Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo have established the framework for the draft peace agreement to be discussed on May 2nd and signed the Declaration of Principles with the support of the United States.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwanda signed the Washington Declaration of Principles in front of Secretary of State Marco Rubio on April 25th.
The document is a key step in restarting the peace process, which was set for consultations on Friday.
Congo’s Foreign Minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner said the declaration should be viewed as a commitment to Rwanda’s withdrawal from her country, as laid out in a UN Security Council resolution in February.
“The good news is that there is hope for peace. The real news – peace must be achieved, and it will require seriousness, transparency, integrity,” she said.
The M23 rebels, who say the United Nations experts and the US are receiving military support from Rwanda, have progressed rapidly in the eastern DRC since January, occupying a major city in the battle that killed thousands.
Rwanda denied military support for the M23, primarily Tutsi.
sovereignty
Key points of the declaration include mutual recognition of sovereignty and territorial integrity and a commitment to end support for non-state armed groups.
Rwanda has condemned the Congolese Army (FARDC) working with another armed group hostile to Kigali, pointing out that it has been under more than 30 attacks since 1997.
The declaration also mentions solutions for the return of displaced and refugees. Rwanda claims it currently hosts at least 100,000 Congolese refugees.
Kayikwamba and Rwandan Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe signed contracts individually with Rubio Watching and did not shake hands with each other for the camera.
Nduhungirehe said US President Donald Trump has made a “real change in conversation” with the DRC, including drawing links to efforts to expand US private investment.
“Today, we are talking about the real problems, the root causes that we must address to achieve lasting peace in our region,” he said.
Global economic interest
The draft agreement also includes a section on economic and mining cooperation between both sides, promoted by the US government and the US private sector.
The aim is to transform the local economy based on existing infrastructure.
“The durable peace in the Great Lakes region will open the door for greater US and broader Western investment, which will bring economic opportunities and prosperity,” Rubio said in his signature.
“It’s a win-win for everyone involved, just like they’re calling it,” he said.
The DRC is already equipped with tin smelters, gold refiners and tantalum refiners, and pending agreements can further enhance their ability to locally process strategic minerals.
International relations expert Martin Ziakwau Lembisa said the pressure in America was “because if they reached the M23, they were going even further offensively.”
Lembisa is cautious about how much Americans will be involved in the long run.
He told RFI correspondents that the agreement could show that the US administration is more interested in mineral trade than in favour of lasting peace.
DRC conflict coltan enters the EU via Rwanda smuggling route, report discovery
Related Western Partners
Meanwhile, Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Maxim Prebot toured Uganda’s Burundi over the weekend, and toured the DRC, the Belgian Foreign Minister’s first DRC in over a decade.
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The tour combined development cooperation, political dialogue and regional security.
Prebot met with Congolese President Felix Zisekedi to strengthen Belgium’s position in the international mediation process.
“I think Rwanda is legally looking for security,” Prebot said Friday.
“There is no military solution east of Congo. We need dialogue,” he added. “The situation is very unstable and local residents pay prices every day.
Rwanda severed ties with Belgium, the former colony power in the region, following criticism of its actions at the DRC last month.
(In AFP)
