The Heads of State and Government of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), meeting in Luanda, Angola, on 14^th June, 2016 at the invitation of His Excellency José Eduardo dos Santos, President of the Republic of Angola and ICGLR Chairman, to review the political and security situation in the Region. 

Joined by His Excellency Jacob .G Zuma, President of the Republic of South Africa as a special invitee and guest of President Dos Santos, the Summit themed “Accelerating the effective implementation of the Pact and its Protocols for a more democratic and stable Great Lakes Region” was preceded by the meeting of ICGLR Ministers of Defence on 11th June, 2016 and ICGLR Ministers of Foreign Affairs on 12th June, 2016. 

The Summit reiterated its primary responsibility to find lasting solutions to peace and security challenges in the region and reaffirmed its strong commitment to the ICGLR Pact on Security, Stability and Development in the Great Lakes Region and its related Protocols;

The Summit having considered the recommendations of the Meetings of the Committee of Ministers of Defence of the ICGLR held on the 11th June, 2016 in Luanda, Angola, which addressed the security situation in the Region; 

Having considered the recommendations of the Meeting of Ministers of Justice of the ICGLR  held on 25-26 August, 2015 in Livingston, Zambia, which addressed the implementation of the Pact on Security, Stability and Development in the Great Lakes Region and fast-tracking of the domestication of the four priority ICGLR Protocols; 

Having considered the report of the Meeting of the Ministerial Committee of the Signatories of Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework (PSC-F) on 28th January, 2016, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia;

Having considered the final Report of the Private Sector Investment Conference for the Great Lakes Region held on 24th-25th February, 2016 in Kinshasa, DRC;

Having considered the recommendations of the Meetings of the Regional Inter-Ministerial Committee (RIMC) held on the 11th February, 2016 in Luanda, Angola, which addressed matters related to the Organization and the political and security situation in the Region, and the subsequent meeting of the Ordinary RIMC on the 12th of June, 2016 preceding this Summit, the Summit decided as follows.

1. Commended the outgoing Executive Secretary, Professor Ntumba Luaba, for the good services rendered to the organisation during his term, and wish him well in his future endeavours.

2. Directed the EJVM to carry out verification and ascertain the particulars and intentions of the alleged Burundian nationals arrested and detained in the DRC and compile a consensual report within a period of 60 days;

3. Directed the EJVM to verify the incident that happened on the Lake Albert that resulted into the deaths of 3 Ugandan Police officers and report within a period of 60 days.

4. Welcomed the resumption of the East African led Inter-Burundian Dialogue in Arusha and encouraged the Government of Burundi and the opposition parties to commit to that process;

5. Recommended that the Facilitator of the Inter-Burundi dialogue, H,E. Benjamin Mkapa, former President of the United Republic of Tanzania, be invited to future Ordinary Meetings of the RIMC to brief Member States on the progress of the dialogue;

6. Urged the International Community to extend much-needed financial support to the Government of Burundi and humanitarian assistance to Burundian refugees and to those who have been displaced as a result of the crisis.

7. Commended the DRC for the efforts towards the neutralization of ADF, FDLR, and other local negative forces and recommended further support to FARDC and MONUSCO to continue working together to neutralise all negative forces;

8. Welcomed and pledged support to the agreement of the Heads of State of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Republic of Uganda, the Republic of Kenya and the United Republic of Tanzania to formulate a joint follow-up mechanism to address the growing menace of the radical terrorist group ADF;

9. Welcomed the signing of the new technical arrangement between the DRC and MONUSCO, and encouraged sustained joint military operations against all negative forces in the Eastern DRC as recommended by the ICGLR summit of Heads of State on the 18th May 2015;

10. Welcomed the report of the Guarantors Mission to the DRC and, on the implementation of Nairobi Declaration recommended continued and sustained engagement with the DRC and the ex M23 to implement what was agreed upon in Kinshasa on the 27^th May 2016;

11. Commended DRC Government for the preparations of political dialogue aiming at creating a conducive climate for the next elections. Further urged all Congolese political actors to participate in the dialogue and provide full support to the work of the International facilitator appointed by the African Union Commission;

12. Urged the UN and other concerned parties to accelerate the repatriation of disarmed ex-combatants of the FDLR in the cantonment camps to Rwanda or resettlement to a third country outside the region.

13. Extended warm congratulations to H.E President Faustin-Archange Touadera on his election and on the speedy formation of the new Government of the CAR;

14. Directed the Chair of the Regional Inter Ministerial Committee (RIMC) to expedite the implementation of the previous ICGLR Summit decision on convening a Joint ICGLR/ECCAS Summit to provide support to the new Government;

15. Called on the United Nations to lift the arms embargo on the Central African Republic, and appealed to all ICGLR Member States to support this call, and further called on African members of the UN Security Council to help advance this important cause;

16. Appealed to the international community to assist the new CAR Government with critical humanitarian assistance as an important step to sustaining the gains achieved as a result of the successful conduct of the elections and the inauguration of the new government;

17. Urged Member States to implement the resolutions of the ICGLR Military Experts Assessment Mission to the CAR;

18. Called for concerted efforts to neutralize the LRA and the threat posed by this negative force in CAR and the Region.

