Luanda Agreement

Last updated

The Luanda Agreement is a 6 September 2002 ceasefire and normalization of relations between the government of Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), signed in Luanda, Angola. It sought to end the ongoing Second Congo War and had far-reaching implications for regional peace. The Luanda Agreement became a baseline for peace accords in Africa and is viewed favorably by outside entities, such as the United Nations and the European Union.

Contents

History

The agreement was signed in 2002 between the governments of Uganda and the DRC. It established a ceasefire and normalized relations between the two countries. [1] Prior to this agreement, the two countries experienced prolonged periods of armed conflict. While this agreement sought to rebuild regional stability, it is questionable as to whether lasting peace/reconstruction followed.

The conflict in the Congo has been called the "center of Africa's world war". [2] While DRC gained independence in the 1960s, it was accompanied by civil war. The initial conflict was brief, but a longer and bloodier struggle followed. In 1997, the First Congo War began, followed by the Second Congo War in 1998. Several other African countries became involved.

Relations between Uganda and the DRC

The relationship between Uganda and the DRC was plagued by violence for decades. Uganda has been plundering the DRC of valuable minerals since the 1990s. [3] The relationship is complicated by the ADF, a rebel group that attacked Western Uganda from the early 1990s well into the 2000s. Uganda President Yoweri Museveni blamed the DRC and the UN for the group's continued existence. [4]

International Court of Justice

The Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement was a peace treaty to end the Second Congo War. All military operations were to halt and actions were to be taken to show respect for human rights and reconcile the relations among Angola, DRC, Namibia, Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe) in 1999. The International Court of Justice deemed this agreement a modus operandi rather than a legally binding agreement. The ICJ's treatment of the agreement is thought to have broader implications, because "the ICJ's authority in the interpretation of international law is likely to influence the perception of the parties to armed conflicts with regard to legal nature and effects of peace agreements...it threatens to undermine the crucial role of peace agreements in the resolution of armed conflicts." [5] The interpretation of the Lusaka agreement thereby set a precedent that undermined the legal authority of the Luanda Agreement.

The Luanda Agreement is a bilateral agreement that directly alters the terms of the Lusaka Agreement. However, both agreements call for the explicit consent of the DRC to allow Ugandan troops on their land. [6] This then led to multiple disputes within the ICJ between Uganda and the DRC. In 1999, the DRC filed three claims asserting that Uganda violated international laws: [7]

(1) governing non-use of force, peaceful settlement of disputes, respect of sovereignty, and non-intervention
(2) rules of occupation, respect for sovereignty over natural resources, right to self-determination of peoples, and the principles of non-interference in domestic matters, and
(3) violated international legal obligations to respect human rights, including the obligation to distinguish between civilian and military objectives during armed conflict"

Uganda filed three counter claims: (1) the DRC used force against Uganda, (2) the DRC allowed attacks on Ugandan diplomatic premises and personnel in Kinshasa in violation of the law of diplomatic protection and (3) the DRC violated the 1999 Lusaka Agreement.

The court ruled that Uganda had violated DRC's territorial integrity and that Uganda was an occupying power, but granted Uganda's argument that the DRC had violated Ugandan diplomatic protection.

Reaction

The European Union issued a statement applauding the Luanda Agreement as a mechanism to aid peace efforts. However, the EU also recognized that the continued fighting among the Congolese people as a reason for Uganda to continue to protect people through its presence. [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foreign relations of Zambia</span>

After independence in 1964 the foreign relations of Zambia were mostly focused on supporting liberation movements in other countries in Southern Africa, such as the African National Congress and SWAPO. During the Cold War Zambia was a member of the Non-Aligned Movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Angola</span>


Angola was first settled by San hunter-gatherer societies before the northern domains came under the rule of Bantu states such as Kongo and Ndongo. In the 15th century, Portuguese colonists began trading, and a settlement was established at Luanda during the 16th century. Portugal annexed territories in the region which were ruled as a colony from 1655, and Angola was incorporated as an overseas province of Portugal in 1951. After the Angolan War of Independence, which ended in 1974 with an army mutiny and leftist coup in Lisbon, Angola achieved independence in 1975 through the Alvor Agreement. After independence, Angola entered a long period of civil war that lasted until 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Second Congo War</span> Major war in Africa (1998–2003)

The Second Congo War, also known as Africa's World War or the Great War of Africa, was a major conflict that began on 2 August 1998 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), just over a year after the First Congo War. The war initially erupted when Congolese president Laurent-Désiré Kabila turned against his former allies from Rwanda and Uganda, who had helped him seize power. Eventually, the conflict expanded, drawing in nine African nations and approximately 25 armed groups, making it one of the largest wars in African history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Angolan Civil War</span> Armed conflict in Angola between 1975 and 2002

The Angolan Civil War was a civil war in Angola, beginning in 1975 and continuing, with interludes, until 2002. The war began immediately after Angola became independent from Portugal in November 1975. It was a power struggle between two former anti-colonial guerrilla movements, the communist People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) and the anti-communist National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">War and environmental law</span>

War can heavily damage the environment, and warring countries often place operational requirements ahead of environmental concerns for the duration of the war. Some international law is designed to limit this environmental harm.

The Lusaka Protocol, initialed in Lusaka, Zambia on 31 October 1994, attempted to end the Angolan Civil War by integrating and disarming UNITA and starting national reconciliation. Both sides signed a truce as part of the protocol on 15 November 1994, and the treaty was signed on 20 November 1994.

