GNV News, December 18, 2024

The peace summit between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, scheduled to be held in Luanda, the capital of Angola, on December 15, 2024 under Angola’s mediation, was canceled. The Democratic Republic of the Congo reached a ceasefire agreement with the M23 rebel group in July 2024, which took effect in August; however, fighting continues. Meanwhile, Rwanda denies supporting M23, but has acknowledged deploying troops and missile systems in eastern DRC, where fighting has intensified; moreover, it has been reported that 3,000 to 4,000 members of the Rwanda Defence Force are fighting alongside M23.

The collapse of the peace summit occurred because the Rwandan side made it a condition that the Congolese armed forces and M23 engage in direct talks. However, the DRC military leadership regards M23’s fighting as acts of terrorism and therefore does not intend to recognize it as a negotiating partner.

Currently, there are many internally displaced persons in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Since the start of 2024, an additional 940,000 people have been forced to flee, bringing the total number of displaced people to 7.3 million. This is one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises. In particular, for 3.1 million of the displaced, the risks of severe food insecurity, malnutrition, and even death from hunger are rapidly increasing.

Learn more about the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo → “The Tragedy the World Doesn’t Know: Democratic Republic of the Congo”

Learn more about Rwanda’s economic growth and human rights issues → “Rwanda’s Light and Shadow”

Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame (left), Democratic Republic of the Congo’s President Félix Tshisekedi (center), and Angola’s President João Lourenço (right) (Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2019) (Photo: Paul Kagame / Flickr [CC BY-NC-ND 2.0])