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On 10/7/2009 10:53:23 AM Lieutenant Colonel Sam Mubangu wrote
From September 14-18, 2009 a team of USG civilian and military lawyers traveled to Goma, provincial capital city of Nord-Kivu in East DRC, to lead an executive-level seminar on border security issues for the Great Lakes Region countries. The team consisted of Commander Luke Reid of the Defense Institute of International Legal Studies (DIILS), Ms. Carollyn Jackson of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) (Homeland Security), Retired Colonel Tim Heinemann of the Center for Civil-Military Relations, and Lieutenant Colonel Sam Mubangu of the U.S. Africa Command's Office of the Legal Counsel.
The participants included Ugandan, Tanzanian and Congolese personnel drawn from the invited countries' military and civilian agencies responsible for dealing with border security issues. The Seminar focused primarily on three themes: (a) maritime and land border security issues, (b) internal armed conflict, insurgency and border security issues, and (c) international coordination. Instruction subjects included the following: border security, organized crime & terrorism; the complexities of modern borders and boundaries; issues pertaining to the trafficking of drugs, humans, and arms; the human factor in securing borders; the international legal framework of customs and immigration laws; internal armed conflict and counter-insurgency.
Throughout the seminar's formal instruction and group discussions, the USG team members coordinated their efforts in order to hammer out a single powerful message which emphasized four elements to enable the participants and their countries to deal with border security issues in an effective and comprehensive manner: (i) developing/implementing proper legal authority that complies with both national legislation and international law, (ii) using the right mix of competent personnel and operational capabilities, (iii) developing reliable information, and (iv) partnering between all Great Lakes countries.
The Goma participants asked many questions, which resulted in lively and healthy discussions of issues by all of the delegations. The Goma seminar on border security issues was a case of first impression as no such event bringing together the participants from any Great Lakes Region countries has ever been organized in the past by any of the U.S Embassies in the Region. The fact that all three delegations were able to share their views and discuss contentious issues in a courteous and mature manner was in and of itself a huge success for which U.S. Embassies in the three participating countries deserve great credit. For example, it was not self-evident before the seminar kicked off how the Ugandan and the Congolese delegations would interact due to past disagreements between the governments of both countries. Throughout the seminar, however, the Ugandan and Congolese participants were extremely respectful and courteous towards one another. In addition, both the Ugandans and Congolese were eager to discuss issues of common interest, such as the need to track down all negative forces, particularly the LRA and the genocidaire FLDR/Interamwes. They also discussed some of the hot issues that divide their two countries in a candid and polite manner with no sign of animosity or bitterness from anyone.
The maturity, keen insights and analytical skills demonstrated by the Goma participants as a whole were uniquely rewarding and suggested that they unquestionably understood the need for partnership among their countries, if they truly wish to overcome and defeat all negative forces confronting the peoples and governments in the Great Lakes Region countries, such as terrorism, organized crime, money laundering, and trafficking of humans, drugs, and arms. There was a strong consensus among the Goma participants that there was a need for additional seminars bringing together the Great Lakes Region countries to address issues of common interest and urgency.
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