Peace in the Great Lakes Region: Time for a Regional Approach

The briefing argues that addressing instability in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the wider Great Lakes region requires a regionally rooted political process that targets illegal resource exploitation and shifts international support toward sustainable democratic institutions rather than regime stability.

• Addressing instability in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the Great Lakes region requires a strong, regionally rooted political process to tackle violence and the illegal exploitation of resources.
• A 'regional mafia' consisting of military leaders, politicians, and businesspeople from the DRC, Rwanda, Uganda, and Burundi benefits financially from the illicit trade in minerals and other goods, with profit motives superseding nationality and ethnicity.
• International approaches to Uganda and Rwanda have focused too heavily on regime stability rather than the development of open political environments and sustainable democratic institutions, often tolerating human rights violations in the name of stability.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2020). Peace in the Great Lakes Region: Time for a Regional Approach. https://saiia.org.za/research/peace-in-the-great-lakes-region-time-for-a-regional-approach/

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. Peace in the Great Lakes Region: Time for a Regional Approach. 2020. https://saiia.org.za/research/peace-in-the-great-lakes-region-time-for-a-regional-approach/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=Peace in the Great Lakes Region: Time for a Regional Approach |date=16 September 2020 |url=https://saiia.org.za/research/peace-in-the-great-lakes-region-time-for-a-regional-approach/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2020peace, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{Peace in the Great Lakes Region: Time for a Regional Approach}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2020}, month = sep, url = {https://saiia.org.za/research/peace-in-the-great-lakes-region-time-for-a-regional-approach/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }