Nairobi, 12 July 2023 - From 5 to 6 July 2023, the Office of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Great Lakes region organized a two-day meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, bringing together United Nations (UN) actors from the region, including political officers, peace and development advisors, representatives of humanitarian entities, as well as external subject matter experts and analysts from regional policy think tanks. The meeting aimed to jointly assess dynamics in the region, enrich analytical efforts, and identify priorities for concerted UN action in support of regional peace initiatives.

The meeting was attended by representatives from the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), the UN Office to the African Union (UNOAU), the UN Regional Office for Central Africa (UNOCA), as well as UN political liaison teams supporting the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the Office of the Director General of UNON. Colleagues from Resident Coordinator Offices in Angola, Burundi and Kenya, as well as representatives from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) also participated.

During the event, participants exchanged views on recent developments in the region, including on emerging trends in bilateral and regional cooperation. They discussed ways to effectively strengthen UN support to the regional peace efforts currently underway to address the security crisis in eastern DRC. Participants identified a set of strategic recommendations, including on further strengthening coordination and information-sharing for enhanced synergy of efforts.