By Godfrey Olukya 2-9-2013
Uganda is to host the extra-ordinary summit of the international conference on great lakes region (ICGLR) heads of state and government on 5th September 2013.
Following the deteriorating situation in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, particularly in the recent days resulting in the death and injury of Peace Keepers from the Force Intervention Brigade, Uganda as chair of the ICGLR, felt it was very urgent to convene an Extra-Ordinary Summit on 5th September 2013 composed of eleven member states, namely: Angola, Burundi, Central African Republic, Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania and Zambia. The UN is also expected to be represented in the summit.
This extra ordinary summit will be held in Kampala on 5th September 2013, to discuss the deteriorating situation in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. This summit will be preceded by the Joint meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defense which will take place on 4th September 2013.
The Heads of State and Government of the ICGLR held their 6th Extraordinary Summit in Nairobi-Kenya 27-31st July 2013. On 29th August 2013, ICGLR issued a press release on escalating violence and resumption of hostility in Eastern DRC and reiterated that the Summit of ICGLR Heads of States and Government of 24th November, 2012 and that of July, 2013 mandated and reaffirmed the support to the political and diplomatic dialogue in Kampala, a process aiming at allowing the DRC Government to listen, evaluate and resolve the legitimate grievances of M23 and M23 to stop expanding the war forthwith.
The ICGLR called on the DRC Government and M23 to go back and conclude the dialogue process to allow for sustainable solution to the crisis. The ICGLR also called for international Community and International Agencies to provide assistance to the victim of the conflict.
According to authorities in Uganda, the coming extra-ordinary summit should be seen as a effort by the chair of ICGLR to bring all parties to the conflict and all regional leaders to help find a lasting solution to the conflict aimed at creating stability in eastern DRC and the region as whole.
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