In his piece, "How Biden Can Transform Africa Posturing into Progress," published before over 40 African leaders converged on Washington, DC, for the U.S-Africa Leaders’ Summit, on December 13, Michael Rubin, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, noted that: "It is time Washington learn from its mistakes, encourage African success stories, and work through African partners to reverse the contagion of instability and extremism making a comeback on the continent.

 

"The way forward is not through conferences or dumping money and responsibility upon the United Nations. Rather, it is through careful diplomacy not beholden to disaffected exiles and through military partnerships. In each case, Rwanda is key."

 

US President Joe Biden is hosting the second US-Africa Leaders Summit scheduled for December 13-15 in Washington. Though recent reports indicate that Biden is not expected to have a one-on-one meeting with any of the African leaders attending the three-day summit, other reports claim that his administration is planning on bringing together Rwandan President Paul Kagame and his Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) counterpart, Felix Tshisekedi, for a possible sit down during the Summit, which is under way in Washington DC.

 

Relations between Rwanda and DRC soured in mid 2022 following the outbreak of armed conflict between the Congolese army, FARDC, and the M23 rebel group in eastern DRC near the border with Uganda. In October, Kinshasa expelled Rwanda's ambassador, Vincent Karega, accusing Kigali of supporting the M23 rebels. Rwanda has repeatedly dismissed the claims and, instead, condemned the collaboration between the Congolese army and the FDLR, a terrorist group responsible for the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.

 

One of Washington’s mistakes in the Rwanda-DRC conflict has been its very wrong and misguided approach which continues to exacerbate the problem. On December 5, a day after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with President Kagame about the importance of peace and stability in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the State Department released a statement in which Blinken “made clear that any external support to non-state armed groups in the DRC must end, including Rwanda’s assistance to M23.”

 

The Biden administration, misguided by Kinshasa’s lies and, most likely, its own interests, continues evading addressing the root causes of insecurity in DRC.

 

Kinshasa has a bargaining chip.

 

In particular, a rivalry between China and the United States could have far-reaching implications for the region. The DRC is a very rich country,  considering its vast natural resources wealth. Among others, with more than two-thirds of the world’s cobalt production coming from DRC, the country is once again taking center stage as new automobiles rely on a host of minerals and metals often not abundant in the United States.

 

But the threat of genocide ideology, in the region, is real, and it shouldn’t be ignored. The UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, Alice Wairimu Nderitu, earlier shed some light on the genesis of violence in the region. She pointed out that the current violence mainly stems from the refugee crisis that resulted as many individuals involved in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda fled to DRC, forming armed groups such as the FDLR which is still wreaking havoc in the region.

 

After killing more than one million Tutsi in Rwanda, the then genocidal government’s army, or ex-FAR, and Interahamwe militia, poured into eastern DRC to regroup, re-arm and prepare to go back to Rwanda, and continue with their genocidal agenda. The US, and the rest of the international community, know this.

 

As Rwanda’s top diplomat, Dr Vincent Biruta, noted, a lasting solution requires the responsibility to be placed where it belongs: the dysfunction of the DRC government and its institutions, and the support to FDLR.

 

“External interference and dictates in regional and continental efforts that serve to shield DRC from accountability and emboldens them to be unresponsive to commitments made through ongoing processes,” Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs said.

 

“M23 should not be equated to Rwanda. It is not Rwanda’s problem to solve. The security concerns of Rwanda need to be addressed, and where others may not feel obliged to, Rwanda is and will continue to do so.”

 

Although the White House has, reportedly, scheduled no bilateral meetings between Biden and any African leader during the summit, during curated substantive and special moments for interactions, the US President should engage Tshisekedi, through careful diplomacy, and advise the latter to do the right thing.

 

Biden should, without mincing words, ask Tshisekedi about his ties with Rwandan genocidaires. It’s now an open secret that Kinshasa is collaborating with mass murderers whose sole agenda is the extermination of the Tutsi, wherever they are in the region – in DRC, Rwanda, and elsewhere.

 

Like Human Rights Watch noted, on October 18, the Congolese government “should end this support (to FDLR), which leads to military complicity in abuses, identify officers responsible, and hold them accountable.”

 

Between May and August 2022, HRW reported, the Congolese army with a coalition of Congolese militia as well as the FDLR fought against M23 rebels in North Kivu province. At times, it is noted, Congolese army officers provided the armed groups with direct support.

 

“Congolese army units are again resorting to the discredited and damaging practice of using abusive armed groups as their proxies,” said Thomas Fessy, a senior researcher at Human Rights Watch.

 

Among others, Human Rights Watch received credible information that Congolese army members from Tokolonga’s 3411th regiment provided more than a dozen boxes of ammunition to FDLR fighters in Kazaroho, one of their strongholds in the Virunga National Park, on July 21. Two months earlier, dozens of FDLR and CMC/FDP fighters took part in a large counteroffensive with government soldiers in the area around Rumangabo and Rugari.

 

One FDLR fighter told Human Rights Watch that he witnessed four transfers of ammunition. “It’s the government [troops] that would always provide us with ammunition,” he said. “They also gave us uniforms and boots.”

 

Human Rights Watch documented cases of abuses against civilians, including killings by FDLR fighters in May and July and two cases of rape by Congolese soldiers in July. On July 7, it is noted, FDLR fighters executed Kaseba Nyangezi, 25, who was born in an ethnically mixed Hutu-Tutsi family. He and his family fled the town of Bunagana, on the DRC-Uganda border, following its takeover by M23 rebels and sought refuge in Kabaya. A family member said that fighters from both FDLR and Nyatura armed groups accused Nyangezi of collaborating with the M23 and harassed him.

 

Feeling threatened, he fled to Goma, where fighters eventually picked him up. “They took him away and sent him to the FDLR in Rugari,” the family member said. “[FDLR fighters] killed him and we have yet to find his body.”

 

EU sanctions

 

In early December, Protogene Ruvugayimikore, a senior FDLR commander, was put on the latest sanctions list of the European Union for committing atrocities in DRC. The EU sanctions list, released on December 8, indicates that Ruvugayimikore leads the Maccabé Group, formerly known as the Commando de recherche et d'action en profondeur (CRAP) of FDLR-FOCA.

 

"The FDLR-FOCA, including the Maccabé Group, contributes to the armed conflict, instability and insecurity in the DRC, in particular through violence and serious human rights abuses, including attacks on civilians, killings, violence against children, rapes and other acts of sexual violence.”

 

 Ruvugayimikore is involved in planning, directing or committing acts that constitute serious human rights violations or abuses in the DRC, it was noted.

 

"He is also responsible for sustaining the armed conflict, instability and insecurity in the DRC.”