ANALYSIS REPORT OF THE BILL ON THE RATIFICATION BY THE REPUBLIC OF BURUNDI OF THE REVISED GENERAL COOPERATION AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO AND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF BURUNDI BY THE STANDING COMMITTEE IN CHARGE OF ADMINISTRATIVE, DECENTRALIZATION AND CONTROL OF REPRESENTATIVENESS WITHIN INSTITUTIONS ISSUES

I. INTRODUCTION

On May 4, 2022, senators members of the Standing Committee in charge of administrative, decentralization and the control of representativeness in the institutions issues met to analyze the bill whose purpose is mentioned above.

The session was marked by the presence of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Development Cooperation, who had represented the Government in order to present the bill to the senators members of the Committee, and to explain them on the most important aspects of this law Project.

During the analysis of this bill, the following documents were used:

• The Constitution of the Republic of Burundi;

• The bill of the ratification of the revised General Cooperation      Agreement between the Government of the Democratic Republic of       Congo and the Government of the Republic of Burundi and its     explanatory memorandum;

• The instrument of ratification of the General Cooperation Agreement;

• The text of the General Cooperation Agreement and;

• The ratification bill as adopted by the National Assembly.

II. INTEREST OF THE AGREEMENT

The General Cooperation Agreement between Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC in acronym, is 42 years old. It was based on Economic, Scientific, Social and Cultural Cooperation. Thus, it is appropriate to revise it in order not only to strengthen and extend the areas of cooperation but also to adapt it to current politics.

III. CONTENT OF THE AGREEMENT

In addition to its preamble, the revised General Cooperation Agreement is structured around fourteen articles:

Article 1 of the Agreement relates to the promotion of general cooperation based on equality and the principle of win-win in accordance with the legislation of each Party;

Article 2 specifies the areas of cooperation which are the following:    Politics and diplomacy, Defense and security, Judicial cooperation, Trade, Agriculture, Fishing and breeding, Industry, Mines, Education and Scientific research, Culture and Arts, Health, Environment Protection, Tourism, Small and medium enterprises, Transport, Information and Communication Technology, Energy, Finance and Investment, Infrastructure Development, Governance, Urban Planning and settlement, Land Affairs, Hydrocarbons, Standards, Employment, Labour , Security and Social Welfare;

Article 3 mentions the exchange of experiences and information as much as necessary;

Article 4 provides for facilitation of entry and stay for nationals of both Parties to undertake projects under this Agreement;

Article 5 indicates the Authorities in charge of the coordination and implementation of this Agreement: Ministry having Regional Integration in its attributions and that in charge of Foreign Affairs and Development Cooperation respectively for the DRC and Burundi;

Article 6 indicates that specific agreements may be concluded in order to achieve the objectives of this Agreement;

Article 7 specifies the procedures for holding the sessions of the ordinary and extraordinary Mixed Commissions;

Article 8 indicates that the host country is responsible for the expenses related to the work of the session of the Mixed Commission. However, the travel and accommodation costs of the delegation are borne by each country;

Article 9 provides that the Parties may seek the funding and participation of bilateral and multilateral partners in the implementation of projects relating to the aforementioned areas and sectors of cooperation;

Article 10 provides that the International, Regional and Sub-regional Treaties/Agreements already signed by the Parties remain intact;

Articles 11 and 12 deal with the possibilities of amendment by consent and the settlement of disputes through consultation and mutual negotiation between the Parties;

Article 13 relates to the date of entry into force which is provisionally the day of its signature and definitively the day of its promulgation. Moreover, this Agreement has a duration of 5 years renewable by tacit agreement;

Finally, article 14 specifies the terms of termination.

IV. QUESTIONS POSED TO THE GOVERNMENT REPRESENTATIVE AND ANSWERS PROVIDES

QUESTION 1

To confirm that this General Cooperation Agreement will bring added value for our country, it would have been necessary to revisit the Agreement under revision to immerse ourselves in the content of the articles subject to revision.

Mister Minister,

As we do not know the content of this Agreement, could you brief us on it in order to judge the suitability of its revision?

ANSWER

In general, there are times when some legal texts are no longer relevant and require possible updates that take into account the realities of the moment. This is the case of the General Agreement on economic, technical, scientific, social and cultural cooperation between the Government of the Republic of Burundi and the Executive Council of the Republic of Zaire of 1980.

