December 3rd 2010: The Eleven Heads of State and Government of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) under the Chairmanship of His Excellency President Rupiah Banda are set to meet for a Special Summit on Natural Resources this December 15th in Lusaka, Zambia. The idea to call for a Special Summit on the illegal exploitation of natural resources came during the AU Summit that took place in Addis Ababa in January 2010. The Heads of State had expressed the need to look into the problem of illegal exploitation of natural resources and all the negative consequences it has had in the region. Since then, a good number of initiatives have been carried out by the different stakeholders involved in the mining sector.

In line with the ICGLR Protocol on the Fight Against Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources, and taking into account the new development, the Democratic Republic of Congo ban on mining operations in its Eastern provinces and the United States legislation requiring companies sourcing minerals from Congo and its neighbours to prove their conflict free origin, the ICGLR organized a series of meetings to tackle the issue of illegal exploitation and illicit trade in natural resources. The meetings brought together experts and ministers of mineral resources from the eleven Member States of the ICGLR, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), consult industries and end-users of minerals.

The meetings were part of the efforts that are being undertaken by the ICGLR with its partners in undermining the illegal networks fuelling the violence in the region. It is known that the illegal mining and illicit trade in mineral resources are causes that drive conflict in Great Lakes Region and particularly in the DRC.

During those meetings the ICGLR had proposed to the experts and later on the ministers, a series of tools that it has developed in order to find a sustainable solution to this problem. It comprises of the introduction of a regional certification scheme for minerals guaranteeing the conflict-free source of minerals. Additional measures include the harmonisation of Member States legislation governing mineral resources as well as the set-up of a data base on regional mineral flows.

While the ministers of mineral resources approved the tools in the beginning of November this year, it is expected that the Summit will look into them and make a decision.

Apart from the Member States and co-opted countries, the Summit will also be attended by the Group of Friends and Special Envoys to the Great Lakes, co-chaired by the EU and Canada.

It is worthy to note that this Special Summit will coincide with the fourth anniversary of the Signing of the Pact on Security, Stability and Development in the Great Lakes in Nairobi, Kenya.

The ICGLR was created in 2004 as a response to the conflicts that ravaged the Great Lakes Region namely the genocide in Rwanda and the civil war in DRC. Its headquarters are based in Bujumbura, Burundi.

ICGLR Member States are: Angola, Burundi, Central African Republic, the Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Soudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.

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