The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwanda have signed a provisional agreement aimed at stopping the conflict in eastern DRC, according to a joint statement from the two countries and the United States Department of State.
The development late on Wednesday in Washington, DC, came after “three days of constructive dialogue regarding political, security, and economic interests”, the statement said.
The draft agreement contains provisions on issues including disarmament, the integration of non-state armed groups and the return of refugees and internally displaced people.
Eastern DRC has been riven by conflict for decades, with armed groups competing for access to natural resources. Fighting in the region escalated in January when the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group captured Goma, the mineral-rich area’s largest city. A few weeks later, the group seized the strategic town of Bukavu. Rwanda denies supporting the rebels.
Thousands of people have been killed in the region and hundreds of thousands of others displaced since the conflict intensified earlier this year.
Several of the parties to the conflict have been accused of carrying out human rights abuses.
In a report published in May, Amnesty International accused M23 of torturing and killing civilians.
“These acts violate international humanitarian law and may amount to war crimes,” Amnesty said at the time.
On Monday, Volker Turk, the UN high commissioner for human rights, said that the rebels, DRC troops and allied armed groups had all carried out human rights abuses.
Turk called on all sides “to commit immediately to a ceasefire and resume negotiations, and to respect international humanitarian and human rights law”.
The US hopes to bring an end to the fighting and to unlock billions of dollars of Western investment in the eastern DRC, which has large mineral reserves including cobalt, copper, gold and lithium.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has described the twin aims of peace and investment as a “win-win”.
As part of the diplomatic efforts, Massad Boulos, the US envoy to Africa, travelled to the DRC and Rwanda in April. During his visit, he urged Kigali to end its support for the M23 rebels.
Although the African countries have agreed to at least six truces since 2021, none has lasted.
Angola stepped down in March from its role as mediator, with the US and Qatar currently leading efforts to secure peace in the eastern DRC.
The draft agreement is due to be formally signed on June 27 by ministers from the DRC and Rwanda in the presence of Rubio.
