A peace deal brokered by the White House between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda will be signed in Washington D.C. on Friday, despite concerns that the accord may not bring an end to the complex and long-running conflict.
United States President Donald Trump has portrayed the deal as a “wonderful treaty” and expressed optimism about the prospects for peace.
The conflict in the eastern DRC, where a militia allegedly backed by Rwanda occupies vast swaths of land, has resulted in significant human suffering.
More than 7,000 people have been killed, and some one million others displaced since January, when the M23 militia waged a fresh offensive against the Congolese army. The crisis is a fusion of complex issues, including colonial-era border disputes, unresolved regional tensions, and the consequences of the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
Many remain unconvinced that the peace deal can end the conflict, given its complex history and deep-seated issues. The rebel coalition Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC), of which M23 is a key member, has stated that it did not participate in the US-brokered peace process and is instead committed to a separate negotiation process mediated by Qatar. Victor Tesongo, a spokesperson for the coalition, said it was “not there yet” in terms of surrendering its arms and was waiting on developments in Doha.
Daniel Kubelwa, a Congolese activist and researcher, believes that “any deal that doesn’t address the root causes (of the conflict) will only serve as a temporary truce.”
One of the root causes, he said, is the “unfair distribution” of the DRC’s mineral wealth, which benefits a small elite and foreign powers, while ordinary Congolese suffer displacement and misery.
Kubelwa emphasizes that a true and lasting solution must include genuine accountability, regional truth-telling, redistribution of national wealth, reform of governance, and a broad national dialogue.
The US peace deal contains provisions on “respect for territorial integrity and a prohibition of hostilities,” including “disengagement, disarmament, and conditional integration of non-state armed groups.” However, Congolese human rights activist and Nobel laureate Denis Mukwege has described the deal as “vague” and tilted in Rwanda’s favor, criticizing it for failing to recognize “Rwanda’s aggression against the DRC.”
Mukwege believes that the emerging agreement would amount to granting a reward for aggression, legitimizing the plundering of Congolese natural resources, and forcing the victim to alienate their national heritage.
Trump’s interest in the conflict may also be driven by America’s economic interests in the region, particularly access to the DRC’s critical minerals. The DRC is endowed with the world’s largest reserves of cobalt and coltan, essential for producing electronics and electric vehicles. However, according to the World Bank, most people in the DRC have not benefited from this wealth, and the country ranks among the five poorest nations in the world.