Monrovia — The signatories to a U.S.-brokered peace agreement intended to end the decades-long conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo have recommitted themselves to implementing the deal. This follows a resurgence of violence in the mineral-rich eastern region, which has cast doubt on various regional and international efforts to resolve the conflict.
In a statement, the Joint Oversight Committee (JOC)—charged with monitoring adherence to the agreement—said it “underscored their shared resolve to ensure the complete and timely implementation” of the peace deal. The committee acknowledged the slow enforcement of “some elements of the agreement”.
The JOC, which consists of representatives from the U.S., Rwanda, DR Congo, Qatar, and Togo (representing the African Union), also welcomed an upcoming meeting of the the mechanism, saying the meeting aims to accelerate efforts to “neutralize support for the FDLR [The Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda] armed group and advance Rwanda’s lifting of its defensive measures in line with Appendix A of the Agreement.”
The FDLR, a predominantly Hutu-led militia, is one of the largest armed groups operating in eastern DR Congo and has been accused of acting as a proxy for previous Congolese governments. The group includes individuals who participated in the 1994 genocide in neighboring Rwanda. Recently, the FDLR has been involved in clashes with the Rwandan-backed M23 rebels, a Tutsi militia that has captured much of the eastern region along the border with Rwanda, including the regional capital, Goma.
Keep up with the latest headlines on WhatsApp | LinkedIn
Rwanda has consistently asserted that its actions in the DR Congo are a “defensive measure” to protect its border from security threats—a claim disputed by the UN and Western nations, who have condemned Rwanda for supporting the M23 rebels and violating DR Congo’s sovereignty.
Hopes for peace were raised in June when the foreign ministers of Congo and Rwanda signed the peace agreement in Washington, D.C. after months of U.S.-led mediation. “We’re going to be signing an end to the horrible 30-year war. It’s been going on for a long time,” U.S. President Donald Trump said at the time, while announcing that the leaders of both countries would be in the U.S. “over the next couple of weeks” to sign the final agreement.
While calling for the prohibition of support for armed groups in the area, the deal requires the warring sides to respect the territorial integrity of both DR Congo and Rwanda: “The Parties shall immediately and unconditionally cease any state support to non-state armed groups except as necessary to facilitate implementation of this Agreement”.
The U.S.-brokered deal, although officially between the governments of Rwanda and the DR Congo, mandates the parties to adhere to mediation efforts of Qatar involving the DRC government and the AFC/M23 movement. That agreement seeks to “disarm and demobilize nonstate armed groups”.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
In recent weeks, however, reports have emerged of increasing violence in the region, including allegations of mass killings by M23. The armed group is said to have executed about 140 civilians in 14 villages in July, an act which directly contravenes the stipulations of the deal.
“The killings in Rutshuru territory come weeks after a preliminary agreement in a United States-brokered peace deal signed on June 27 between Congo and Rwanda, which requires Congo to implement a plan to “neutralize” the FDLR as Rwanda withdraws from Congolese territory,” Human Rights Watch said in a statement. The rights group said the killings throw into “sharp focus the gaps that exist between rhetoric on the international stage and the reality for civilians in eastern Congo.”
DR Congo’s army was also accused of a wave of attacks and relentless bombardment in South Kivu.
The crisis in the central African nation has been going on for decades. The current escalation in fighting, however, began between 2021 and 2022 when the M23 launched attacks in the eastern North Kivu province. The fighting has killed thousands and forced hundreds of thousands more to flee their homes, causing one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises.
