Parliamentary Networks in Action: Experience of the Great

1. THE GREAT LAKES PARLIAMENTRAY FORUM ON PEACE-AMANI FORUM International Parliamentary Conference on Peacebuilding: Tackling State Fragility 31 January-6 February 2010 Commonwealth Parliamentary Association UK Branch Parliamentary Networks in Action: Experience of the Great Lakes Parliamentary Forum on Peace: ‘Amani Forum’. by Hon. Kantengwa Juliana, MP Rwanda, Member of Amani Forum &PAP. JK

2. Content • Overview- Parliaments in fragile states • Rationale of Amani Forum • Values & Principles • History • Amani Forum’s strategic niche • Methodology/ Approach • Strengths & Challenges • Lessons learned. JK

3. Parliaments in fragile states • Fragile and failing states are characterised by weak state capacity and or weak state legitimacy and are highly vulnerable to external shocks as well as internal and externally engineered conflicts. • executive power is usually very strong; parliaments are relatively weak. • national budgets are a negotiation between the executive and IMF/WB; recurrent and development budgets are largely donor dependent. • national development priorities defined by donor conditionality. • proliferation of aid agencies; in charge of important but uncoordinated national development programmes. JK

4. Parliaments in flagile states cont....... • Aid money; grants or loans are negotiated and approved by the executive arm; role of parliaments ranges from non involvement, rubber stamping to actual parliamentary approval/ ratification . • as a result, the constitutional role of parliaments to approve state budgets is undermined and eroded, • parliaments as state institutions are typically under funded, • capacities and competencies of parliamentarians is often sacrificed due to limited funds, • parliamentary committees are under resourced in terms of required personnel and funding, • oversight role of MPs over the executive arm is compromised and parliamentary oversight over the security sector is inadequate or non existent. JK

5. What is AMANI Forum? • The Great Lakes Parliamentary Forum on Peace - AMANI Forum is an initiative of African Parliamentarians in the Great Lakes region. • It is a network of voluntary parliamentarians who are committed to peace and to the peaceful resolution of conflicts, both within their own countries and in the region as a whole. • It is an independent regional organisation that brings together over 800 members of parliament from eight (8) parliaments in the GLR in parliamentary diplomacy to promote peaceful co-existence and non military/violent options to secure peace. JK

6. AMANI Vision • “…A region free of conflict” • AMANI Mission: “…To organise parliamentarians for sustainable peace in the GLR” JK

7. About the Great Lakes Parliamentary Forum on Peace Uganda Rwanda Kenya Tanzania Burundi Zambia DR CONGO jk

8. History of AMANI Forum • Conceived as an outcome of a conference organised by International Alert on ‘the role of parliamentarians in peace-building’ held in Kigali, Rwanda in 1998; a follow up committee was constituted to lead on the establishment of a regional forum. • Amani Forum launched in 1999 in Kampala, Uganda, • Independent Secretariat established in 2003 in Nairobi, Kenya. • 6 national chapters established between 2000 – 2001; in Tanzania, Zambia, Rwanda and Burundi. DRC and EALA chapters established in 2006 and 2007 respectively. • March 2009; establishment of the 9th or the Sudan chapter in waiting; to be formally re -visited after the forthcoming presidential and parliamentary election. JK

9. AMANI Forum Values and Principles • Democratic governance, transparency and accountability • Volunteerism • Inclusivity • Cross-party membership and engagements • Gender responsiveness (in programmes, recruitments) • Dialogue (as opposed to violent solutions to conflict) • Domesticating the AU Mantra of ‘Africa Solutions to African Problems’; which is all about home grown solutions. JK

10. Rationale for a regional forum • The populations of the Great Lakes region are interlinked ethnically, culturally and linguistically ; • instability in any one country has directly or indirectly impacted on events in the entire region. • conflicts of the region often stem from common or interrelated causes; • calling for national, cross-border and regional approaches to peace building and conflict mitigation. • creating a regional platform for parliamentarians to mobilize their involvement in peace building initiatives within the region. (1998) JK

11. ….rationale of Amani cont….…. • a recognition that the protracted conflicts in the region are fundamentally interlinked, and that parliamentarians are in a unique position to contribute to conflict prevention and resolution; • parliamentarians can and have been a driving force for peace nationally & regionally; • to pay attention to the interface between conflict, governance and democracy, and identifying mechanisms which parliamentarians can use to impact upon the politics of war and peace in the region. JK

12. ....why a parliamentary forum..... • insufficient checks and balances of executives by the parliaments in the region resulting into situations conducive to abuses of power, corruption, militaristic adventures and or violent means of addressing conflicts, • issues of war and peace in the GLR has tended to be the preserve of the executive arms of governments with little/no reference to parliaments, • exclusion of MPs in peace building initiatives invariably undermined democratic governance and accountability, • harnessing of the potential and strengths of MPs in peace building; because MPs can and do inform discussions and policy on causes and potential solutions to conflicts in the region • curving a niche for the involvement of MPs in peace building and conflict mitigation indirectly incorporating the legislative arm of governments in regional diplomacy efforts. JK

