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Rabat – Ministers from Rwanda and the DRC are likely to sign a comprehensive peace settlement. This comes after widespread violence in the Eastern Congo region since January.
This peace settlement is likely to be signed by Rwandan Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirhebe and DRC Foreign Minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner. There will also be participation from the two nations’ presidents, Felix Tshisekedi and Paul Kagame. This will take place in Washington, D.C.
This peace deal comes after extensive peace talks between Rwanda, the DRC, the United States, and Qatar. The peace settlement was initialled on June 18 in Washington, DC, and is set to bring this violence to an end.
Key elements of the deal are centred on addressing territorial integrity, prohibition of hostilities, disengagement, disarmament, and conditional removal of non-state armed groups. This is a comprehensive agreement that addresses most of the issues and concerns.
Marco Rubio had stated that “this is a great day for Africa and quite frankly a great day for the world.” If this agreement were to be signed, it would also allow for greater Western investment to be made in terms of regional development.
This peace agreement is aimed at bringing a decade-long conflict in Eastern Congo to an end. This has been a devastating and catastrophic conflict with the killings of thousands of people and the displacement of hundreds of thousands.
Violence and conflict erupted across the Eastern Congo region in January. M23 rebels captured large cities and towns such as Goma and Bukavu. This is because the region is rich in important minerals such as gold, cobalt, copper, and lithium.
Human rights abuses have been observed on all sides. M23 has been accused by Amnesty International of torturing and killing civilians. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, stated that the DRC Troops and armed groups had also committed human rights abuses.
Rwanda has consistently denied accusations that it backs one of the many armed groups in the region, the M23. The Kigali government has stated that its military presence in the region is there to provide stability and to stop the FLDR.
The FLDR is a rebel group consisting of members of the Hutu majority who were involved in the devastating Rwandan genocide in 1994. The DRC has denied accusations that it has been funding and supporting this organisation.
Previous attempts to end this conflict have not been able to end the violence. For example, the Rwandan and Congolese governments reached partial peace agreements twice under Angolan mediation but failed to endorse the deal.
This peace settlement has the potential for building stability in East Africa and bringing one of the continent’s worst conflicts to a conclusion.
