The Role of Regional Organisations in Peacebuilding: The Case of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region

Abstract

This article aims to examine the role of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) in peacebuilding in the Great Lakes Region (GLR) by focusing on its conflict transformation approach to peacebuilding. The region is made up of a complex network of political and economic resources that have had tremendous effects on peace and security. The region has experienced many atrocities, caused by heavy violations of human rights and the violation of the state sovereignty principle. This has opened avenues for illegal armed groups from within and outside the region, encouraged illegal mining, and led to conflicts becoming intractable in nature. The GLR has also registered intercommunal conflicts in Uganda and South Sudan which continue to compromise peace and security, affecting the safety and livelihoods of people. These intractable intercommunal conflicts do not affect the GLR alone but also the entire continent. This has led scholars, non-governmental organisations, international organisations, and intergovernmental organisations such as the ICGLR to seek to end the conflict in the region. This article finds that conflict persists because the ICGLR's structures are ineffective. Furthermore, despite the strides made in areas such as the illegal exploitation of mineral resources, human rights violations, sexual gender-based violence, and democracy, there are factors that hamper progress, including understaffing and unqualified personnel, coupled with a lack of political consensus in decision making and implementation, which has led to malfunctioning in the ICGLR.