By Charles Lotara, SSMJ Juba, Monday (October 21, 2024) – South Sudan will soon host the Regional Forum on Mineral Value Addition and Cross-Border Trade among ICGLR member states, a significant mining event in the Great Lakes Region organized by the Ministry of Mining. The Protocol against the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources, which is a component of the Pact on Security, Stability, and Development in the Great Lakes Region that Heads of State and Government signed on December 15,
By Charles Lotara, SSMJ
Juba, Monday (October 21, 2024) – South Sudan will soon host the Regional Forum on Mineral Value Addition and Cross-Border Trade among ICGLR member states, a significant mining event in the Great Lakes Region organized by the Ministry of Mining.
The Protocol against the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources, which is a component of the Pact on Security, Stability, and Development in the Great Lakes Region that Heads of State and Government signed on December 15, 2006, guides the three-day event, according to an exclusive document that South Sudan Mining Journal obtained.
The Protocol outlines numerous initiatives and efforts to be implemented at national, sub-regional, and regional levels to find a durable solution to the prevalent illegal exploitation of natural resources in the Great Lakes Region, including the Regional Initiatives against the Exploitation of Natural Resources (RINR).
According to the 2010 Lusaka Declaration, this publication also understands that the Great Lakes Region's natural resource exploitation has not sufficiently contributed to sustainable development, poverty reduction, and youth employment, while also significantly contributing to ongoing armed conflicts.
The organizers note that while the Lusaka Declaration of the Special Summit of ICGRL Heads of State and Government held on 15 th December 2010 underscores the need to “put into place infrastructure as well as joint projects and industries in the extractive sector at national and regional levels to enhance value addition of the raw materials produced in the Great Lakes Region”, the Regional Initiative against the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources does not provide for any guidance on the development of such initiatives.
The forum is also guided by a stakeholders’ recommendation from a High-Level Regional Forum on Natural Resources held in Khartoum from August and September 2021, which states that “The ICGLR Secretariat should promote cooperation among ICGLR Member States in the framework of sustaining economic development through value addition and regional or joint ventures”.
While South Sudan assumes the primary funding obligations for the forum, Juba will also receive technical and financial support from the implementing partners of ICGLR regional projects funded by the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development, the Ministry of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and the European Union through GIZ and IMPACT.
The first two days of the forum, 6th–7th November, will be dedicated to stakeholder sessions through panel and plenary discussions, which will be followed by a ministerial meeting on 8 th November 2024.
Prior to the forum, the ICGLR Regional Committee against the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources will convene its 29th meeting from November 4th to 5th. This meeting will precede the 25th meeting of the Audit Committee, scheduled to take place from October 30th to November 1st, 2024.
The International Conference of Great Lakes Region member states and their delegations expect at least 12 ministers in charge of mines, along with 14 members of the Regional Committee on Natural Resources and 11 members of the Audit Committee, to attend the event.
Other participants to grace the mega event include officers of the ICGLR National Coordination Mechanism in South Sudan, 12 representatives of the Regional Private Sector Forum, and officers from the South Sudan’s Ministry of Mining and other relevant institutions.
Embassies of Member States accredited to South Sudan, the ICGLR Executive Secretariat, partners, the private sector, civil society, and artisanal miners will all be represented at the conference.
The overall objective of this year’s conference is to engage Member States, the private sector, and civil society in a discussion on national frameworks and strategies of mineral value addition and share the experiences and lessons learned as well as challenges and opportunities.