DRC: At this rate, will Lourenço, Uhuru efforts bear fruit?

The facilitator of the East African Community-led Nairobi Peace Process aimed at bringing peace to the restive eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Uhuru Kenyatta, on November 16, held discussions with different Congolese leaders in an effort to find solutions to the insecurity in the east of their country.

Joined by EAC Secretary General, Dr Peter Mathuki, and the Special Representative of President Félix Tshisekedi, Prof Serge Tshibangu, Uhuru sought to understand their perspective on the situation and recommendations on restoring peace in the region.

Uhuru’s visit was preceded by that of the facilitator of the Luanda roadmap, Angolan President, João Lourenço, to Kigali and Kinshasa on November 11 and 12, respectively, as part of regional efforts to de-escalate tensions. But the big question remains: will these efforts bear fruit?

Under the July 2022 Luanda roadmap, countries agreed to normalize their political and diplomatic relations, and establish a climate of trust between the states of the region, create optimal conditions for dialogue, and political consultation to resolve the current security crisis in eastern DRC.

The roadmap demanded the immediate cessation of hostilities, requested the Congolese government to deal with the M23 situation domestically in line with the Nairobi Peace process recommendations while tasking Kinshasa to address the issue of the presence of FDLR, and its splinter groups (CNRD, FLN, RUD-Urunana, and FPPH-Abajyarugamba). The latter groups are the main cause of tensions between Rwanda and DRC and play a major role in the insecurity of east of DRC.

Contrary to the efforts being put in place by both peace facilitators, DRC’s actions indicate that it is not committed to the implementation of the talks. Reports have revealed that the Congolese army never ceased to closely collaborate with the Rwandan genocidal militia, FDLR, and giving ammunitions to armed groups, including CMC-Nyatura, APCLS, Mai Mai Yakatumba to fight other local armed groups such as M23 and Twirwaneho.

On the other side of the border, there seems to be frustration as effort was made to have peace.

Rwanda honored its commitments and played its part in solving the M23 issue, by disarming the rebellion's ex-fighters from the Jean-Marie Runiga faction who had fled to Rwanda. Kigali disarmed them and handed over their weapons to DRC authorities. Around 680 M23 combatants were cantoned to the country’s Eastern Province, far away from the Rwanda-DRC border. To this day, the M23 faction that is in Rwanda is still cantoned far away from the Congolese border and are not involved in the current fight against FARDC.

Rwanda also facilitated various engagements between the ex-M23 representatives and their government. The process culminated in an agreement and voluntary repatriation roadmap signed by the parties in 2019. Despite the existence of the repatriation roadmap and the ex-M23/Runiga faction readiness to return home, the DRC Government has shown no interest to receive them.

During his stay in DRC, Uhuru said that his mandate is not to instruct the Congolese government on what to do but to help facilitate and bring peace among the concerned parties. 

“We have not come here with particular mindset to dictate what should happen but rather in the spirit of our understanding and mandate that has been given to us, we came here to listen to the people of the Congo because our job is not to tell them what they need to do but just to help facilitate and bring peace amongst the different parties,” he said while briefing the press.

Instead of war, the best possible way of restoring peace and security in eastern DRC was, and still is, honoring the peace treaties the country signed with armed groups. But none has been implemented. For instance, there is a March 23, 2009 peace agreement that the DRC government signed with the former  Congrès national Pour la Défense du Peuple (CNDP). Kinshasa’s failure to implement the latter led to the creation of the M23 rebellion.

Other peace agreements the country failed to fulfill are the December 2013 Nairobi Declarations between DRC and ex-M23; the agreement between the Congolese Government and Ex-M23 living in Rwanda and the joint implementation roadmap on their voluntary repatriation, facilitated by Rwanda on October 2019; the agreement between the DRC and M23/Makenga faction on ceasefire, facilitated by Uganda in April 2022; and other agreements the DRC signed with other local armed groups.

Top Congolese officials and high ranking soldiers have repeatedly declared that their country will not dialogue with the M23 rebels, saying that they won’t negotiate with a “terrorist group.”

It is then safe to say that Uhuru and Lourenço’s efforts to bring peace in eastern DRC will not yield anything positive if the Congolese government is unwilling to effectively implement the peace agreements it signed with its rivals.