19. Welcomed the formation of the Transitional Government of National Unity, and appealed to the region and the international community to sustain support to the government and the people of South Sudan for the sake of peace and stability in the country;

20. Commended the work of the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Committee (JMEC) under former President of Botswana, H.E. Festus Mogae, in facilitating the dialogue between stakeholders in South Sudan towards the successful formation of the Transitional Government of National Unity, and appealed to all parties to sustain that spirit of compromise and reconciliation throughout the implementation of the accord;

21. Appealed to the international community to extend humanitarian assistance to the Government of South Sudan to facilitate the return of refugees and internally displaced people.

22. Welcomed the improving bilateral relations between the Republic of Sudan and the Republic of South Sudan, and encouraged the two countries to sustain this positive spirit for the sake of mutual stability and development;

23. Supported the efforts of the Republic of Sudan to lift the unilateral and coercive economic sanctions imposed on it by the United States of America, and note with alarm the disproportionate and indiscriminate human cost of these measures on the Sudanese civilian population, and in particular women and children.

24. Urged Member States to expedite the provision of the necessary financial and technical support for the implementation of the six tools of the Regional Initiative, and reiterate that the sustainability of the Initiative requires robust local and regional ownership;

25. Commended the International Partners, EU, ADB and in particular the German Government and its implementing agencies GIZ and BGR, who have diligently continued to offer technical and financial support to the Regional Initiative since its inception;

26. Called on Member States to take greater ownership of the Regional Initiative on Natural Resources and its implementation in their respective countries, and to avail the necessary resources to ensure its success.

27. Directed the ICGLR Ministers of Justice to implement the roadmap of the domestication of the ICGLR Protocols as approved by the meeting of the ICGLR Ministers of Justice in Livingston, Zambia, on 25-26/August 2015;

28. Directed Ministers of Justice to fast track the implementation of measures to strengthen judicial cooperation in areas of extradition of fugitives, accused persons and the mutual enforcement of Justice;

29. Urged Member States to promote mutual legal cooperation to combat transnational crimes specifically terrorism in the Great Lakes Region.

30. Welcomed and endorsed the conclusions of the Meeting of Foreign Affairs of the Signatory countries of the PSC Frame work held in Addis Ababa on the 28th January 2016 including that future Regional Oversight Mechanism (ROM) Meetings be delinked from the AU Summit and the UN General Assembly and held as standalone meetings within the region;

31. Encouraged the ICGLR Member states to host future annual Sessions of the Regional Oversight Mechanism (ROM);

32. Expressed appreciation to the Republic of Angola for the initiative of convening and chairing the Security Council open debate on the prevention and resolution of conflicts in the Great lakes Region on the 21^st March 2016 and the launching of the Regional Strategic Framework.

33. Commended the cooperation between the ICGLR Secretariat, the Office of the Special Envoy of the UN Secretary General to the Great Lakes Region and the Government of the DRC for the successful holding of the first Regional Investment Conference in February 2016 in Kinshasa, and urged proactive actions towards effective implementation of the recommendations of the Conference in order to maintain the momentum it has generated;

34. Urged Member States to extend greater support and engagement to the follow-up efforts to spur direct foreign investments into the region through this initiative, and similar ones in the future;

35. Strongly urged all Member States to expedite the development of the National action plans on Youth Unemployment as directed by the Summit of the ICGLR during the Extra-ordinary Summit in Nairobi on 24t^h July 2014. This is an essential element in our collective efforts to ensure economic development and growth flows to our most vulnerable youth, who also remain our most valuable and promising human resource.

36. Noted with great concern the growing threat of terrorism and radicalization in the Region and internationally, and called for sustained solidarity in fighting this menace with greater vigour and resolve, including implementation of the earlier ICGLR Summit decision by establishing a Committee of Ministers of Defence, Foreign Affairs and Intelligence of ICGLR to expeditiously formulate a strategy and practical actions towards addressing this threat against the region.

37. Reviewed the recommendation from the RIMC on the candidates for the position of the Executive Secretary of the ICGLR, and in conformity with Article 23(4) of the ICGLR Pact, approved the appointment of Ambassador Zachary Muburi-Muita as the Executive Secretary of the ICGLR for a term of 4 years, effective 14/06/2016.

38. The Summit avails itself of this opportunity to congratulate the Governments and People of the Republic of Uganda, the Republic of Congo and the United Republic of Tanzania for having conducted peaceful, fair and transparent general elections.

39. The Summit welcomed the offer of the Republic of Kenya to host the 10th anniversary celebrations commemorating the signing of the Pact on Security, Stability and Development in December 2016.

40. The Summit finally expressed its profound appreciation to the Government and the people of the Republic of Angola for the warm hospitality extended to all delegations, and for the excellent facilities placed at their disposal to enable the success of the Summit.

41. The Summit was attended by ICGLR Heads of State and Government and or their representative. The Summit was also attended by ICGLR Co-opted members the President of the Republic of South Africa and representative of the President of the Arab Republic of Egypt. Also in attendance was the UN Secretary General Special Envoy to the Great Lakes Region.