Southern Africa begins summit on AIDS, Congo war

WINDHOEK, Namibia (Reuters) -- Southern African heads of state met on Monday to forge unity in a controversial regional defense body, tackle the AIDS crisis and seek ways of reviving a peace deal in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

The leaders, meeting behind closed doors, were also expected to approve a free-trade pact in the 14-nation Southern African Development Community (SADC) and seek ways of boosting intra-regional trade, now at $7.2 billion annually.

The SADC defense and security organ is currently chaired by Zimbabwe and operates independently of the SADC chairman.

Member states led by South Africa have accused Zimbabwe of abusing its position by taking unilateral decisions and want to bring it under the SADC's collective control.

Zimbabwe infuriated SADC members when it rallied support from fellow SADC members Angola and Namibia to intervene in the Congo war to support President Laurent Kabila against Rwandan- and Ugandan-backed rebels.

"Reforming the organ will ensure collective responsibility and will also end unnecessary wrangles over the matter," an SADC official said.

The SADC is looking at bringing the defense body under a SADC troika to be controlled by the Botswana-based secretariat and the chairman. "We expect a decision at the end of the summit," another SADC official told Reuters.

SADC leaders to confront AIDS

The presidents will also draw up common measures to fight AIDS, which has affected 11 million people out of a joint regional population of 190 million.

The region has been slow to come up with effective strategies to deal with a health crisis that threatens the future of its people and economies. South Africa played host to the latest World AIDS Conference last month.

"Our socio-economic achievements continue to be severely hampered by the devastating impact of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, which is claiming the lives of our most precious resource: the young working age group," SADC chairman and Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano said on Sunday.

Chissano said 10 percent of the labor force in the SADC region was infected with the HIV virus that causes AIDS and the figure was rising.

"No efforts should be spared in combating this deadly scourge," he told reporters before the summit meeting in the Namibian capital Windhoek.

"Our governments also have to deal with the situation of thousands of orphans left behind by the worst pandemic ever in living memory," Chissano warned.

Former South African President Nelson Mandela urged SADC leaders to collectively tackle AIDS.

"HIV/AIDS stands as the greatest threat our people have faced in recent times. We cannot allow differences and unnecessary competition to stand in the way of our collective onslaught against threats to the dignity and well-being of our people," Mandela said on Sunday.

SADC to push allies on Congo

The SADC heads of state will also push southern African military allies of Kabila -- Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe -- to revive a collapsed peace deal.

Kabila avoided the Windhoek summit in what critics said was a sign that he is not ready to make peace. He has prevented the deployment of peacekeepers and rejected a peace facilitator, former Botswana President Sir Ketumile Masire.

The SADC is made up of Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho, Tanzania, the Congo, Mozambique, Malawi, Mauritius, Seychelles, Swaziland, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

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