Mr. President,

 

Thank you for giving me the floor.

I thank the Special Representative of the Secretary-General Madam Bintou Keita for her briefing and also thank Members of the Security Council for their remarks.

 

We take note of the Secretary-General's report and appreciate that it identified all the main armed groups operating in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. However, the resurgence of M23 has overshadowed the presence of more than 130 armed groups in EDRC including FDLR which was founded by the former government forces and militia that committed the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.

 

In this regard, we welcome the outcome of the third Heads of state conclave on the Democratic Republic of Congo held in Nairobi on 20th June 2022, where East African Heads of State agreed to a Joint Regional Force that will work in cooperation with the military and administrative forces of the DRC, to stabilize the region by neutralizing all the negative forces.

 

Rwanda’s commitment to the Protection of Civilians is informed by the tragic history of the United Nations’ failure to prevent and stop the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.

 

We call for a swift and lasting solution to the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo to ensure that this tragic history never happens again in the Great Lakes Region.

 

Mr President,

 

I would like to draw the attention of the Security Council to DRC’s false allegations against Rwanda and the resulting consequences including hate speech targeting a section of the Congolese population.

 

As you know, DRC Political and military leaders have falsely accused Rwanda of backing M23. This is an unfounded accusation. Any allegations in this regard should be reported to the Joint Verification Mechanism for an independent investigation, which the DRC has not done to date.

 

The grievances and concerns of DRC's domestic armed groups must be resolved through the implementation of prior agreements and political negotiations. Mr. President, Rwanda also rejects the ongoing DRC propaganda narrative that countries of the region want to "balkanize Eastern DRC." These are absurd statements without basis and intended to divert attention from complex internal issues.

 

This is yet another attempt by the DRC government to externalize its internal weakness and problems to its neighbouring countries.

 

Mr. President,

In the last few weeks, we have observed hate speech on social and mainstream media and witnessed calls for killing and extermination, intimidation and stigmatization, xenophobic and inflammatory rhetoric, genocide ideology as well as political manipulation targeting Congolese Tutsi in particular, and Rwandans in general.

 

Targeting and killing innocent civilians perceived to be Tutsi may have a negative effect as the targeted civilians may seek protection by joining local armed groups leading to further insecurity.

 

Mr. President,

 

If the hate speech and calls for violence continue, it will exacerbate the problems in Eastern DRC and further divide the country by deepening hatred and mistrust among Congolese communities.

 

This will in turn lead to deterioration of the security situation which means that MONUSCO may not successfully fulfil its mandate anytime soon.

 

 In this regard, Rwanda once again welcomes the outcome of the Third Heads of State Conclave on the DRC during which the EAC Heads of State emphasized that all offensive language, hate speech, threats of genocide and other politically inciting language must cease and must be discouraged, and called for the people of the DRC to work together towards a solution.

 

Mr President,

 

Rwanda is aware that FARDC fights M23 alongside FDLR which was sanctioned by UNSC in 2013. FARDC should avoid the tendency of forging alliances with hostile and sanctioned armed groups to fight other armed groups. It is counterproductive and undermines the commitment of the region and the United Nations to stabilize Eastern DRC.

 

This alliance also puts MONUSCO in a very difficult position, because supporting FARDC while it fights alongside FDLR is tantamount to supporting a genocidal armed group. We call on the Security Council to condemn this alliance and urge MONUSCO through their due diligence, to avoid any military cooperation with FARDC, as long as they are allied with negative forces.

 

Following the deployment of the UN Force Intervention Brigade (FIB) in 2013, M23 was the only armed group that happened to be defeated. Rwanda remains concerned about a selective and double[1]standard approach to fighting armed groups in DRC.

 

Mr President,

 

Rwanda believes that the regional approach recommended by the Second Heads of State Conclave on DRC on 21 April 2022, is essential and complements other regional and sub-regional agreements to deal with the situation in Eastern DRC in a sustainable manner.

 

In this regard, the government of the DRC should acknowledge its obligation under regional agreements and incorporate fully all armed groups under agreed peace arrangements.

 

To conclude, Rwanda remains committed to existing bilateral, regional, and international efforts to stabilize the Eastern DRC and the region.

I thank you for your attention