{"id":6809,"date":"2025-10-01T08:24:11","date_gmt":"2025-10-01T08:24:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theeaglenews.co.in\/?p=6809"},"modified":"2025-10-01T08:24:11","modified_gmt":"2025-10-01T08:24:11","slug":"peace-in-drc-still-mostly-a-promise-un-mission-head-warns-as-violence-rages-despite-washington-accord","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theeaglenews.co.in\/?p=6809","title":{"rendered":"\u201cPeace in DRC Still Mostly a Promise,\u201d UN Mission Head Warns as Violence Rages Despite Washington Accord.\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cPeace in DRC Still Mostly a Promise,\u201d UN Mission Head Warns as Violence Rages Despite Washington Accord.<\/h1>\n

 <\/p>\n

United Nations:<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Peace efforts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) remain fragile and largely unrealized, the head of the UN stabilization mission told the Security Council today, warning that fighting and atrocities continue to ravage the country\u2019s east even after a United States\u2011brokered peace agreement.<\/p>\n

Bintou Keita, Special Representative of the Secretary\u2011General in the DRC and head of MONUSCO, presented the Secretary\u2011General\u2019s latest report (S\/2025\/590) and said there is a worrying gap \u201cbetween the progress we see on paper and the reality we observe on the ground which continues to be marred with violence.\u201d She outlined diplomatic advances since 27 June \u2014 including the Washington Accord and subsequent meetings of a Joint Monitoring Committee and Joint Security Coordination Mechanism \u2014 but said those steps have yet to translate into a durable ceasefire.<\/p>\n

Keita pointed to recent talks in Doha and a July declaration of principles signed between the Congolese Government, the Congolese River Alliance and the 23 March Movement, but warned that the promised peace is slow to materialize. Since June, she said, 1,087 civilians have been killed in Ituri and North Kivu, and \u201cthe toll is growing day by day.\u201d She highlighted the importance of internal dialogue supported by President F\u00e9lix Tshisekedi, arguing that the 2028 general elections cannot be held in a secure atmosphere unless violence is contained.<\/p>\n

Eight months after Security Council resolution 2773 (2025) was adopted, Keita said key provisions remain largely unimplemented. She accused the Congo River Alliance\/23 March Movement (AFC\/M23) of pursuing territorial expansion after seizing Goma, installing alternative structures in place of formal institutions and training more than 7,000 recruits. July, she said, was the deadliest month since the group\u2019s resurgence in late 2021 in Rutshuru territory.<\/p>\n

Keita also stressed that violence is not limited to a single faction. She described a complex landscape of armed actors \u2014 including the Allied Democratic Forces in North Kivu and Ituri, blamed for 300 civilian executions in three months \u2014 and reported fresh clashes that pushed 3,500 people to seek shelter at a MONUSCO base in Gina. She urged armed groups that took part in Ituri dialogue to honour commitments and release some 400 children reportedly detained.<\/p>\n

Human rights and humanitarian concerns were central to Keita\u2019s briefing. She raised alarm about ongoing violations in South Kivu, where MONUSCO no longer has an operational mandate, and called for access for the UN Joint Human Rights Office and for deployment of an independent commission of inquiry \u2014 though financing for that commission remains pending. Keita also warned of dire funding shortfalls: the Humanitarian Response Plan has received only 15.2 percent of required funds, down from 41 percent at the same time last year. \u201cIf we fail to close these gaps, millions will pay the price on the ground,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Responses from Security Council members reflected deep unease and diverging emphases. The United States welcomed implementation steps under the Washington Accord \u2014 including activation of joint mechanisms \u2014 while urging MONUSCO to improve efficiency and eliminate duplicative costs. Guyana, speaking also for Algeria, Sierra Leone and Somalia, stressed the need to implement both Washington and Doha agreements, pursue accountability for human rights abuses and tackle root causes such as illegal mineral exploitation.<\/p>\n

Slovenia warned that \u201cwhat is at stake now is credibility\u201d \u2014 calling for dialogue and deeds to be measured by behaviour rather than statements \u2014 and urged harmonization of these diplomatic tracks with African\u2011led efforts. Russia urged strict implementation of resolution 2773 (2025) and the political agreements, and expressed worry about developments in South Kivu and threats to Uvira.<\/p>\n

Several delegations, including Pakistan, Panama and Greece, pressed for stronger support for MONUSCO, arguing that the Mission is being weakened at exactly the moment when the peace tracks depend on it for ceasefire verification, disarmament, protection of civilians and other functions. Pakistan warned of \u201cworrying contradictions\u201d in the Council\u2019s approach to MONUSCO, while the Republic of Korea \u2014 which presided over the Council in September \u2014 said the Mission should be reinforced despite broader UN peacekeeping liquidity constraints.<\/p>\n

Humanitarian figures drew urgent language from France, which highlighted a humanitarian catastrophe: some 7 million internally displaced persons, 1.2 million refugees in neighbouring countries, 28 million people facing food insecurity (including 5 million children), and a 16 percent rise in sexual violence in the first half of 2025, a third of victims under 16. France called for an \u201cunconditional, effective and verifiable ceasefire.\u201d The United Kingdom reiterated calls for respect of international humanitarian law and pledged continued support, citing roughly $80 million in lifesaving assistance this fiscal year.<\/p>\n

The DRC\u2019s representative described what he called a humanitarian disaster driven by \u201cday\u2011in, day\u2011out attacks\u201d by the Rwanda Defence Force\/23 March Movement. He accused those forces of ongoing non\u2011compliance with resolution 2773 (2025), called for their immediate withdrawal, and described the situation as \u201cnot a conflict, but a silent genocide\u201d that he said has persisted for 30 years. He accused armed groups and external actors of committing mass atrocities \u2014 citing a July massacre of 300 civilians in Rutshuru \u2014 and urged a strengthened sanctions regime targeting commanders and support for an International Commission of Inquiry.<\/p>\n

Rwanda\u2019s delegate defended the Washington Accord and Doha process as the correct framework, saying the agreements must be implemented fully and that they address the linked issues raised by the Council. He also criticized the Secretary\u2011General\u2019s report for what he called underreporting and an imbalanced portrayal of armed groups, and emphasized the danger posed by the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR). Tensions escalated during the meeting: the DRC accused Rwanda of mass killings, while Rwanda accused elements in the DRC of harboring individuals responsible for the 1994 genocide and of posing an ongoing threat to Rwandan citizens.<\/p>\n

As the session closed, Council members were united in alarm over the civilian toll but divided on how best to translate diplomatic accords into security realities. With crucial mechanisms established on paper \u2014 the Joint Security Coordination Mechanism, Joint Oversight Committee and multiple mediation tracks \u2014 diplomats warned that implementation, funding and political will will determine whether the accords become the basis for lasting peace or remain, as MONUSCO\u2019s head put it, \u201cmostly a promise.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cPeace in DRC Still Mostly a Promise,\u201d UN Mission Head Warns as Violence Rages Despite Washington Accord.   United Nations:   Peace efforts in the […]<\/p>\n

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