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Annual Regional Parliamentary Forum on Environmental Security in Eastern Africa 13 and 14 October 2009

The Great Lakes Parliamentary Forum on Peace – AMANI Forum, Eastern African Police Chiefs Cooperation Organization (EAPCCO) and Institute for Security Studies (ISS) organized for a Regional Parliamentary Forum on Environmental Security in Eastern Africa. The Forum was held from 13th – 14th October at Speke Resort Munyonyo in Kampala, Uganda.
The Forum among parliamentarians was designed as an awareness creation as well as a strategy building session. This was aimed at supporting concrete deliberations on pertinent issues that have implications on environmental security with the aim of generating key policy recommendations to address them. Specifically, the session were informed by the need for MPs to, a) maintain peace and security, b) support sustainable development and, c) take responsibility for ensuring appropriate legislation in regards to environmental security. The specific objectives included to:
1. Increase awareness of the environmental security concerns in the region and their link to
conflict.
2. Provide an opportunity for experience sharing on environmental security related issues
among lawmakers.
3. Address environmental security concerns in the region through enhanced collaboration
between lawmakers and other stakeholders
4. Share EAPCCO/ ISS major findings of studies conducted in the region on the extent of
environmental crimes
5. Foster solidarity among regional MPs as aimed at harmonizing policies and laws in the
region Read more...

AMANI Forum Participates in FECCLAHA’s Regional Ecumenical Forum

The Regional Ecumenical Forum was attended by bishops, the clergy, the youth and church representatives from Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, the Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. In addition we had representatives from the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC), the Amani Forum: The Great Lakes Parliamentary Forum on Peace, the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (IC/GLR), the World Council of Churches (WCC) as well as local and international ecumenical partners.
The Regional Ecumenical Forum has reviewed FECCLAHA’s history, experience, achievements and challenges since inception. The meeting sought to discern future work by anticipating possible scenarios in the peace and security developments in the Great Lakes and Horn of Africa.
Papers were presented focusing on : challenges in post conflict peace building in Africa: essential interventions for the future; effective ecumenical accompaniment of electoral processes: best practices and lessons learnt; effective engagement with governance institutions towards greater public accountability: best practices and lessons learnt by the National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK); towards an effective regional ecumenical advocacy on natural resource governance: lessons learnt from ecumenical advocacy on mining for life in Tanzania; managing the human security implications of migration: best practices in the management of internal displacement; and the nexus between sexual gender based violence and the illegal exploitation of natural resources: the role of the church.
Appreciating the imperative for having clarity on the niche of peace building and conflict transformation and to be cognizant of the dynamism of peace and security developments in the Great Lakes region and the Horn of Africa. The participants were challenged to embrace creativity and new ideas in addressing the problems in the region. Further to this, it was proposed that efforts should be intensified in peace building with particular emphasis on post conflict peace building; network with other like-minded stakeholders for effective policy advocacy on peace and security issues in the region. read more...

AMANI FORUM Participates in the United Nations Regional Meeting for States from Southern Africa, the Great Lakes Region, the Horn of Africa and Bordering States on the Programme of Action on Small Arms

States from Southern Africa, the Great Lakes Region, the Horn of Africa and Bordering States came together on 8th -9th July 2009 in Kigali, Rwanda to discuss subregional implementation of the United Nations Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects (Programme of Action) and the International Instrument to Enable States to Identify and Trace in a Timely and Reliable Manner Illicit Small arms and Light Weapons (International Tracing Instrument), including the outcome document of the Biennial meeting of States on these instruments (2008). The meeting, organised by the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA), in cooperation with the Regional Centre on Small Arms in the Great Lakes Region, Horn of Africa and Bordering States (RECSA) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), was made possible through contributions by Austria and Norway. The meeting was also attended by the African Union (AU), the Amani Forum, the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), the PanAfrican Parliament (PAP), and the Southern African Regional Police Chiefs Cooperation Organisation
(SARPCCO) and representatives from civil society. Read more...

Consultative Forum on Enhancing the Role of Civil Society at the East African Community.

Venue: Naura Springs Hotel Arusha.

Date: June 5^th 2009.

1. Introduction.

The Great Lakes Parliamentary Forum on Peace-AMANI Forum participated in a consultative Forum on enhancing the role of Civil Society at the East African Community. The meeting was convened by Kituo cha Katiba in Arusha, Naura Springs Hotel. It was attended by over 30 civil Society leaders from East Africa.

2009 General Assembly, 16 – 17 June 2009

The 2009 General Assembly of the AMANI Forum was hosted by the Kenyan Chapter in Nairobi, Kenya between the 16 and 17 June 2009. The Assembly focused its attention on current policy trends with regards to the resolution of internal displacement and their contribution towards sustainable peace in the Great Lakes region. The Forum reviewed the theories, facts and remedies of the problem of internal displacement in an effort to address the question of sustainable peace in the region. Emphasis was also placed on analyzing the inter-linkages between ethno-ideology, politics and internal displacement. In addition to the Kenya National Assembly, other partners and friends of AMANI Forum who were present at the Assembly included: the Regional Analysts Network (RAN), the Open University of Tanzania, International Alert, the Institute of Security Studies, International Refugee Rights Initiative, East African Law Society, Local Government representatives, Oxfam GB, Action Aid, the United Nations Development Fund and the Fellowship of Christian Councils and Churches in the Great Lakes and Horn of Africa. During the meeting it was brought to the attention of the parliamentarians that there are more IDPs in the region than in any other area of the world. From Sudan through to Angola, scores of people have been forced to move from their homes as a result of conflict and, or persecution. The precarious status of IDPs is not currently covered by any specific international instruments thus their rights are not guaranteed internationally, instead their rights fall under domestic law, which at times can be applied in a discriminatory manner or not applied at all.