CNN
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The peace agreement, mediated by the White House, is halting the bloodshed of the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). There, the militia, which is allegedly occupying vast lands by Rwandan-backed militias, will be signed into Washington, D.C. on Friday by officials from two African countries.
But while many don’t think that the agreement, depicted as a “great treaty” by US President Donald Trump, can end a complex, long-term conflict, the militia itself has yet to promise to lay weapons.
Trump was cheerful about the outlook for peace when the Rwandan and DRC teams began their draft contract on June 18th, suggesting they distrust his role in ending this or other conflict.
On June 20th, he wrote The true society: “This is a great day for Africa and, frankly, it’s a great day for the world! I’m not going to win the Nobel Peace Prize for this.”
He added: “Nobel Peace Prize, no matter what I do, including Russia/Ukraine or Israel/Iran, people know what those outcomes are. That’s important to me!”
Trump touted himself as a “peacemaker” and expanded his interest in the global conflict of brutal wars in the mineral-rich Eastern DRC. His peace deal can also pave the way for America’s economic benefits to the region, as he looks to DRC’s access to key minerals.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio will preside on Friday the signing of a peace agreement by Dr. Thérès Kayi Kwamba Wagner and her Rwandan counterpart Olivier Nduhungirehe.
More than 7,000 people have been killed and since January, when the M23 militia launched a new attack on the Congolese forces, one million other people have been evacuated, seizing control of two largest cities in the eastern region.
Reports of summary executions of children are increasing in occupied areas. There, aid groups say they have also witnessed the epidemic of rape and sexual violence.
The crisis in the Eastern DRC, which shares its borders with Rwanda and carries large sediments of minerals essential for the production of electronic equipment, is a fusion of complex issues.
Congolese activist and researcher Daniel Kuberwa told CNN that the DRC feud with Rwanda is “deeply rooted in the colonial border conflict, unresolved regional tensions and the consequences of the 1994 Rwandan genocide.”
In that genocide, hundreds of thousands of Tutsi and medium Hutus were killed by Hutu militias.
Rwanda has criticized the DRC, facing problems of militia violence, and has criticised the merger of the banned Hutu militia groups into the military to fight mainly the Tutsi M23.
First introduced in 2012, the M23 is one of the most prominent militias fighting for control of the DRC’s mineral wealth. Rebel groups also claim to defend the interests of the Rwandan origins of Tuttis and other Congolese minorities.
Many UN experts and the international community believe that Rwanda supports the M23, supports the rebels with the military, leaving its people at the pinnacle of the war with the DRC over this alleged territorial violation.
The Rwandan government has not acknowledged this claim, but it claims it will protect it from the HUTU militia operating in the DRC.
M23 occupies a strategic mining town in the eastern provinces of DRC in North and South Kivu.
In a December report, a group of UN experts at the DRC said it had “mixed evidence that the minerals were “illegally exported to Rwanda” with Rwandan production.”
Rwandan President Paul Kagame was angered last year when he admitted in a public speech that Rwanda claimed in a public speech that he claimed that the country was not stolen from his neighbors, a mineral transport system smuggled from the DRC.
The Washington Peace Agreement includes provisions regarding “respect for territorial integrity and prohibit hostilities,” according to a joint statement issued by the United States, Rwanda and the DRC on June 18th.
Other points include the establishment of a “promoting the return of refugees and internally displaced people, humanitarian access,” and the “local economic integration framework” that attracts important investments in Rwanda and the DRC.
However, the Rebellion Union, whose M23 is a key member, has fluves the Congo (AFC) and told CNN that it has not participated in the US-mediated peace process between the Rwanda and the Congo government, but has instead committed to another negotiation process mediated by Qatar in the capital Doha.
Asked if the AFC would abandon its arm, Coalition spokesman Victor Tesongo said it was “not there yet,” and said it was waiting for Doha to be developed. He did not confirm whether the Eastern DRC airport, which had been shut down by rebels, would be reopened for assistance.
Previous ceasefire agreements failed to bring lasting peace between the M23 and the Congolese army.
In April, the rebels jointly declared an armistice after meeting with representatives of the DRC during Qatar-led negotiations. The battle flares up a few days later.
Qatar has been promoting consultations after Angola President Joan Lourenzo left his mediation role several months after he was unable to mediate peace.
Activist Kubelwa told CNN that while the US-Qatar-led peace efforts are worthy of praise, “a deal that does not address the root cause (of the conflict) will only serve as a temporary ceasefire.”
One of these root causes was the “unfair distribution” of the DRC’s mineral wealth, claiming that “it benefits small elites and foreign forces, and that ordinary Congolese people in the East suffered displacement and misery.”
The DRC is almost Western Europe in size and is home to over 100 million people. The Central African country is awarded the world’s largest cobalt reserves (cobalt reserves used to produce batteries that power cell phones and electric vehicles) and the improved tantalum, with cortans that have a variety of uses for mobile phones and other devices.
However, according to the World Bank, “most people in the DRC do not benefit from this wealth,” ranks the country among the five poorest countries in the world.
Kubelwa said another trigger for the DRC’s conflict was the country’s “weak system” and “oppression of objections.”
Rwandan Foreign Minister Nduhungirehe told CNN that his country is “committed to supporting the ongoing negotiations” before signing the US-brokered peace agreement, but warned that the end of the conflict “relied on political will and Kinshasa’s sincerity.”
The DRC Foreign Affairs Office said it would comment on the transaction after the documents were signed.
Congolese human rights activist and Nobel Prize winner Dennis Mukwege described the deal as “ambiguous” and leaned in Rwandan favor.
After details of the draft agreement were released last week, he posted a statement criticising him for not recognizing “Rwandan’s aggression towards the DRC.”
He added: “In its current state, the new agreement will force victims to alienate their national heritage by rewarding aggression, justifying the looting of Congo’s natural resources, and sacrificing justice to ensure unstable and vulnerable peace.”
Congolese political and economic analyst Dadi Sale told CNN he was “still skeptical” about the US peace treaty’s ability to secure a path to peace.
For Kubelwa, “A true and lasting solution must go beyond ceasefires and formal agreements. It must include authentic accountability, regional truth-telling, redistribution of national wealth, reform of governance, and a wide range of national dialogue, including not only all Congo’s voices, but all Congo’s voices.”
“Without this, peace remains a fragile illusion,” he said.
