Fifth Statutory Meeting of the Committee on “Economic Development, Regional Integration and Natural Resources” and Fifth Joint Statutory Meeting of the Committees on “Humanitarian and Social Issues” and “Women, Children and Vulnerable Persons” of FP-ICGLR

The Forum of Parliaments of Member States of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (FP-ICGLR), in collaboration with the Parliament of the Republic of Burundi, is organizing the Fifth Statutory Meeting of the Committee on “Economic Development, Regional Integration and Natural Resources”, from 25th to 26th October and the Fifth Joint Statutory Meeting of the Committees on “Humanitarian and Social Issues” and “Women, Children and Vulnerable Persons”, from 27th to 28th October, 2022, in Bujumbura, Republic of Burundi.

The FP-ICGLR is an inter-parliamentary organization composed of 12 National Parliaments of the ICGLR Member States namely the Republic of Angola, the Republic of Burundi, the Central African Republic, the Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of Kenya, the Republic of Rwanda, the Republic of South Sudan, the Republic of the Sudan, the United Republic Tanzania, the Republic of Uganda and the Republic of Zambia.

The main objective of the FP-ICGLR is to make a significant parliamentary contribution to the implementation of the Pact on Security, Stability and Development in the Great Lakes Region.

Research and studies carried out have shown that the illicit exploitation and trade of natural resources remain one of the main causes of the instability in the Great Lakes Region. The illegal exploitation and smuggling of high value minerals known as « 3T » that’s to say Tin, Tantalum, Tungsten as well as gold, help to finance armed groups and support criminal networks, thus fueling conflicts and exacerbating tensions between states.

It is in this context that the FP-ICGLR is organizing the Fifth Statutory Meeting of the Committee on ” Economic Development, Regional Integration and Natural Resources ” to assess the impact of the illegal exploitation of natural resources on conflicts in the Great Lakes region under the topic “The Impact of illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources on Conflicts in the Great Lakes Region”.

On the other hand, the Great Lakes is one of the African regions most affected by a high number of refugee and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) related problems. Conflicts, famine, and violence have pushed millions of people away from their places of origin. The region has also been engulfed in violent intrastate and proxy interstate conflicts for several decades.

In this regard, the joint meeting of the Committees on “Humanitarian and Social Issues” and “Women, Children and Vulnerable Persons” to be held from 27th to 28th October, 2022, will focus on the Challenges of the Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the Great Lakes Region and reflections on the status of the participation of women in Governments and Political Institutions, in line with the Sustainable Development Goal 5 on Gender Equality and Member States Constitutions.

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