The African Great Lakes region has experienced recurring cycles of violence and instability since the 1960s. These conflicts, often rooted in identity manipulation, historical grievances, exclusion from governance, and competition over natural resources, have had devastating humanitarian consequences, with millions of lives lost and widespread displacement. Interpeace is currently active in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Rwanda, and Uganda.
The conflict dynamics in the region are deeply interconnected. Domestic tensions often spill across borders, reinforcing a complex regional conflict system. This includes the persistent presence of armed groups in eastern DRC, fragile diplomatic relations between neighbouring States, and significant humanitarian challenges due to forced displacements. The unresolved legacies of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, inter-ethnic tensions in Burundi, weak governance in parts of the DRC, and shrinking civic space in Uganda continue to affect peacebuilding efforts. Youth and women, despite being central to community resilience, remain largely excluded from formal peace and decision-making processes.
In 2013, Interpeace and its local partners consulted the Great Lakes populations on the strategic focus a regional programme should have. The consultations revealed a strong demand for cross-border dialogue among communities along the shared borders, as well as between those communities and policymakers. Recent escalations, such as the resurgence of the M23 movement in eastern DRC, have further strained community resilience and underscored the urgent need for inclusive, cross-border peace initiatives that centre on local voices, especially those of young people and marginalised communities.
Interpeace's overarching goal in the Great Lakes region is to promote peace, stability, and social cohesion through strengthened resilience capacities for peace and reconciliation throughout the region. It engages community members, in particular women and young people, as well as decision-makers, by creating safe spaces for inclusive dialogues and collective activities. Through intercultural and intergenerational collaborations, Interpeace aims to transform the drivers of conflict and enhance the region’s resilience to violence.
Young people, who make up most of the population in the Great Lakes region, have been exposed to direct violence, including displacement, forced recruitment in armed groups, and sexual and gender-based violence. They also face the consequences of indirect violence, such as intergenerational transmission of trauma, lack of schooling opportunities, as well as lack of jobs and livelihood opportunities. Nonetheless, young people are often overlooked as critical actors in peacebuilding at the national and regional levels despite the unique perspectives, energy, and innovative solutions they bring to building peace and mediating conflict.
Interpeace’s Great Lakes programme focuses on strengthening youth leadership in peace processes in Burundi, the DRC (North and South Kivu), Rwanda, and Uganda. With local partners, Pole Institute, Never Again Rwanda (NAR), the Centre of Alert and Prevention of Conflicts (CENAP), Action for Peace and Concord (APC), Refugee Law Project (RLP), and Vision Jeunesse Nouvelle (VJN), Interpeace supports youth in harnessing and developing their leadership potential, capacities, and contribution to peacebuilding processes in the region, while also reinforcing cross-border inter-linkages among youth and with political and private sector authorities. The third phase of the cross-border youth dialogue programme in 2024 involved 150 youth, exactly half of whom were women.