Intergovernmental Authority on Development

Infobox Geopolitical organization
name = Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD)
Autorité intergouvernementale pour le développement
linking_name = the Intergovernmental Authority on Development
symbol_type = Seal
image_symbol = Igadseal.png

membership = 7 East African states
admin_center_type = Headquarters
admin_center = Djibouti City, Djibouti
established = January 1986
leader_title1 = Executive Secretary
leader_name1 = flagicon|Sudan nowrap|Attalla Hamad Bashir
website = http://www.igad.org/

The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) _fr. Autorité intergouvernementale pour le développement, is a seven-country regional development organization in East Africa. Its headquarters are located in the city of Djibouti.

Current member states

*flagcountry|Djibouti (founding member, 1986)
*flagcountry|Ethiopia (founding member, 1986)
*flagcountry|Kenya (founding member, 1986)
*flagcountry|Somalia (founding member, 1986)
*flagcountry|Sudan (founding member, 1986)
*flagcountry|Uganda (founding member, 1986)

Member status changing

*flagcountry|Eritrea (joined soon after independence in 1993, unilaterally declared its "suspension" in 2007 [ [http://allafrica.com/stories/200704231289.html "Eritrea: Govt Suspends Igad Membership"] , "AllAfrica.com", 23 April 2007] ; an exit would be effective one year after being formally declared against IGAD)

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.

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.

IGASOM

On January 6, 2005 the original plans for the AU to put peacekeepers in Somalia were first agreed by the AU Peace and Security Council. IGAD was mandated to put such a mission, named IGASOM, into practice.

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. Due to many factor, IGASOM did not materialize in 2006.

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. The mission was now called AMISOM.

As of April 2007, only a part of AMISOM has been deployed to war-torn Somalia.

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, however Kenya is still very active as current presidency of IGAD.
* 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. [http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=reutersEdge&storyID=2006-09-09T061747Z_01_L09446351_RTRUKOC_0_US-SOMALIA.xml 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, which creates the danger that clashes in Somalia be used as a proxy-war.
* some sections of the borders of Ethiopia with Sudan and Somalia are also not demarcated or disputed.

tructure

*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 comprises 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.

Comparison with other regional blocs

ee also

* List of Trade blocs
* East African Community (EAC)
* Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA)

Notes

External links

* [http://www.igad.org/ IGAD official site]
* [http://www.igad.org/about/agreement_establishing_igad.pdf Agreement Establishing the Intergovernmental Authority on Development]
* [http://www.iss.co.za/AF/RegOrg/unity_to_union/igadprof.htm IGAD Profile (Institute for Security Studies)]
* [http://www.cewarn.org/ Conflict Early Warning and Response Mechanism (CEWARN)]