No Stability Without Shared Security — DRC President Tshisekedi

Leaders from across the Great Lakes region gathered in Kinshasa for the 9th Summit of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), expressing a shared commitment to enhancing peace, security, and economic integration.

The participants highlighted the urgent need to address conflicts, strengthen cross-border cooperation, and ensure humanitarian access to populations affected by ongoing insecurity, having taken to the stage amid heckling by members of the audience.

President Felix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo, which assumed the ICGLR chairmanship for the next two years, framed the summit as a call to action.

"Our region continues to face challenges that we know very well: persistent conflicts and acts of aggression, mass displacement of populations, sexual violence, economic fragility, a lack of cross-border infrastructure, and the exploitation and illicit trade of natural resources. These ills are not inevitable; they call for a stronger political will, renewed regional solidarity, and a truly shared responsibility," he explained.

“There will be no peace without justice, no stability without shared security, and no development without genuine integration,” he declared, urging member states to fully implement the 2006 Pact on Stability, Security and Development, from the Protocol on Non-Aggression and Mutual Defence to judicial cooperation and the fight against the illicit trade of natural resources.

Sghair M’Bareck Said, High Representative of the African Union for the Great Lakes region, highlighted the economic dimension of regional cooperation. “We are gathered here today to discuss the importance of economic diplomacy in the Great Lakes region, highlighting the strategic integration project that can transform our economic landscape into genuine regional integration,” he claimed.

Huang Xia, Special Representative of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, called on leaders to translate ongoing diplomatic initiatives into tangible results. “Six complementary peace processes must now be translated into tangible actions on the ground; hostilities in eastern DRC must cease immediately, humanitarian access must be guaranteed, and UN Security Council Resolution 2773 (2025) must be implemented without delay,” Huang expressed.

Leaders also emphasised that political will, shared responsibility, and consistent implementation of prior agreements are essential to ensure that commitments lead to real change.

The ICGLR, established in 2006, is a regional organisation of 12 African states that seeks to promote peace, security, and development in the Great Lakes region. The 9th Summit in Kinshasa comes amid ongoing insecurity in eastern DRC and follows several UN- and AU-backed mediation efforts.

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