Rwanda-DRC peace process faces test in Geneva
The two countries are due to resume talks on implementing the 2025 Washington Accords as fighting continues in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Officials from Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo are due to meet in Geneva on 16–17 September for the next session of the Joint Security Coordination Mechanism, with mediators from the United States, Qatar, Togo and the African Union Commission expected to attend.
The talks will examine progress on central security commitments under the 2025 Washington Accords, including the DRC’s obligation to neutralise the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, or FDLR. Rwanda is expected to disengage its forces and lift defensive measures as part of the same process.
The meeting comes as fighting continues between the Congolese Armed Forces and the M23 armed group in North and South Kivu. Rwanda says armed groups operating from DRC territory threaten its security, while Kinshasa accuses Kigali of supporting M23, an allegation Rwanda denies.
The FDLR issue remains disputed. In July, the Congolese government said a faction of the group had signed a protocol covering disarmament, demobilisation and cantonment. Rwanda rejected the move as insufficient, saying the agreement requires the FDLR to be neutralised rather than negotiated with.
According to Al Jazeera Global News, the parties agreed at their previous Geneva meeting to advance two monitoring and verification initiatives and to hold a trilateral planning conference in October. The initiatives are yet to be approved or implemented.
M23 is not party to the Washington agreement but remains central to the wider conflict. The US-backed process requires Rwanda and the DRC to support a separate Qatar-led dialogue between Kinshasa and M23.
