Instability in the African Great Lakes Region 

SPECIALIZED COMMITTEE

The African Great Lakes Region consists of all countries bordering lakes Victoria, Edward, Albert, Kivu, Tanganyika, and Malawi, which are located in eastern and central Africa. For hundreds of years, this region has been plagued with instability, political conflict, and turbulence. Even today there are many active conflicts in the region that pose a threat to the national security of the continent as a whole. Due to the numerous overlapping ethnic groups in the region, including the Hutu and Tusi people, conflicts in the great lakes region rarely remain domestic and often spill into neighboring communities. On top of multiple ethnic conflicts in the region, there is also a growing refugee crisis, the presence of natural resource exploitation, and unresolved issues resulting from years of colonization in the region. Countries in the region such as Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo all share these challenges and cannot face them without the guidance of other countries and overarching bodies such as the United Nations Security Council. The members of the council must address the issue at hand and agree on feasible solutions in order to maintain peace and security in the region.