The Effective Integration of the ICGLR Towards Sustainable Security and Economic Development in the GLR of Africa
Abstract
Following the 1994 Rwandan genocide, an estimated two million refugees fled the country into the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The group that fled consisted of a formidable military force in varying states of combat readiness. Seventeen years after the genocide, its effects still haunt the Great Lakes Region of Africa. Until recently, the region has been marred by violence perpetrated in the DRC's rural areas by the armed rebel groups from both Rwanda and Uganda. Today, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), the rebel group that masterminded the 1994 Tutsi genocide, is believed to use vast regional and international networks to bolster its supply of arms and recruit extra soldiers with the intention of destabilizing Rwanda. The regional response to the FDLR's threats have primarily been individual state-based. Under the auspices of the United Nations and the African Union (AU), the ICGLR was established in 2006 as a regional organization tailored towards providing sustainable security and development in the GLR. This thesis will show that the ICGLR is not an honest broker. It is an organization consisting of representatives from 11 nations, all of which have their own national interests to pursue. The ICGLR is not the United Nations of the GLR and, therefore, cannot accomplish much due to current structural conditions in the region. The primary research question is as follows: What can be done to make the ICGLR more effective in addressing the current security problems in the GLR? The thesis recommends possible courses of action to make the ICGLR's strategy more effective for sustainable security and economic development in the GLR.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 08, 2012
- Accession Number
- ADA563099
Entities
People
- Pascal Nzaramba
Organizations
- United States Army Command and General Staff College