xlvii. With independence, the Front Line States changed from a political to an economic mandate and Tanzania, under the leadership of Mwalimu Nyerere, was one of nine countries which came together in 1980 to establish the Southern African Development Coordination Conference (SADCC), transformed into the Southern African Development Community (SADC) on 17 August 1992. 2.3 Promoting South-South Cooperation and Regional Integration xlviii. Tanzania championed some form of political union for African states and promoted a non-aligned stance toward the Cold War antagonists. To these ends, the URT played an important role in regional and international organisations. Julius Nyerere, Tanzania’s first president, was one of the founding members of the Non-Aligned Movement. Additionally, Tanzania played an active role in the G-77 and in founding the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) and SADCC. Mwalimu Nyerere was personally active in many of these organisations, serving as OAU chairman (1984-85) and Chairman of the six front-line states. Tanzania is a member of the East African Community (EAC) which was formed in 1967 and failed in 1977. In March 1996, Tanzania, Uganda, and Kenya revived discussions about economic and regional cooperation. These talks culminated in the signing of the Treaty establishing the East African Community in November 1999, with headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania. 2.4 Hosting War Refugees xlix. For decades, Tanzania hosted one of the largest refugee populations in Africa. The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) announced on 30 January 2007 that, for the first time in more than a decade, the population in Tanzanian refugee camps had dropped below 300,000. From 2002 onwards, more than 250,000 refugees returned to their homes from Tanzania. Over 220,000 Burundian refugees living in central Tanzanian settlements since 1972 were given the option to either return voluntarily to Burundi or become naturalised Tanzanian citizens. In 2009, Tanzania granted citizenship to 162,000 Burundi refugees. More than 200,000 Burundian refugees who fled to Tanzania in 1972 still remain. 2.5 Promoting Peace Efforts in the Great Lakes Region and Beyond l. Tanzania has long promoted efforts to resolve chronic conflict, especially in the Great Lakes Region. Tanzania helped to broker peace talks to end the conflict in Burundi. On foreign policy, Tanzania played a leading diplomatic role in East Africa, hosting peace talks for factions fighting in neighbouring Rwanda culminating in the Arusha Peace Accord. The UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) is located in the town of Arusha. In March 2008, the Tanzanian military led an African Union-authorised force to restore government authority on one of the islands of the Comoros archipelago. Tanzania’s participation in United Nations or Africa Union peacekeeping missions includes deployments to Lebanon, Eritrea/Tanzania, Burundi, Southern Sudan, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Cote d’Ivoire, Comoro and Sudan (Darfur). 7