13. Why MPs in Peace-building? • Political will and leadership are key issues in consolidating peace and stability especially in GLR. • in intra-state and cross border conflicts, legislative bodies have a unique role in mediating between various interests to promote peace. • as elected people’s representatives, parliamentarians are well placed to understand and provide solutions to the many intricate issues that often contribute to conflict. • based on their solidarity, regional parliamentarians can and have played a pro-active role in setting the political agenda for peace and stability. • hence a regional platform to enhance and amplify the role of MPs in matters of peace and security at nationally & regional levels JK

14. Current Strategic Niche • Amani Forum is an action-based African Parliamentary initiative employing parliamentary activism through existing parliamentary avenues to lobby and effect the adoption of policy recommendations /changes arising out of its activities. • A network of over 800 members of parliament from eight (8) parliaments in the GLR (cross-party membership) involved in parliamentary diplomacy to promote peaceful co-existence and non violent means to cultivate sustainable peace in the region. • Amani brings together MPs who have the first hand knowledge and experience of and are directly affected by the conflicts in the GLR. • Amani is firmly rooted in national parliaments by way of functional chapters and the members are equipped with skills and commitment to peace-building and peaceful means of conflict resolution. • Amani envisages scaling up its geographical coverage to eleven (11) countries, core members of ICGLR, (Sudan, republic of Congo, Angola and Central African Republic) to include all the political platforms as are threatened by conflicts in the GLR. JK

15. AMANI Forum Methodology/Approach STRATEGIC INTERVENTION RESULTS ACTIVITIES Parliamentary activism Network development & strengthening Fact Finding Missions Parliamentary diplomacy Change of attitude & best practice Exchange visits Inter-Parliamentary Dialogue Strategic partnerships Strengthened role of MPs Members of AMANI Forum Capacity Building  Inter-Party Dialogue Monitoring executives Reduction in conflict Election Observation Inter-chapter engagement Legislation & policies Training of Parliamentarians Regional integration Increase oversight & accountability JK

16. AMANI Forum Strategies • programmatic entry points – ethno-ideology , IDPs and parliamentary diplomacy. • Parliamentary activism as a result of oversight activities on issues of peace and security in form of bills, motions, questions, policy/ministerial statements and reports. • Parliamentary diplomacy- dialogue forums , meeting with executive, parliamentary Committees, reaching out to the Communities (taking parliament back to communities-reconciliation & community participation) • Strategic partnerships –research, sharing experience on best practices, collaborating with other parliamentary/regional initiatives (AWEPA, ICGLR, RECSA, IA , ACCORD, ISS, AACC, FECCLAHA, GLEF etc) • Inter-chapter engagements, inter-party dialogues, regional platforms and engaging with civil society organisations and the media. • Regional Integration- regional activities and follow up measures JK

17. AMANI Forum Strengths • Regional approach and building partnerships for greater impact. • Capacity building & awareness in peace-building for Mps and mobilizing them for peace . • Amani Forum recognised and cited as Global Best Practice(2006) by UN Guidelines on Parliaments Crisis Prevention and Recovery. • Strong national chapters with cross party membership. • a growing membership across the region • involvement of key stakeholders (MPs) • home grown initiative(appropriateness and responsiveness) JK

18. Challenges • Resource constraints especially time &finance; busy schedule of Mps and donor funding becoming less reliable with shifting priorities. • voluntary nature means that Amani Forum is only a coalition of the willing; • African financing institutions need to recognise and develop financing instruments to home grown initiatives like Amani Forum. • High turn over rate of active MPs due to elections • Varied pace of institutional growth in the different chapters –some chapters more institutionalised than others; • Capacity constraints among MPs and different parliamentary cultures. • Geo-politics of the Great lakes region very unpredictable • Competing interests in the region, • some undermining • home-grown initiatives. JK

19. Conflict prevention and resolution is a collective responsibility and parliamentarians are central to the entire process as they are the interlocutors; linking the governors and the governed. • Parliamentarians can build bridges to transform potentially violent conflicts into non-violent political dialogue/debate culminating into national or/and regional consensus. • Strategic partnerships with parliamentary bodies need to be driven by mutual interests, should be strategic, issue-based and flexible. • Election observation is an opportunity for parliamentarians to learn from experiences and best practices of other countries and the lessons learned can be useful in promoting democratic electoral processes and/or reforms in their own countries. Lessons Learned…. www.amaniforum.org JK

20. .................. Lessons Learned...... • Partnerships between parliaments and parliamentary networks may encourage the broadening of engagement avenues with key stake holders to create synergies in conflict mitigation, in preventive diplomacy and in peace building efforts across agencies and sectors (media, govt agencies, local administration, international agencies, community based and faith based organisations etc) • regional parliamentary networks can be an effective means of building solidarity, promoting understanding, reducing inter and intra-state conflicts, developing best practices in handling conflicts around issues of contestation and anchoring regional integration processes. • In conclusion, regional parliamentary networks like Amani Forum can be a mechanism/platform to strengthen and promote the role of parliamentarians in contributing to sustainable peace in fragile states through building the capacities of Mps to effectively hold the Executives to account on their strategies in peace building. JK

21. AMANI FORUM ASANTE, Merci, Thank you, For your kind attention www.amaniforum.org JK