It is with this in mind that the Government of the Republic of Burundi via the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Development Cooperation has proposed the revision of the aforementioned Agreement to the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Thus, the two Parties, without however making a major modification to its content, have noted some irregularities in the aspects of substance and form which required updating.

These include, among others:

• the change of name of the country where Zaire changed its name to become the Democratic Republic of Congo;

• the Executive Council of the Republic of Zaire is replaced by the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo;

• the areas of Cooperation listed under the old agreement are much more detailed in the content of the new agreement to better inform the actors involved in the implementation of this Agreement.

2. What are the projects which were carried out under the first                                    Agreement?

ANSWER

Given the political and security situation that prevailed in the two countries, programmes / projects to be carried out as part of the implementation of this agreement have experienced disruption in recent years. However, some achievements were recorded during this period:

• Capacity building for Zairian students who have attended the University of Burundi, as well as Burundians who have attended Zairian universities and institutes;

• The development of the commercial sector following the arrangement concluded between Burundi, through the National Trade Office channel, with the Zairian company Ciment-Lacs Kalemie for the delivery of a regular quantity of cement;

• The strengthening of peace and security at the borders of the two countries following the agreements which have been signed in this area;

• The exchange of high-level visits which took place regularly between the authorities of the two countries;

• The movement of people and goods in the border regions between Gatumba and Kavimvira;

• In the field of air transport, Air zaïre operated the Kinshasa-Bujumbura airline and Air Burundi operated the Bujumbura-Kalemie line;

• Census of Zairian refugees in the security sector in 1980.

In addition, a lot of achievements are reported between the two countries but in the multilateral framework especially in the sub-regional communities such as the Economic Community of the Great Lakes Countries (CEPGL) namely SINELACS, EGL, the flour mill of Muramvya (Minoterie de Muramvya), VERRUNDI, IRAZ, the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (CIRGL). Among other things, the establishment of the joint extended verification mechanism in terms of peace and security, the launch of the regional project on peace and security for the stability of the Great-Lakes in December 2018, the creation of a regional training centre in Kampala to train and sensitize magistrates, police units, social workers, physicians and other categories of people who deal with cases of violence in the Great Lakes region on how to quickly and effectively carry out their mission.

Within the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) particularly, there has been the signature of the Kinshasa Convention on Small Arms and Light Weapons, the common policy for agricultural development in Central Africa was also set up.

3. With regard to the areas of cooperation listed in Article 2 of this Agreement, don’t you find that this revised Agreement risks being too ambitious for a period of 5 years, although renewable?

ANSWER

Despite the multitude of areas of cooperation under this Agreement, the objectives that the Parties to the Agreement have set themselves will be implemented by the sectoral ministries each as far as it is concerned. It is for this reason that we must challenge each sectoral Ministry to ensure regular monitoring of its field of action. Furthermore, Article 7 of this Agreement specifies the establishment of a joint commission, one of whose main missions will be to monitor its implementation.

In any diplomatic negotiation, the appropriate strategy is to ask for more to get less. And when you ask for little, the risk of having nothing is great. This ambition for a very broad cooperation is therefore justified and mutually advantageous.

4. Could you line them up by degree of importance in order to show us which ones will be implemented first?

ANSWER

Depending on the degree of importance, the following areas could be prioritized:

• Field of defense and security given the security situation in the eastern part of the DRC where several armed groups and local and foreign terrorists still abound;

• Domain of Agriculture with particular emphasis on the agricultural exploitation of the Rusizi plain, on the DRC side which is still virgin in the win-win logic;

• Domain of trade and transport especially with the populations of the East who are closer to Bujumbura than Kinshasa.

QUESTION 5

The last paragraph of the preamble states that the Governments of the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Republic of Burundi are determined to develop extensive cooperation between the Parties, based on sovereign equality and mutual benefit, with the objective of sustainable development for their respective peoples.

 Mister Minister, could you explain to us what you meant by “sovereign equality and mutual benefit”?

