Great Lakes Communiqui

The representatives of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda, with the facilitation efforts of the United States, met in Washington, DC on July 14 – 15, 2004, the second meeting of these parties.

The three Great Lakes countries, in order to enhance peace in the region, reaffirmed their commitment to existing agreements and resolved to:

• Continue to work on the Joint Verification Mechanism as agreed in Abuja and Addis Ababa;

• Disarm armed groups, including in particular genocidal forces, with the assistance of an international force; and,

• Normalize the security situation along the common borders between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and its neighbors, and that each state commits itself not to train, harbor on its territory, or render any form of support to elements or armed opposition movements seeking to destabilize the three countries.

The three Great Lakes countries further noted their appreciation for the support of the United States government and its continued commitment to facilitate the establishment of a trilateral mechanism to foster cooperation in the region.

The three Great Lakes countries declared their commitment to promote the strengthening of relations and the creation of a mechanism to address regional instability and resolved to:

• Enhance their efforts to prevent the use of their territories to arm and support negative forces in the region;

• Continue to encourage the return of refugees in the region to their country of origin;

• Support the transitional government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo;

• Move forward with a process of political and diplomatic rapprochement; and,

• Support institution building to help support peace and stability in eastern Congo.

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