Intergovernmental Authority on
Development (IGAD)
CONTACT DETAILS
BP 2653, Djibouti, Djibouti
Tel: +253-354 050 / 352 880
Fax: +253-356 994 / 284
E-mail: igad@intnet.dj
HISTORY AND PRESENT STATUS
The Intergovernmental Authority on Drought and
Development (IGADD) was formed in 1986 with a very
narrow mandate around the issues of drought and
desertification. Since then, and especially in the
1990s, IGADD has become the accepted vehicle for
regional security and political dialogue. The member
states are: Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Kenya,
Uganda, Sudan and Somalia.
The founding members of IGADD decided in the mid-1990s
to revitalise the organisation into a fully-fledged
regional political, economic, development, trade
and security entity similar to SADC and ECOWAS.
It was envisaged that the new IGADD would form the
northern sector of COMESA with SADC representing
the southern sector.
One of the principal motivations for the revitalisation
of IGADD was the existence of many organisational
and structural problems that made the implementation
of its goals and principles ineffective. The IGADD
Heads of State and Government met on 18 April 1995
at an Extraordinary Summit in Addis Ababa and resolved
to revitalise the Authority and expand its areas
of regional co-operation. On 21 March 1996, the
Heads of State and Government at the Second Extraordinary
Summit in Nairobi approved and adopted a new charter,
structure and new name for the Authority, which
then became the Intergovernmental Authority on Development
(IGAD). In April 1996 on the recommendation of the
Summit of the Heads of State and Government, the
IGAD Council of Ministers identified three priority
areas of co-operation:
• Conflict Prevention, Management and Resolution
and Humanitarian Affairs;
• Infrastructure Development (Transport and
Communications);
• Food Security and Environmental Protection.
Two Sub-committees have been established by the
IGAD Council of Ministers to deal with the ongoing
civil war in Sudan as well as the situation in Somalia.
Kenya heads the proceedings of the Sub-committee
on Sudan, while Ethiopia chairs the Sub-committee
on Somalia.
IGAD is recognised as a prominent regional economic
community in Africa, but does not form a pillar
of the African Economic Community because COMESA
has been designated to be the East African pillar.
The other pillars are the Economic Community of
West African States (ECOWAS), Southern African Development
Community (SADC), Economic Community of Central
African States (ECCAS/CEEAC), and the Arab Maghreb
Union (AMU/UMA).
RELEVANT TREATIES/PROTOCOLS ETC
IGAD Charter
Treaty establishing the African Economic Community
Protocol on relations between the African Economic
Community and Regional Economic Communities
GENERAL COMMENTS
There are no formal relations between IGAD and
South Africa.
