NEWS RELEASES
CANADA CHAIRS GROUP OF FRIENDS OF THE GREAT LAKES REGION OF AFRICA
December 4, 2003 (9:15 a.m. EST) No. 188
CANADA CHAIRS GROUP OF FRIENDS OF THE GREAT LAKES REGION OF AFRICA
Foreign Affairs Minister Bill Graham and Minister for International Cooperation Susan Whelan announced that Canada
will co-chair the Group of Friends of the Great Lakes region of Africa, which held its first meeting today in Geneva,
Switzerland.
The group will provide ongoing international support for the International Conference on the Great Lakes region, a recently
launched process established to forge a new political, economic and social partnership in the troubled region. The first
summit of heads of state of the Great Lakes region is scheduled for the summer of 2004.
"Canada is playing an important role in promoting long-term peace and stability in the Great Lakes region, in keeping with
the principles of the New Partnership for Africa's Development," said Minister Graham. "Discussions held today in Geneva
will help group members better coordinate political, technical and financial assistance for the countries of the region."
"We urge all interested parties, especially civil society in the Great Lakes region, to become involved and to support all
efforts to promote national reconciliation," Minister Whelan said. "Peace and stability are crucial for meaningful
development."
Canada established the Group of Friends in close consultation with the United Nations and the African Union. It brings
together governments and multilateral institutions committed to assisting African countries party to the International
Conference on the Great Lakes region.
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A backgrounder is attached.
For further information, media representatives may contact:
Isabelle Savard
Director of Communications
Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs
(613) 995-1851
Marta Anderson
Director of Communications
Office of the Minister for International Cooperation
(819) 953-6238
Media Relations Office
Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade
(613) 995-1874
http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca
Media Relations Office
Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)
(819) 953-6534
info@acdi-cida.gc.ca
Backgrounder
GROUP OF FRIENDS OF THE GREAT LAKES REGION OF AFRICA
International Conference on the Great Lakes Region of Africa
An international conference on peace, security, democracy and development in the Great Lakes region, first suggested in
the early 1990s, was seen as a possible solution to the region's various conflicts and problems, including those resulting
from the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. Because of the conflicts that raged in the region throughout the last decade, it was not
possible to launch the conference. However, the United Nations Security Council's statement in February 2000 that the
conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) was a threat to international peace and security affirmed the need
to hold such an event, organized by the UN and the African Union. A return to peace in the DRC and the recent agreements
between rebels and the Government of Burundi are now making it possible to launch the conference.
In June 2003, under the auspices of the UN and the African Union, the countries that make up the Great Lakes region
(DRC, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Kenya and Tanzania, with the likely addition of Zambia) held the first meeting of the
International Conference on the Great Lakes Region. The conference covers four major themes: peace and security;
democracy and good governance; development and economic integration; and social and humanitarian issues. This is not a
one-time activity, but rather a process that will involve numerous initiatives, projects and agreements connecting each
country to a solid regional community.
An important result of the conference process will be the creation of an organization or regional mechanism that will ensure
follow up of decisions, have an early-warning function and organize periodic meetings. Priorities will be established by the
region's heads of state in accordance with the four conference themes. The purpose of the preliminary phase, which should
last about a year, will be to help the regional players set priorities and translate them into principles and guidelines for the
development and implementation of concrete regional policies, laws, programs and projects.
The conference will also seek to increase the integration of the countries in the region through trade, communications and
joint projects, such as regional electricity grids, which would strengthen regional ties. Free trade, freedom of movement and
other measures to consolidate communities are also long-term objectives that the conference could help implement.
To ensure the success of the process, the countries in the region want complete control of the conference process and the
various projects that will follow. However, they are aware of the technical and financial problems posed by the organization
of this conference, and are therefore hoping that the international community and donor countries will participate in its
work. They are counting on their development partners to provide them with political, financial and technical assistance
throughout this lengthy process.
Group of Friends of the Great Lakes Region of Africa
The Group of Friends of the Great Lakes region of Africa should provide such support to the countries in the region, which
will continue to manage the conference and have control over the results.
Canada has agreed to assist the UN and the African Union in this regard by creating this group and ensuring effective
participation by the international community. Canada, in cooperation with the Netherlands, will head the group's
operations.
The Group of Friends is made up of representatives of the UN and its specialized agencies, the African Union, international
financial institutions and 28 countries. Its objective will be to provide and coordinate the political, diplomatic and technical
support the member countries of the conference will require.
Canada's Role in the Region
Canada has been closely involved in the peace process in the region. It led the Multinational Force in the fall of 1996 (to
eastern Congo and Rwanda) and then participated in the UN Mission in the Central African Republic (MINURCA) in the
late 1990s. It helped conclude a peace agreement in Burundi, which led to the Arusha Accords, through substantial financial
support. Canada was also very active in the implementation of the Lusaka Accord, which officially ended the war in the
DRC.
Canada also supported the Inter-Congolese Dialogue, which concluded with the establishment of a transitional government
and parliament in Kinshasa in the summer of 2003, with national elections to be held by 2006. From the outset, Canada has
also provided military and civilian personnel to the UN Mission in the DRC (MONUC), and is a member of the
International Committee in Support of the Transition in the DRC (CIAT). It participated in the "Coalition of the Willing,"
the UN-mandated, European-led Operation Artemis, which consisted of a multinational emergency force deployed around
Bunia, in northeastern DRC.
It is also important to note Canada's very substantial financial contribution to the region, in large part in the form of
humanitarian assistance, since the mid-1960s.
Canada is also very involved in the Africa Action Plan and supports the New Partnership for Africa's Development. Its
commitments centre around promoting peace and security and preventing and resolving conflicts.
Canada decided to allocate the initial amount of $1.5 million to the Group of Friends of the Great Lakes region of Africa in
support of the International Conference on the Great Lakes region.
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