The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Why new diplomatic moves could hit same old roadblocks
ANALYSIS | THE INDEPENDENT & AGENCIES | The Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda have signed a preliminary peace deal that paves way to signing a final agreement scheduled on June 27, according to a joint statement issued by the U.S. State Department.
The newly signed draft agreement outlines commitments to respect territorial integrity, cease hostilities, disengage and disarm non-state armed groups, establish a joint security coordination mechanism, and facilitate the return of refugees, humanitarian access, and regional economic cooperation.
Technical teams from the DRC and Rwanda signed the draft peace deal in the U.S. Capital Washington DC in a ceremony witnessed by U.S. Under Secretary for Political Affairs Allison Hooker.
The ministerial signing on June 27 will be observed by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The signing follows in the steps the DRC and Rwanda signing in April a pledge to work toward a peace deal. The signing of pledge in the American capital Washington DC by Congo’s Foreign Minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner and Rwanda’s Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe was overseen by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio who hosted the Declaration of Principles for Peace in the eastern DRC signing ceremony on April 25.
Earlier in March, DRC President Félix Tshisekedi and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame agreed to a ceasefire during talks mediated by the emir of Qatar in Doha.
The two heads of state of the neighboring countries accuse each other of supporting rebellions and destabilising their national territories.
At the centre of the hostilities is M23, a rebel movement occupying the cities of Goma and Bukavu as well as a large part of the North and South Kivu provinces of the DRC.
Congo has accused Rwanda of backing M23 rebels and U.N. experts say the rebels are supported by about 4,000 troops from the neighboring nation. Rwanda has denied supporting M23.
The decades-long conflict escalated in January, when the M23 rebels advanced and seized the strategic Congolese city of Goma, followed by the town of Bukavu in February.
The M23 rebels have stepped their offensive since December, capturing these key towns.
According to the UN, more than 7.8 million people have been displaced in the conflict. In April, the UN Human Rights Council said 602 people were victims of extrajudicial or summary executions in North and South Kivu in just two months.
Serious commitments
At the April 25 event, the U.S. State Department’s Senior Advisor Massad Boulos said the declaration commits the parties to mutual recognition of sovereignty and territorial integrity, addressing security concerns, promoting regional economic integration, facilitating the return of displaced persons, supporting MONUSCO, and drafting a peace agreement.
“These are serious commitments from each side,” he said.
In his remarks, Secretary Rubio said declaration established “a fundamental understanding of regional governance, security, economic frameworks, and to end the fighting and allow the region to reach its full potential”.
He noted that the eastern DRC has seen 30 years of conflict and the declaration demonstrated the beginning of a strong commitment to having the conversations needed to reach a resolution.
He said a durable peace in the eastern DRC is “a win-win for everyone involved – for the United States, for the Democratic Republic of Congo, and for Rwanda”.
Congo’s Foreign Minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner said the declaration of peace reaffirmed the principles enshrined in international law and echoed in the UN Security Council Resolution 2773 calling for the immediate, unconditional, and verifiable of withdraw of all foreign troops from sovereign territory of the DRC.
“We are clear in the Great Lakes region peace must come first, followed by the rebuilding of trust, and then – only when conditions are right – the careful reopening of a path to meaningful bilateral cooperation,” she said, “Too many past efforts have failed because sequencing was ignored and accountability postponed.” She said peace will “require seriousness, transparency, and sincerity”.
Rwanda’s Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe said the real issues needing to be addressed to ensure return of peace in the eastern DRC include ensuring security, return of refugees, building new original economic value chains that link regional states.
“Our goal is a secure region – free of violent ethnic extremism – which is well-governed,” he said, “The Declaration of Principles opens the door to a definitive peace agreement, giving fresh impetus to ongoing efforts of the Africa-led process under the East African Community and Southern African Development Community, as well as the Doha track facilitated by the state of Qatar.”
The Congolese government and the M23 rebels and a coalition of rebel groups called the Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC) have also since March also been negotiating in Doha under the mediation of Qatar for a peace agreement.
In another major development, the Head of the UN Organisation Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) on June 13 met with the delegation of the AFC and M23.
After the meeting at the Serena Hotel in Goma that lasted several hours, Head of MONUSCO Bintou Keita told journalists the AFC and M23 want peace.
However, according to a report by The Associated Press on March 25, Corneille Nangaa Yubeluo, leader of the Congo River Alliance, a coalition of rebel groups that includes the M23, says international sanctions and Congo’s proposed minerals deal with the United States in search of peace would not stop the fighting.
“This problem can be better resolved by the concerned Congolese, not foreigners with different geopolitical agendas,” Nangaa told the AP. “Trying to bribe U.S. with mines can undermine U.S. credibility.”
At the time, the rebel groups had been left out of meeting between the Congolese and Rwandan leaders in Qatar. Nangaa said any move to achieve peace without his group’s involvement would fail and expressed willingness to dialogue with the DRC government if their grievances and the root causes of the conflict are acknowledged.
“Anything regarding us which are done without us, it’s against us,” Nangaa said.
The minerals `bribe’
According to a report around this period in the online news out, Africa Intelligence, Corneille Nangaa in mid-March visited the Ugandan capital Kampala at the same as former DRC President Joseph Kabila was also made a discreet stopover in the invitation of President Yoweri Museveni. According to the report published on March 18, DRC President Tshisekedi has been concerned about links between Kabila and the Congolese rebels. It not clear where the American-led peace deal will lead if it does not involve the rebel groups.
In April, Massad Boulos, confirmed the U.S. and the DRC are in talks over a minerals deal. After meeting President Félix Tshisekedi in Kinshasa, Boulos, whose son is married to U.S. President Donald Trump’s daughter; Tiffany, said American firms were involved in the talks.
“You have heard about a minerals agreement. We have reviewed the Congo’s proposal. I am happy to announce that the president and I have agreed on a path forward for its development,” the U.S. senior adviser for Africa told journalists, according to the BBC.
DR Congo, home to vast natural reserves like lithium which is essential for battery and electric vehicle production, has been battling Rwandan-backed M23 rebels, who have seized large areas of territory this year.
Tshisekedi believes U.S. involvement in extracting the minerals could help quell the violence that has plagued the east of the country for nearly 30 years. Currently, DR Congo’s mineral wealth is largely dominated by Chinese firms.
Boulos said he also discussed the conflict in the DRC with Speaking after his meeting President Tshisekedi.
“The U.S. remains determined to support the ending of the conflict,” he said.
At the time, Boulos, who has served as Washington’s senior adviser on Arab and Middle Eastern affairs since December, also visited Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda.
In reality, all Boulos’s diplomatic footwork could go to waste if, after the scheduled signing of the final peace deal in Washington on June 27, the DR Congo and Rwanda governments, and the over 100 rebel groups, reject the peace, trust, and meaningful bilateral cooperation it promises.
