Angelo Izama | Kampala
Uganda will today start chairing the world’s most powerful body for a month. The rotational arrangement is a key window for countries that hold the seat to project their issues on the entire council including its permanent members like the United States, Russia, China, Britain and Japan which have veto powers.In an interview about the historical opportunity, Uganda’s permanent representative, Dr Ruhakana Rugunda said Uganda wants to use its chairmanship to project its role in matters of regional peace and security.
One of the issues Uganda will pursue, he said, is to make regional cooperation the first line of dealing with “negative forces” in the Great Lakes Region.
“The joint effort by Rwanda and Congo to deal with genocidiares inside Congo and that of Uganda and Congo with regard to the Lord’s Resistance Army are a significant political and military development” he said, adding that Uganda would “vigorously” promote this approach as a primary route in the resolution of conflicts especially in the Great Lakes Region.
Uganda flag at the UN headquarters in New York. PHOTO BY OWEN KIBENGE
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The joint military agreements that Rwanda and Uganda struck with Congo at the close of last year were roundly hailed a new dawn of relations between the three countries.
Between them the three countries are complicit in the worst known humanitarian tragedies of recent times. They include the Rwanda genocide of 1994, the conflict in Congo which has reportedly claimed up to four million lives and Northern Uganda war which lasted for over two decades.
The belligerent relationship between these countries especially the support of proxy militant groups have been blamed by aid agencies for the huge loss of life and human suffering.
Rugunda who led the botched peace talks with the Lord’s Resistance Army said regional conflicts were on the wane and cooperation on the rise.
He said Uganda, which also represents African countries on the Council, will support the Comprehensive Peace Agreement of South Sudan which ended an almost 30 year conflict there.
“We believe solving these conflicts must firstly be the responsibility of the region, which is countries with special knowledge and interest. They can then relying on regional institutions like the African Union with the help of the international community,” he added.
Uganda, which contributes the bulk of troops to the African Union peace keeping force in Somalia, will be advocating its change into a United Nations force. He said Uganda believes such a force will catalyse the ability of the Somali people to normalize their conflict stricken country. “We support AMISOM as a UN force and as a transitional vehicle to support the Somali people to expedite a government of their own which can govern effectively” he said.
