Rwanda and Four Other Great Lakes Countries Meet in Lusaka on Armed Groups
KIGALI — Defence ministers from five Great Lakes countries — Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Uganda and Tanzania — met in Lusaka, Zambia, on October 18 to discuss ways to strengthen regional cooperation against insecurity, Rwandan media reported.
The meeting was announced by Huang Xia, the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy for the Great Lakes region, while briefing the UN Security Council, and was organised in collaboration with the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR). The ministers were expected to consider a draft set of harmonised guidelines for disarming foreign armed groups and supporting the reintegration of their former members into civilian life, covering groups including the FDLR, the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) and RED-Tabara.
Fighting continues to undermine security in parts of the region and tensions persist between some neighbouring countries, so the meeting's impact will depend on whether the countries agree on the guidelines and how effectively they implement them. Huang also highlighted ongoing efforts to promote transparent and responsible management of the region's natural resources.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 卢旺达首都基加利市区。照片：Honeybarger／Wikimedia Commons（CC BY-SA 4.0）。Kigali, Rwanda. Photo: Honeybarger / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).