Congolese history in the 2000s has primarily revolved around the Second Congo War (1998–2003) and the empowerment of a transitional government.

The Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement attempted to end the Second Congo War through a ceasefire, release of prisoners of war, and the deployment of an international peacekeeping force under the auspices of the United Nations. The heads of state of Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Namibia, Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe signed the agreement in Lusaka, Zambia on July 10, 1999.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Angola–Zimbabwe relations</span> Bilateral relations

Relations between Angola and Zimbabwe have remained cordial since the birth of the states in 1975 and 1980, respectively, during the Cold War. While Angola's foreign policy shifted to a pro-U.S. stance based on substantial economic ties, under the rule of President Robert Mugabe Zimbabwe's ties with the West soured in the late 1990s.

In the 1990s in Angola, the last decade of the Angolan Civil War (1975–2002), the Angolan government transitioned from a nominally communist state to a nominally democratic one, a move made possible by political changes abroad and military victories at home. Namibia's declaration of independence, internationally recognized on April 1, eliminated the southwestern front of combat as South African forces withdrew to the east. The MPLA abolished the one-party system in June and rejected Marxist-Leninism at the MPLA's third Congress in December, formally changing the party's name from the MPLA-PT to the MPLA. The National Assembly passed law 12/91 in May 1991, coinciding with the withdrawal of the last Cuban troops, defining Angola as a "democratic state based on the rule of law" with a multi-party system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Democratic Republic of the Congo–United States relations</span> Bilateral relations

Democratic Republic of the Congo–United States relations are the international relations between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the United States of America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Nations Security Council Resolution 1304</span> United Nations resolution adopted in 2000

United Nations Security Council resolution 1304, adopted unanimously on 16 June 2000, after recalling resolutions 1234 (1999), 1258 (1999), 1273 (1999), 1279 (1999), 1291 (1999) and 1296 (2000) on situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Council demanded the immediate withdrawal of Ugandan, Rwandan, Congolese opposition and other armed groups from Kisangani in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Nations Security Council Resolution 1332</span> United Nations resolution adopted in 2000

United Nations Security Council resolution 1332, adopted unanimously on 14 December 2000, after recalling resolutions 1234 (1999), 1258 (1999), 1265 (1999), 1273 (1999), 1279 (1999), 1291 (2000), 1296 (2000), 1304 (2000) and 1323 (2000) on situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Council extended the mandate of the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC) until 15 June 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Nations Security Council Resolution 1341</span> United Nations resolution adopted in 2001

United Nations Security Council resolution 1341, adopted unanimously on 22 February 2001, after recalling resolutions 1234 (1999), 1258 (1999), 1265 (1999), 1273 (1999), 1279 (1999), 1291 (2000), 1296 (2000), 1304 (2000), 1323 (2000) and 1332 (2000) on situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Council demanded that all parties to the conflict in the country implement disengagement plans and adopt withdrawal plans for foreign troops by 15 May 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Nations Security Council Resolution 1355</span> United Nations resolution adopted in 2001

United Nations Security Council resolution 1355, adopted unanimously on 15 June 2001, after recalling resolutions 1234 (1999), 1258 (1999), 1265 (1999), 1273 (1999), 1279 (1999), 1291 (2000), 1296 (2000), 1304 (2000), 1323 (2000), 1332 (2000) and 1341 (2001) on situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Council extended the mandate of the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC) until 15 June 2002 subject to review every four months.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Nations Security Council Resolution 1445</span> United Nations resolution adopted in 2002

United Nations Security Council resolution 1445 was adopted unanimously on 4 December 2002. After recalling all previous resolutions on situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the council expanded the military component of the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC) to a level of 8,700 military personnel–up from 4,250–in two task forces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Nations Security Council Resolution 1468</span> United Nations resolution adopted in 2003

United Nations Security Council resolution 1468, adopted unanimously on 20 March 2003, after recalling previous resolutions on the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Council welcomed an agreement on the establishment of a transitional government and requested an increased presence of the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC) in the Ituri region in the east of the country amid escalating violence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Nations Security Council Resolution 1493</span> 2003 resolution on the Democratic Republic of the Congo

United Nations Security Council resolution 1493, adopted unanimously on 28 July 2003, after recalling all resolutions on the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the council extended the mandate of the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC) until 30 July 2004 and raised its troop level from 8,700 to 10,800.

The following lists events that happened during 1998 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The following lists events that happened during 1999 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

References

  1. ↑ "United Nations" (PDF).
  2. ↑ "DR Country Profile".
  3. ↑ "Uganda's hidden role in Congo's conflict".
  4. ↑ "What next as Uganda-DR Congo relations hit a new low?".
  5. ↑ Lang, Andrej. "Modus Operandi and the ICJ's Appraisal of the Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement in the Armed Activities Case: The Role of Peace Agreements in International Conflict Resolution". New York University Journal of International Law and Politic.
  6. ↑ "Security Council Report" (PDF).
  7. ↑ McGuinness, Margaret. "Case Concerning Armed Activities on the Territory of the Congo: The ICJ Finds Uganda Acted Unlawfully and Orders Reparations". American Society of International Law.
  8. ↑ "Declaration by the Presidency on behalf of the EU on the signing of the Luanda Agreement between the DRC and Uganda".
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.