From: Office of Terje Rod-Larsen Subject: IPI Regional Insights - October 2012 Date: Wed, 17 Oct 2012 14:25:37 +0000 INTERNATIONAL PEACE INSTITUTE IPI Regional Insights October 2012 The International Peace Institute's (IPI) Regional Insights covers select regional and thematic developments based on information from a variety of sources. It draws on the research of IPI experts and is provided exclusively to major donors and members. Each monthly issue covers challenges and opportunities related to international peace, security, and development. Africa Great Lakes Region: The heads of state from the Great Lakes region gathered in Kampala again on October 8th and discussed, without reaching agreement, the composition of a possible "neutral" force to deploy in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where the M23 rebels have been fighting since last spring. It remains difficult to envision such a force being generated and deployed when the UN already has in place its biggest peacekeeping operation in the world (MONUSCO) composed of approximately 19,000 peacekeepers at a cost of $1.4 billion a year. Rwanda and DRC's respective presidents, Kagame and Kabila, both participated in the summit, but remain estranged over the UN expert report pointing to Rwanda as supporting the M23 rebels in eastern DRC. Rwanda's President Kagame challenges the allegations, and in a speech to Rwanda's parliament on October 4th said that the aid suspensions by Western donors will only harden the Rwandan position. He advised the international community to look inside the DRC for the sources of the violence. In the DRC, President Kabila takes a hardline as well, refusing to negotiate with the M23. The international community will have to calculate its next steps carefully, especially with Kagame as a key regional actor and given that Rwanda is a likely member of the Security Council in 2013. South Sudan/Sudan: Sudan and South Sudan signed a major cooperation agreeme