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Democracy or security: What does the EU think the Great Lakes region needs?

By Edward Nyembo

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Posted on April 13, 2023 10:30

© Diplomatic vehicles of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) Expanded Joint Verification Mechanism are seen in no-man’s land between Rwanda and the DRC at the Goma border post. (Photo by ALEXIS HUGUET/ AFP) — Diplomatic vehicles of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) Expanded Joint Verification Mechanism are seen in no-man’s land between Rwanda and the DRC at the Goma border post. (Photo by ALEXIS HUGUET/ AFP)

The EU has a new strategy for the Great Lakes region, which places a premium on security rather than democracy. For every time the word democracy is mentioned in the strategy, security is mentioned six times.

Measured on the Economist Intelligence Unit ranking on democracy, none of the 12 members of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) come close to being a democracy. Eight of the members are classified as authoritarian states. Among the four, only Uganda is ranked a hybrid democracy while the rest are considered authoritarian.

The EU strategy is centred on Democratic Republic of Congo and its neighbours – Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi – which have for decades been directly or indirectly been triggers of insecurity in the eastern part of the country.

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