Growing Hope for Africa's Great Lakes Region
"Africa must make a choice to be a place where the rule of law blossoms," says President Paul Kagame of Rwanda.
April 2003
Rwandan president Paul Kagame
Two years ago—at the time of Rwandan president Paul Kagame's previous visit to the Institute—the Great Lakes region of Africa presented a bleak picture. The picture is changing for the better, Kagame told a standing-room-only audience at the Institute on March 6.
For example, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is working through a new power-sharing agreement to govern its vast nation. The final session of the inter-Congolese dialogue was convened April 1–2 in Sun City, South Africa and achieved some level of success. The DRC's civil war has greatly destabilized the region, drawing in military forces from several neighboring states in support of either the rebel movements occupying much of the east of Congo or the DRC government of Joseph Kabila.
Kagame said that Rwanda, in accordance with the Pretoria Agreement, had withdrawn troops from the DRC. (However, on March 20, two weeks after Kagame's visit, the Rwandan parliament voted to re-deploy troops to the DRC in response to Uganda's alleged continued support for rebels opposed to the Rwandan government.)
In Burundi an internal political settlement is moving forward according to Kagame, in spite of continued violence. African leaders and international organizations continue to encourage belligerents to commit to the peace process.
"The point is, basically, that we are moving forward, notwithstanding the challenges that we have to confront and surmount in order to make the agreements work," said Kagame. He detailed several challenges.
- Parties to peace settlements must realize that it is for the benefit of their citizens that they strive for peace. "What, other than lost opportunities in trade and investment, in growth and equity, do we hope to gain from the image of a continent perpetually at war with itself, left behind a fast-moving world that cares little?" asked Kagame.
- The international community has an obligation to play an active part. Once the ink is dry on a peace agreement, international actors tend to turn their attention elsewhere. "This habitual late-coming, this piecemeal, ineffectual, and half-hearted intervention in our recent past has left bitter memories," explained Kagame. Not merely a question of material resources, it is foremost an issue of collective resolve to honor international obligations.
- The ideology of genocide seems to have acquired new converts, averred Kagame. Some believe that the genocide ideology can be a bargaining tool and an avenue to power.
- The absence of war is not enough. Kagame called for investment in early warning systems, preventive measures, and peace-enhancing processes that would cut across national life—from government to private sector to civil society.
Despite daunting challenges, Kagame asserted that prospects for peace in the Great Lakes region are greater now than ever. The international community must play its role by supporting steps toward peace, but the people and leadership of Africa must make it work. They are the primary beneficiaries.
"There is no greater contribution to peace and security than our continued dedication to putting our house in order, since, as the saying goes, all charity begins at home," said Kagame. In that regard, he noted that Rwanda will hold a constitutional referendum in May 2003, and that parliamentary and presidential elections are planned for later in the year.