ANSWER

In general, the term “sovereign equality” means that sovereignty is based on the principle of equality between States, regardless of their effective power, their resources or their demography, and therefore independently of de facto inequalities. The Charter of the United Nations thus speaks of “sovereign equality” (art. 2 § 1). This equality also means that the States are not subject to any higher authority. They are theoretically subordinated only to the standards that they themselves have defined or to which they have freely consented.

That of “mutual benefit” is based on the win-win principle and the idea of ​​building a new model of bilateral relations based on win-win cooperation. Therefore, the term “sovereign equality and mutual benefit” means that the parties to this Agreement agree to cooperate as equal partners without interference by either party in the internal affairs of the other party. You know very well that Burundi and the Burundian people are very attached to their sovereignty and dignity in all places and in all circumstances. For Burundi, sovereignty and dignity cannot be subject to any compromise. These are non-negotiable intrinsic values ​​according to Burundi’s Foreign Policy Document.

6. How are you going to manage this cooperation in the areas of finance and investment, governance, urban planning and housing, to name but a few?

ANSWER

To manage this cooperation in these areas, the sectoral ministries of the two Parties could create implementation mechanisms in which experts of the two countries could meet and define a concrete framework for the realization of the programmes / projects agreed and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Foreign Affairs and Development Cooperation will play a role in coordinating and monitoring these projects. It is within this framework that this agreement provides for the establishment of the Mixed Commission in its article 7. Memoranda of understanding on specific sectors could be signed.

QUESTION 7

Article 4 provides that each Party agrees to facilitate the entry and stay in its country of nationals of the other Party for the purpose of undertaking projects under this Agreement. However, as some people know it, there is insecurity in the east of the DRC.

Mister Minister, don’t you find that this could facilitate the infiltration of armed gangs into our country?

ANSWER

The sectoral ministries having security in their attributions of the two Parties could accelerate the establishment of mechanisms for the exchange of information and control of the movement of people through the provincial border administrations of the two Parties. To this end, a Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the Republic of Burundi and the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo in matters of development, maintenance and strengthening of peace, defense and security at the common border was signed on July 12, 2021 in Kinshasa.

In addition, during the 10^th meeting of the Regional Mechanism for Monitoring the Framework Agreement for Peace, Security and Cooperation for the DRC and the Region which took place on February 24, 2022 in Kinshasa, the two Heads of State reaffirmed their desire to definitively eradicate the negative forces and terrorist groups that abound in the eastern DRC, in particular through the operationalization of the integrated staff.

QUESTION 8

The coordination and implementation of this Agreement is the responsibility of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Development Cooperation for Burundi (article 4) while its implementation is the responsibility of several Ministries, each in its sector (article 5).

Minster Minister, don’t you find that there is a kind of contradiction?

ANSWER

No! There is no contradiction because the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Development Cooperation is an institution with a cross-cutting role and which ensures the coordination and monitoring of the process of implementing all the agreements signed by the Government of Burundi or any other programme of activities undertaken between the sectoral ministries of the two Parties, as provided for in article 2 paragraph 26 of Decree No. 100/053 of September 01 on the Missions and Organization of that Ministry, “The Ministry’s mission is to monitor the application of the Agreements and Conventions signed between Burundi and foreign partners”.

QUESTION 9

Article 12 specifies that any settlement arising from the interpretation and/or implementation of this Agreement shall be settled by mutual consultation and negotiation between the Parties.

Mister Minister, if both options fail, what do you plan to do to resolve them or overcome the crisis?

ANSWER

The two Parties negotiate on the basis of sovereign equality and mutual benefit. It is in this context that Article 14 provides for the freedom of each Party to terminate the Agreement at any time provided that it notifies the other Party of its intention to terminate this Agreement six months before.

V. CONCLUSION

The ratification of this Agreement by Burundi is a clearer sign of determination to revive and intensify the bilateral ties of friendship between Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Once ratified, our two countries will develop and expand their cooperation framework. Moreover, as the negotiations will be conducted on the basis of sovereign equality and mutual benefit, there will undoubtedly be an added value for the Parties in all areas relating to the Agreement.

For all these reasons, the Standing Committee in charge of administrative, decentralization and the control of representativeness issues in the institutions referred to in order to analyze this bill, which first of all endorses the amendments of the National Assembly, asks the plenary assembly of the Senate to adopt it as presented.