions in aid disbursements. In January 2003, in
response to complaints raised by companies and some governments, the panel's mandate
was extended to 31 October 2003. In its fi nal report from October 2003 the panel largely
documented the nexus of economic exploitation, arms traffi cking, and armed confl ict,
stating that illegal exploitation remains one of the main sources of funding groups
involved in perpetuating confl ict. The Panel of Experts also listed companies based in
Belgium, China, France, Germany, Israel, Spain, the UK and the United States that
were allegedly involved in the illegal arms trade in the DRC. (See UN Security Council
2001a, 2001b and 2002b.)
Regional actors have been accused of aggression and 'foreign adventurism' with regard
to Congolese territory and natural resources. In other words, while parties to the confl ict
in the DRC may have been motivated originally by security concerns, their continued
presence in the DRC can be attributed to economic gains derived from the DRC. The
report further stated that criminal groups linked to the armies of Rwanda, Uganda and
Zimbabwe and the government of the DRC have benefi ted from such confl icts. This is
critical to the peace process, because according to reports, these 'groups will not disband
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voluntarily … they have built up a self-fi nancing war economy centred on mineral
exploitation' (UN Security Council 2002b).
The rationale for intervention by neighbouring states became self-enforcing and
the localised confl icts became regional. As such, the confl icts within and among the
countries of the Great Lakes region require regionally based and targeted solutions,
along with the cooperation of other, relevant neighbouring states.
Transforming security and resources from
sources of confl ict to options for reconciliation
and reconstruction in the Great Lakes region
Reconciliation and reconstruction are essential elements of peacebuilding. The key to
transforming confl icts is to build strong, equitable relations where distrust and fear were
once the norm (Kriesberg 1998:322–335).
In the Great Lakes region, as in many other African countries, violent confl ict has become
the 'normal' state of affairs. Control of economic resources has become an important
factor in motivating and sustaining armed confl icts. Complex political economies, which
often hide behind the outward symbols of statehood and national sovereignty, have been
rooted in the pursuance of confl ict. The challenge therefore is to transform regional and
national political 'parasite' economies that rely on violent confl ict into healthy systems
based on political participation, social and economic inclusion, and respect for human
rights and the rule of law.
Accordingly, any attempt at transforming confl icts to ensure reconciliation and
reconstruction in the region requires stimulating positive developments in the region.
Such developments will reassure the affected countries that their security and economic
interests are better served through fostering stability and improving relations with their
neighbours than through allowing their neighbours' turmoil to defl ect them from their
objective of peace, reconciliation, democracy, and economic development.
Moreover, in terms of ensuring security, ignoring the tensions and misunderstanding
among Burundi, DRC, Rwanda and Uganda will have far-reaching implications for
the stability and socioeconomic development of the region because resources will
be diverted from human and economic development to warfare. For this reason it is
important for these countries to cooperate towards the restoration of peaceful dialogue
and cordial interstate relations. In this regard, allegations of support to belligerent proxy
armed movements by the neighbouring states must be investigated and stopped. Armed
incursions by rebel groups of one state into another can lead to rising tensions and fullblown
interstate armed confl ict which, if not promptly addressed, will affect the longterm
well-being and socioeconomic development of both populations. If rebel groups
in Burundi, the DRC, Rwanda and Uganda are not disarmed and rebel incursions
prevented, and interstate aggression is not arrested and territorial integrity secured, the
result may be a renewal of interstate confl icts and destabilisation or even disintegration
of the countries concerned.
The Great Lakes region is rich in the natural resources that are at stake for many actors
in the confl ict. However, natural resources also harbour potential for post-confl ict
rehabilitation and development. Countries should therefore examine ways of limiting
the exploitation of such resources for the purpose of funding confl ict. They should
furthermore seek to identify and promote the means by which such resources can be
safeguarded and managed in a way that will reduce confl ict and ensure benefi t to the
population. Equally, there is a need to develop institutions and frameworks for the
integration and transformation of the informal economy to a formal economy, governed
by a reasonable rule of law, transparency and effi ciency, without marginalising local and
regional actors.
Concluding remarks
While the conflict dynamics in the Great Lakes region are complex and involve a
multiplicity of interlocking regional and international actors, we should recognise that
the region has made some progress in overcoming instability, even though several
threats remain.
Each country in the region has pursued its own process of internal normalisation.
Nevertheless, it is clear that the reconciliation process in one country is strongly linked
to that in the others. Any durable solution to the issue of insecurity in the region must
have a regional character. It is therefore important that the region's constituent states
understand that their security and economic interests are better served by fostering
stability and improving relations with their neighbours than by allowing turmoil to
prevail.
At the level of regional integration it is important to use a forum, such as the International
Conference on the Great Lakes, to speed up the normalisation process among all these
states and to defi ne strategies for political and economic integration in the region.
Reviving the Economic Community of the Great Lakes Countries would also be a vital
step towards ensuring stability. Other social, cultural and scientifi c institutions can also
contribute to deepening the progress.
Moreover, countries in the Great Lakes region should work towards establishing rule of
law. This implies promoting democratic governance and respect for human rights, and
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terminating impunity at every level through the creation of effective and independent
courts and tribunals. Efforts can be made to set up functional Truth and Reconciliation
Commissions. There should be support for indigenous institutions for resolving disputes,
for example the Gacaca courts in Rwanda set up to address accountability for atrocities
and reconciliation even if the system has recently come under criticism.
Furthermore, in order to build sustainable peace, countries in the region should work on
political cohabitation and border security. The security of borders must be guaranteed
and the effi cacy of checkpoints ensured. To reach these objectives, it is necessary
to strengthen the human resource capacity of the security sector in every country in
the region, as well as the regime to monitor and prevent illicit small arms traffi cking,
particularly in the border areas. Ultimately, it is also important for these countries to
promote peaceful coexistence among themselves by respecting the territorial integrity
and national sovereignty of their neighbours.
In summary, close to one-third of all civil wars that have ended in Africa have re-ignited.
Therefore postconfl ict reconstruction and reconciliation efforts in Burundi, Rwanda,
Uganda and the DRC need to be consolidated. Ultimately, peace and stability have to
become a reality for the millions of citizens in this region to ensure that we effectively
move from crises and conflicts to security and stability.

References

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