The International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) will convene an Extraordinary Meeting of the Committee of Ministers of Defence on January 10, 2026, in Livingstone, Zambia, to address the worsening security and humanitarian situation in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and its wider regional impact.
The meeting will bring together Defence Ministers from all twelve ICGLR member states, Angola, Burundi, Central African Republic, Congo, DRC, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia, to develop a unified and coordinated response, in line with the ICGLR Pact on Security, Stability and Development and the Protocol on Non-Aggression and Mutual Defence.
Ministers are expected to review the situation on the ground and examine the operationalisation of the Expanded Joint Verification Mechanism Plus (EJVM Plus) and the Terms of Reference of the Ceasefire Oversight and Monitoring Mechanism signed in Doha, Qatar, on October 14, 2025, between the DRC government and the Allied Democratic Forces/ March Twenty-Three (AFC/M23). The EJVM Plus will serve as the operational body for monitoring the ceasefire, integrating representation from both the Armed Forces of the DRC and the AFC/M23, with logistical support from the United Nations Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the DRC.
The ICGLR Secretariat, working closely with the Government of the Republic of Zambia, is managing all organisational and logistical arrangements for the meetings, including facilitating media coverage.
–ChannelAfrica–
