-
Introduction: Conflict and Peacebuilding in the African Great Lakes Region
- Indiana University Press
- Chapter
- Additional Information
1 introduction Conflict and Peacebuilding in the African Great Lakes Region kenneth omeje and tricia redeker Hepner the african great lakes region is one of marked contrasts and striking continuities . beset by destructive conflicts, it also possesses extraordinary potential for peace and development. from biodiversity to solid minerals and human talents, this geopolitical space is endowed with abundant natural and cultural resources. some of the world’s most ecologically diverse freshwater systems, subtropical rainforests, savannah grasslands, and temperate highlands with immense extractive, agricultural, and touristic value are found in the great lakes region. in addition, it is culturally and linguistically diverse, comprising population groups with rich and dynamic historical , religious, economic, political, and legal traditions that have both endured and been transformed by internal and external factors. in defining what constitutes the african great lakes region, we must therefore include not only the nation-states that comprise it—burundi, rwanda, uganda, democratic republic of Congo, kenya, and tanzania—but also the historical, sociopolitical, cultural, and economic geographies that cross and complicate these constructed borders. despite its great potential for development—or perhaps because of it—a variety of complex political conflicts at least partly related to the construction of nationstate borders have plagued the african great lakes region: genocide in rwanda; civil wars in burundi, democratic republic of Congo (drC), and uganda; flawed democratic elections and violence in kenya; ethnic hostilities and pastoral conflicts in most states; as well as boundary disputes, cross-border rebel incursions, and interest-driven political interventionism. The loss of life and livelihoods is nothing 2 | Introduction short of staggering. it is now well known that over 800,000 people were killed in the 1994 rwandan genocide; less acknowledged are the more than four million who have perished in drC since the civil war started over a decade ago. The kenyan postelection violence of 2008 led to at least 1,200 deaths and about 350,000 victims were internally displaced or rendered homeless. The lord’s resistance army (lra) rebel war in northern uganda and the cross-border pursuit of the rebels by the ugandan army created millions of internally displaced persons in uganda, northern drC, southern sudan, and the Central african republic. between 1993 and 2005, more than 300,000 people were killed in ethnic violence and civil war in burundi, while over half a million people were displaced. significantly, the great lakes region is both defined and surrounded by fragile states marked by varying intensities of instability and complex political emergencies, including sudan, Central africa republic, ethiopia, eritrea, somalia, and Zimbabwe. The sociopolitical and economic crises in surrounding countries are interlocking factors that inevitably aggravate the desperate humanitarian and security situations in different parts of the region. kenya has been particularly incommoded by the influx of millions of refugees from somalia. The only country in the region that seems to have been insulated from direct political conflicts is mainland tanzania. However, election-related violence and separatist agitations have repeatedly arisen on Zanzibar island, and tanzania has been heavily weakened by the brunt of hosting hundreds of thousands of refugees, mostly from the drC. Problems of child soldiering; proliferation of small arms and light weapons; sexual slavery, abduction, abuse, and torture of young girls and women in war zones by rebel fighters; refugees and internal displacement of persons; pastoral and communal violence; rebel and militia insurgencies; and epidemics like HiV/aids remain significant problems in different parts of the region. The situation in eastern drC, where various rebel/militia groups are still fighting the central government, remains extremely dire. Cross-border raids between guerrillas and combatants in the drC and rwanda, uganda and the drC, uganda and sudan, and somalia and kenya have occurred repeatedly in recent years, further dislocating vulnerable people and communities. The interplay of humanitarian catastrophes, political conflict, and insecurity has greatly retarded economic activity and development in the region and further exacerbated the human poverty profile. The natural resource endowments in the region have represented liabilities as well as potential opportunities, as groups have vied for control over resources amid market pressures and the exigencies of neoliberal development and globalization paradigms. While sub-saharan africa accounts for 92 percent of the twenty-four countries ranked under the low Human development category of the 2009 Human development index (Hdi), most countries of the great lakes region are especially abysmal in terms of the Human Poverty index (HPi) (Thirlwall 2008, 39; undP, 2009). development infrastructures are generally weak and underdeveloped in most parts...