Pact on Security, Stability and Development in the Great Lakes Region

In response to some of the specific challenges faced by the countries of Africa's Great Lakes region, the African Union and the United Nations initiated the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR). This process, which recognised the interconnectedness of the region's populations, its security and economies, and the imperative of seeking regional solutions, culminated in the signing by 11 states of the Pact on Security, Stability and Development in the Great Lakes Region (the Great Lakes Pact).

The Pact entered into force in June 2008 and has been ratified by the 11 member states. Two of its ten protocols deal with protection of IDPs: the Protocol on the Protection and Assistance to Internally Displaced Persons, and the Protocol on the Property Rights of Returning Populations. A third one, the Protocol on the Prevention and Suppression of Sexual Violence against Women and Children is highly important for IDPs, given the prevalence of sexual violence in conflict and post-conflict environments.

The Pact is the first multilateral instrument in the world to commit member states to adopting and implementing the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement as a framework. In addition to defining protection measures for IDPs due to all causes and in all phases of displacement, the Pact addresses some specific concerns from the experience of internal displacement in the Great Lakes Region, such as protection measures for pastoralists, host communities and families of mixed ethnic identity. Furthermore, it strengthens the legal basis for IDPs to claim their rights, including the rights to access to information, to be consulted about and to participate in decisions that affect their lives and the right to receive humanitarian assistance.

Resources and documentation

The documents available here are only a small number of the many protocols that are part of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR). For further protocols, projects and programmes of action please visit the ICGLR's website or see the LSE's webpage on the ICGLR.

Dar-Es-Salaam Declaration on Peace, Security, Democracy and Development in the Great Lakes Region
Pact on Security, Stability and Development in the Great Lakes Region
Protocol on the Protection and Assistance to Internally Displaced Persons
Protocol on the Property Rights of Returning Persons
Protocol on the Prevention and Suppression of Sexual Violence against Women and Children
Draft Model Legislation on the Implementation of the Protocol on Protection and Assistance to Internally Displaced Persons
Draft Model Legislation on Property Rights of Returning Persons
Draft Model Legislation on the Prevention and Suppression of Sexual Violence Against Women and Children
Recommendations on combatting sexual violence against women and children (April 2010)

Guide for Civil Society Organisations

Following the entry into force in June 2008 of the Pact on Security, Stability and Development in Africa’s Great Lakes region (the Great Lakes Pact), the Norwegian Refugee Council’s Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) and the International Refugee Rights Initiative (IRRI) released The Great Lakes Pact and the Rights of Displaced People: A Guide for Civil Society. The Guide aims to help organisations use the Great Lakes Pact to promote the rights of refugees and internally displaced people (IDPs) in the region.

Download publication
Press release: New guide aims to benefit millions displaced in Africa’s Great Lakes region (19 September 2008)

AU Convention for the Protection and Assistance of IDPs in Africa (the Kampala Convention)

It is also important to note that African Union member states adopted, in October 2009, a Convention for the Protection and Assistance of IDPs, also know as the Kampala Convention. This means that the 11 member states of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region can reinforce their commitment to the protection of IDPs by ratifiying the Kampala Convention. For more details see our page on the Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa.