Nairobi (KENYA), 15 May 2019 - Fighting impunity and promoting human rights and justice is at the core of the commitments that leaders of the Great Lakes region included in the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) Pact and Protocols, as well as in the 2013 Addis Ababa Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework agreement to advance peace, security and development in the region. However, the implementation of such commitments has been slow and thus, impunity for human rights violations continues to be among the greatest challenges to sustainable peace and stability in the region.

To address this issue, regional leaders and stakeholders held a meeting in Nairobi on 13-15 May 2019, comprising a two-day conference followed by a ministerial meeting to review progress, challenges and next steps concerning the fight against impunity and the administration of justice. Participants included representatives from ministries of Justice, prosecutors, regional courts, human rights and civil society organizations, as well as from the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), several United Nations bodies (Office of the Special Envoy for the Great Lakes region, OHCHR, UNDP, UNODC, UN Justice and Corrections Section Standing Capacity), the African Union, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and members of the diplomatic community.

The objective of the meeting was to review progress, challenges and next steps concerning the fight against impunity and the administration of justice. The outcome was a declaration and roadmap including recommendations, timelines and benchmarks.