With a three-year devastating drought as a reminder of the seriousness of the occasion, close to sixty civilian and military participants representing 11 nations convened at the Mount Kenya Safari Club in Nanyuki, Kenya to discuss humanitarian crisis response in the Horn and Great Lakes Region of Africa in a five-day symposium titled Golden Spear 2000.

The Governments of Kenya and the United States co-sponsored the symposium, an initiative of U.S. Central Command. The mission of Golden Spear 2000, following in the path forged by Emerald Express five years before, was to partner civilian and military leadership to prevent, manage, and resolve humanitarian emergencies caused by trans-national threats and natural disasters.

High-level representatives, including ministers of foreign affairs and chiefs of defense attended from Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Seychelles, Tanzania, Uganda and United States. In addition to government representatives, participants came from regional organizations and non-governmental organizations that play a sizeable role in humanitarian assistance in the region, including the East African Community, the African Medical and Research Foundation, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, and the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (see sidebar). Observers represented France, South Africa and Great Britain.

The Center of Excellence served as official recorder for the symposium through a rapporteur team composed of Peter Leentjes, training advisor, and reporters Robin Hayden, Maigee Chang, Larry Brooks and Kris Tsunoda. Chang and Brooks (see sidebars), graduate students at the University of Hawai'i, are enrolled in the university's certificate program in disaster management, humanitarian assistance and international peacekeeping. Tsunoda as an undergraduate had served as an intern for the public relations department at the Center.

The African Center for Strategic Studies provided the architecture for the symposium, with the Kenyan Armed Forces and U.S. Marine Forces-Pacific providing additional support.

His Excellency, the Honorable Daniel T. arap Moi, president of the Republic of Kenya, opened the symposium. President Moi cautioned the audience about the repercussions of not placing the humanitarian crises within a broader context. "The wholesale push for an un-nurtured democracy without proper and comprehensive consultations which take into consideration the unique circumstances facing our countries may not solve the causes of instability. Indeed, if democratic principle overlooks fundamental social and economic problems in Africa, then...we are likely to see endless conflicts and the resultant peacekeeping initiatives are likely to remain a permanent feature on our continent."

General Tommy Franks, commander-in-chief of U.S. Central Command, followed with remarks while Dr. Salim Ahmed Salim, Secretary-General of the Organization of African Unity, provided the keynote speech.

Even as plenary sessions provided points for departure and facilitated discussion, the critical achievements were accomplished in three working group sessions. The goals of each were to identify national and regional interests, address the challenges and threats posed by humanitarian and natural crises and develop a regional capability to prevent and respond to humanitarian crises.

"The success of the symposium was clinched on the first day by the appearance of the invited participants," said Leentjes, who has worked extensively for the United Nations in several African countries. "Their presence spoke volumes about their commitment and about the extent of the enormous challenges these nations face."

Participants listed their expectations for the week. The non-attribution policy permitted open and free exchange of ideas and discussion. Echoing Moi's encouragement to consider broader issues, one attendee noted, "When you identify common interests, you are not as likely to fight, but to work together. The regional interests are as identified before: peace, security and stability, but also development." Another iterated, "Trade and commerce must be our number one priority. It is possible in a huge region to adopt collaborative trade policies. Trade knows no color. Trade knows no region. Trade always takes place, even in war."

Throughout the week, dovetailing national interests with regional concerns and the challenges this activity poses was a recurring theme. "As long as we stick to conventional notions of sovereignty, we have problems. Countries cannot watch their neighbors be killed and claim no responsibility because of their nation's sovereignty. These things must be done, sovereignty or no sovereignty." The primacy of national interests was challenged by a fellow participant: "Issues of national interest may be questioned ... governments may be so ambitious that they may work against national interests; they may not be able to objectively see their national interests. Their national interests may not be formulated and their perceptions of national interests may not match reality."

"My freedom must have a limit," said one group member. "If my freedom starts encroaching on your freedom, then there is a problem. These things need to be contained right at the beginning. One can no longer look at sovereignty in the classical or traditional sense."

As delegates exchanged information and points of view, they learned more about the resources each country could contribute to the whole. "Capacity is there more than we appreciate ... when we pool resources," reflected one delegate.

The strengths and weaknesses of various regional approaches were considered. While one participant observed "Sometimes regional cooperation leads to improvements in fulfilling national interests," another countered, "The problem with a regional organization is that regional players are not necessarily neutral."

Overall, the participants agreed on the wisdom of taking a closer look at the capacity and capabilities of existing regional organizations to shoulder some of the tasks, rather than rushing ahead to create new agencies. "Do not create new mechanisms - existing bodies need to be entrusted with the job and be given time to present a master plan." Others emphasized the critical role that national leadership can play. "If you have four presidents get up and say 'look at this,' there would be a chance at a better response," said one participant.

