The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) recently gave Rwandan Ambassador Vincent Karega 48-hours to leave the country in retaliation for what Kinshasa alleges is Rwanda's support of the M23 rebels.

The move effectively ended direct official communications between the two governments. Diplomacy, the art and science of maintaining peaceful relations between nations, where representatives of countries discuss issues such as conflict, trade, or maintaining security, suffered a blow.

DRC government spokesman Patrick Muyaya said in a televised statement that in recent days “a massive arrival of elements of the Rwandan element to support the M23 terrorists” against DRC’s troops had been observed.

“This criminal and terrorist adventure” had forced thousands of people to flee their homes, Muyaya added. His announcement came after a government meeting to assess the security situation in the east of the country.

Rwanda has repeatedly denied the claim that it is extending any support to M23 rebels. On the other hand, Rwanda persistently condemns DRC’s acts of arming and incorporating the genocidal terror group, FDLR, in its national army, with intentions to attack Rwanda.

An ambassador is an official envoy, a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state. By Karega leaving Kinshasa, Rwanda’s representation was downgraded and the channels of official diplomatic communication between Kinshasa and Kigali, at the highest level, are severed.

The envoy acted as a liaison between the two Heads of State whenever there was need for them to send each other official messages. With countries sharing borders and experiencing security threats that affect both sides, under normal circumstances, instead of expelling an ambassador, more efforts would have been put in through diplomatic channels to find the root causes of the security threats.

By cutting diplomatic channels, dialogue will not take place, hence complicating the already bad situation. It means that DRC is preparing for war rather than embracing peaceful means of resolving her differences with Rwanda.

Kinshasa’s decision to expel Ambassador Karega falls under article 9 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations that governs how states interact. “At any time and for any reason”, the host country has the authority to declare a person to be persona non grata or unwelcome in the country. 

Diplomats serve with the consent of the host country. A country can send them home even without explanation. And a country can give the diplomats as much or as little time to leave as it wants — as long as it's "reasonable,"  according to the Vienna convention.

Rwanda would have reciprocated, as is practice with most countries, but this did not happen. Rwanda values maintaining diplomatic relations with its neighbour despite the constrained relations. The two neighbouring countries need each other more than politicians in Kinshasa might think as they share a lot in common. For instance, when the active Nyiragongo volcano erupted in May 2021, thousands of Congolese citizens ran to Rwanda for safety. They were given all the support they needed, especially shelter, food and medication. 

Rwanda accommodates thousands of Congolese refugees. The two countries need to talk about when these refugees can go back to their homes.   Consultation and dialogue are necessary to solve existing challenges between the two countries.   

Although the ambassador was expelled, the embassy remains inviolable and open.

The Vienna Convention requires the host country to protect the premises and prohibits the host from searching or requisitioning the property. For this reason, seizing an embassy represents a complete breakdown in relations. Other Rwandan diplomats and local staff including Congolese nationals employed by the embassy remain working. 

Although Rwanda maintained a fully-fledged embassy in Kinshasa with an Ambassador, Kinshasa has for nearly 10 years only maintained junior staffers at its mission in Kigali. This could be indication that the DRC government, all along, was never committed to establishing strong diplomatic relations with Rwanda. 

The question of M23 is a political problem. It requires both political and diplomatic means to address it. Rwanda was always committed to contribute to a sustainable, peaceful regional security solution within agreed regional frameworks, including the Luanda Roadmap and the Nairobi Process.

Rwanda and DRC must work together to resolve their differences.  Severing diplomatic ties yields nothing.

How will the two countries be realistic, or search for common interests, when one only opts for severance of diplomatic relations?

The severance of diplomatic relations sometimes precedes the outbreak of war. But who would win if the two neighbouring countries were to go to war? Political and diplomatic maturity must prevail.