Nairobi, 22 January 2018 - The Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Great Lakes region, Said Djinnit, convened a coordination meeting on 22 January 2018 with UN Resident Coordinators and Regional Directors to review political, security and humanitarian developments in the region and their implications for a joint UN programmatic engagement. As per an agreement reached last year, these interactions with United Nations Country Teams would occur every six months, alternately in Nairobi, Kenya, and in one of the capitals of the five core countries under the Peace, Security and Cooperation (PSC) Framework, namely the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda.

The participants started by reviewing the action points from the last coordination meeting last July, which included the agreement to: systematically share updates on implementation of decisions concerning the region; join efforts with Rwandan authorities in preparing the second Great Lakes Private Sector Investment Conference which will take place Rwanda – the first one took place in Kinshasa, DRC, in February 2016 and; as recommended by the Special Envoy, expedite the harmonization of programming in the border areas of the Great Lakes countries in support of stabilization and development, including through empowering local leaders, women and youth in affected communities.

The participants also reviewed the 2018 priorities and upcoming initiatives of the Office of the Special Envoy. These priorities include: the marking in February of the fifth anniversary of the signing of the PSC Framework; preparation for the 9th Regional Oversight Mechanism meeting – the previous one took place in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo; and follow-up to the UN Security Council resolution 2389 (2017).

This latest resolution drafted by Egypt, Ethiopia and Senegal “Calls on the United Nations Special Envoy for the Great Lakes Region to continue his regional and international engagement in furtherance of peace and stability in the DRC and the region, including through the promotion of timely, credible, and inclusive national elections, regional dialogue and by continuing, in close coordination with the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the DRC and Head of MONUSCO [the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the DRC], to lead, coordinate and assess the implementation of the national and regional commitments under the PSC Framework, as well as to continue his engagement in regional initiatives with key partners to address the underlying root causes of conflict, while avoiding overlapping with other United Nations institutions”.