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At the International Conference on Peace, Security, Democracy and Development in the Great Lakes region in November 2004, 11 heads of state signed an agreement to end conflicts in the Great Lakes region, although the strategy to implement the declaration have yet to be agreed in inter-ministerial meetings during 2005.Despite this, conflicts continued to rage throughout the region, particularly in eastern DRC. There were signs of improving regional relations when the Congolese authorities signed separate joint verification mechanisms to improve border security with Rwanda and Uganda, while in August DRC, Rwanda and Uganda agreed to disarm groups operating within their territories within the year. Nevertheless, hostilities resumed in November when Rwanda’s President Kagame announced they would invade DRC again to disarm and repatriate Hutu militants because the Congolese authorities were not acting quickly enough to do so.
