Peace, security, and governance since the articulation of the 2013 Peace, Security, and Cooperation Framework for the Great Lakes Region

Abstract

This article examines the achievements and shortcomings of the Peace, Security, and Cooperation Framework (PSCF) for the Great Lakes Region of February 2013 that several regional and international actors articulated as the building block to advance peace and security. Recognizing the inextricable links between the internal peace, security and governance in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda, the Framework sought to be a comprehensive approach in which these countries could work together to deal with the problems that have bedevilled the region since the early 1990s. The authors holds that despite the initial optimism, limited progress has been made in ending the interminable conflicts which are primarily due to the perennial distrust among the core states and insufficient respect and adherence to bilateral and multilateral agreements. Moreover, inchoate and half-hearted interventions by multiple regional and external actors have only compounded the impasse.