Intergovernmental Authority on Development
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 Seal of the IGAD |
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| Membership | 7 member states |
| Headquarters | Djibouti |
| Executive Secretary | Attalla Hamad Bashir |
| Official website | http://www.igad.org/ |
The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) is a seven-country regional development organization in East Africa. Its headquarters are located in Djibouti City.
Contents |
[edit] Member States
Djibouti (founding member, 1986)
Eritrea (joined soon after independence in 1993)
Ethiopia (founding member, 1986)
Kenya (founding member, 1986)
Somalia (founding member, 1986)
Sudan (founding member, 1986)
Uganda (founding member, 1986)
[edit] Formation
Recurring and severe droughts and other natural disasters between 1974 and 1984 caused widespread famine, ecological degradation and economic hardship in the Horn of Africa region. Although individual countries took substantial measures to cope with the problems and received support from the international community, its extent argued strongly for a regional approach to supplement national efforts.
The six countries of the region took action through the United Nations to establish an intergovernmental body for development and drought control in their region.
At a January 1986 assembly of heads of state and government, an agreement was signed which officially launched the Intergovernmental Authority on Drought and Development (IGADD).
Soon after its formation the mandate of IGADD widened, becoming a vehicle for regional security and political dialogue.
[edit] IGADD to IGAD
At an Extraordinary Summit of IGADD Heads of State and Government held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 18 April 1995, leaders met and resolved to revitalize the Authority by expanding its areas of regional co-operation. This would create a fully-fledged regional political, economic, development, trade and security entity similar to the South African Development Community (SADC) and Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). One of the major motivations for the revitalization of IGADD was the existence of many organizational and structural problems that made the implementation of its goals and principles ineffective.
On 21 March 1996, the Heads of State and Government at the Second Extraordinary Summit in Nairobi, Kenya approved and adopted an Agreement Establishing the Intergovernmental Authority on Development.
[edit] IGASOM
On January 6, 2005 the original plans for the AU to put peacekeepers in Somalia was first agreed by the AU Peace and Security Council. Uganda was cited as the first nation to commit troops to the mission. Yet the mission did not materialize as planned.[1]
In March 2005, IGAD proposed a Peace Support Mission to Somalia involving 10,000 troops, at a cost of $500 million for the first year. In September 2006, the African Union approved a smaller force, expected to reach 8,000 troops, at a cost of $335 million for its first year.
However, as of December 2006, IGAD had still not deployed peacekeepers to war-torn Somalia.
[edit] Current situation
Cooperation is practically stopped in the current time, because of various reasons:
- Kenya and Uganda have concentrated on the East African Community project.
- Somalia has had no functioning central government in the last 15 years. IGAD led talks that produced Somalia's interim government in 2004. It urged the African Union in first week of September 2006 to accelerate approval of the proposed peacekeeping mission, release funds and help raise more money to support the deployment of troops.Somali Islamists to ask AU to end peace force plan
- Sudan has internal problems between the central government of the North and the regions in the South and the West of the country.
- Ethiopia and Eritrea are at odds over multiple sections of their common border.
- some sections of the borders of Ethiopia with Sudan and Somalia are also not demarcated or disputed.
[edit] Structure
- The Assembly of Heads of State and Government is the supreme policy making organ of the Authority. It determines the objectives, guidelines and programs for IGAD and meets once a year. A Chairman is elected from among the member states in rotation.
- The Secretariat is headed by an Executive Secretary appointed by the Assembly of Heads of State and Government for a term of four years renewable once. The Secretariat assists member states in formulating regional projects in the priority areas, facilitates the coordination and harmonization of development policies, mobilizes resources to implement regional projects and programs approved by the Council and reinforces national infrastructures necessary for implementing regional projects and policies. The current Executive Secretary is Dr. Attalla Hamad Bashir of Sudan (since 8 April 2000). On 22 March 2004, he was elected for his second and final term and it was agreed that the next Executive Secretary would come from Kenya.
- The Council of Ministers is composed of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and one other Minister designated by each member state. The Council formulates policy, approves the work program and annual budget of the Secretariat during its biannual sessions.
- The Committee of Ambassadors is comprised of IGAD member states' Ambassadors or Plenipotentiaries accredited to the country of IGAD Headquarters. It convenes as often as the need arises to advise and guide the Executive Secretary.
[edit] Comparison with other Regional blocs
| African Economic Community |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pillars regional blocs (REC) |
Area (km²) | Population | GDP (PPP) ($US) | Member states |
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| in millions | per capita | ||||
| AEC | 29,910,442 | 853,520,010 | 2,053,706 | 2,406 | 53 |
| ECOWAS | 5,112,903 | 251,646,263 | 342,519 | 1,361 | 15 |
| ECCAS | 6,667,421 | 121,245,958 | 175,928 | 1,451 | 11 |
| SADC | 9,882,959 | 233,944,179 | 737,335 | 3,152 | 14 |
| EAC | 1,763,777 | 97,865,428 | 104,239 | 1,065 | 3 |
| COMESA | 12,873,957 | 406,102,471 | 735,599 | 1,811 | 20 |
| IGAD | 5,233,604 | 187,969,775 | 225,049 | 1,197 | 7 |
| Western Sahara 3 |
266,000 | 273,008 | ? | ? | N/A 4 |
| Other African blocs |
Area (km²) | Population | GDP (PPP) ($US) | Member states |
|
| in millions | per capita | ||||
| CEMAC 1 | 3,020,142 | 34,970,529 | 85,136 | 2,435 | 6 |
| SACU 1 | 2,693,418 | 51,055,878 | 541,433 | 10,605 | 5 |
| UEMOA 1 | 3,505,375 | 80,865,222 | 101,640 | 1,257 | 8 |
| UMA 2 | 5,782,140 | 84,185,073 | 491,276 | 5,836 | 5 |
| Agadir | 1,703,910 | 126,066,286 | 513,674 | 4,075 | 4 |
| 1 Economic bloc inside a pillar REC 2 Proposed for pillar REC, but objecting participation |
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[edit] See also
- List of Trade blocs
- East African Community (EAC)
- Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA)
