United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the Office of the Special Envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General for the Great Lakes region meet in Geneva in talks to promote development, peace and security in the Great Lakes region.
The meeting in Geneva will explore the connection between humanitarian and development issues in order to promote security in the region, which includes Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda.
The region has more than seven million internally displace people, half of them refugees.
Displacement in the region has increased insecurity and political conflict in Burundi, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan.
Uganda alone hosts over one million refugees.
An estimated 3.7 million internally displaced people are in the DRC, making it the country in Africa most affected by internal displacement.
“Involving UNCTAD in these regional discussions is a recognition of the wide range of expertise tackled by the Geneva trade hub, and is an expression of its high potential for a deeper leading role in dealing with interrelated complex issues,” said UNCTAD Secretary-General Mukhisa Kituyi.
UN Special Envoy, Said Djinnit, highlighted the need to ensure that political engagement goes hand-in-hand with multi-sectoral approaches.
“More than ever, the Great Lakes Region requires predictable, coordinated and coherent support to avoid reversing the progress achieved to date,” he said.