Individual insights helped the symposium participants to get at the heart of conflict attributed to ethnic and tribal divisions, and their impact on the concept of nationalism. "What people see from far away are dominant nationalities ... national culture is a result of foreign threat." One member suggested, "Avoid the use of tribes to identify with national interests. Put the emphasis on unity." Unity was acknowledged as a general theme during working session two. "Unity within the nation is more important than a national culture as a national interest."

In his closing remarks, Excellency Professor George Saitoti, vice-president of the Republic of Kenya, elegantly summed up the efforts of the participants' discussion in a simple dialectic: "Resulting from those candid discussions, we have learned that regional interests are closely linked to national interests - that is to say; what happens at the regional level has a strong bearing on the national well-being and vice-versa ... hence, no country can single-handedly address these issues without the cooperation of the others."

Golden Spear represents a single step toward improved cooperation among the countries of the region. As one delegate wisely acknowledged: "We are young at this task. There is so much work to be done."

Observations on Golden Spear 2000

by Maigee Chang

Serving as a reporter for Golden Spear 2000 in Nanyuki, Kenya was a truly amazing learning experience, and certainly one of the highlights of my studies at the University of Hawai'i. As a Ph.D. student in political science who is also pursuing a certificate in disaster management and humanitarian assistance, the symposium provided me with the opportunity to see first hand the process of how many of the theories and issues we discuss on a daily basis in the classroom are developed into actual policy at the regional and international levels. Also, as a former Peace Corps volunteer in Cameroon, the theme of the event, regional cooperation in addressing humanitarian crises and natural disasters in Africa, was of special interest to me.

Golden Spear 2000 was indeed an important and timely endeavor given the seemingly constant threat of natural or man-made disasters in the region. Kenya served as a perfect backdrop as a country coping with the effects of a drought in its northern regions, while at the same time continuing to provide assistance to refugees coming in from Sudan. Opening comments, a keynote address and several presentations set the tone for the symposium and provided the conceptual framework for discussion within the four smaller working groups.

The working group assigned to me was comprised of twelve participants from nine nations. Represent-atives from the military and governments of Djibouti, Rwanda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, and Egypt, as well as from the United States, were all at the table. The moderator performed his task well, giving equal and fair time for each to voice their views and concerns.

What I found most impressive was how the participants, particularly those from countries that were in conflict with each other, were able to put aside their differences and focus on the larger mission of the symposium over the course of the three breakout sessions. However, this was not immediately apparent during session one.

At first, the country representatives seemed more inclined to blame the failures of their neighbors for the detrimental impacts being felt in their countries. Political refugees, for example, were seen as destabilizing for the entire region, causing problems in the countries they flee to and bringing back with them additional problems as they return. The issue of threats to a country's sovereignty was also a concern.

Yet as the discussions continued, there was eventually a shift in focus from the list of issues they viewed as problems to coming up with concrete steps that could be taken to improve preparedness and response. The list included AIDS, small arms, drug trafficking, money laundering, terrorism, environment, education, and poverty. Refugees, it was raised, should not be categorized as a problem. Rather, they are symptomatic of a range of possible causes, not all of which stem from bad governance. Governments should therefore not feel necessarily threatened by the presence of refugees, nor feel that they are being accused of something.

It was realized that a major catastrophe, natural or man-made, could easily be beyond any country's capacity to handle. Asking for assistance should not be seen as a threat to sovereignty. Furthermore, the increasing scope and intensity of many of today's issues made it all the more imperative to seek out new and innovative ways of cooperating. The question to focus on is how to better manage the situation at the regional level.

This said, the working group members began to discuss how viable solutions should be formulated. The importance of involving civil society, using local resources to avoid disrupting markets, maintaining neutrality in humanitarian assistance and instituting leverages to ensure compliance with agreements was underscored.

In the final working session, concrete suggestions made by the members of the group seemed achievable. The representatives agreed that there should be an inventory of each country's capacities to respond to natural disasters. Information could be shared through a regional database. Emergency supplies should also be stockpiled in various locations in Africa, so that the delay in transporting supplies from locations all over the world would be minimized. These were only some of the suggestions to be pursued.

One expectation, stated at the beginning of the conference, was that it was hoped the participants would not be delving into endless discussion trying to define problems that already exist, but rather that something useful would be produced in the end. My impression of this was quite positive. So often we hear and talk only of the gravity of problems in Africa and it is all too easy to walk away convinced that nothing can be done. However, sitting in on the discussions by senior leaders from many of these countries illustrated to me the potential for this part of the world to address some of its problems. More should be done to support and cultivate this kind of positive momentum.

Maigee Chang is a degree fellow at the East West Center in Honolulu and a Ph.D. candidate in political science at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa. Her research focuses on gender issues in international relief and development.