The Government of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo have held the first meeting of a joint oversight committee taking a step toward implementing a peace deal agreed last month in Washington even as other commitments are yet to be fulfilled.
The African Union, Qatar and the United States joined the meeting of the committee in Washington, which was established as a forum to deal with implementation and dispute resolution of the peace agreement.
The earlier deal in June between the Government of Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo marked a breakthrough in talks held by U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration, which aims to bring an end to fighting that has killed thousands and attracted billions of dollars of Western investment to a region rich in tantalum, gold, cobalt, copper, lithium and other minerals.
The Representatives of the two countries met in Washington yesterday and pledged to implement a 2024 deal that would see Rwandan troops withdraw from Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo within 90 days.
Tgw deal also indicate that the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Government of Rwanda would form a joint security coordination mechanism within 30 days and implement a plan agreed last year to monitor and verify the withdrawal of Rwandan soldiers within three months.
Congolese military operations will target the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a Congo-based armed group that includes remnants of Rwanda’s former army and militias that carried out a 1994 genocide, are meant to conclude over the same timeframe.
However, currently the 30 days from the signing of the deal has passed without a meeting of the joint security coordination mechanism, and operations targeting the FDLR and the withdrawal of Rwandan soldiers have yet to begin.
The joint oversight committee meeting, due to meet within 45 days of the signing, was on schedule and President Trump’s Senior Africa adviser, Massad Boulos, told journalists that the deal was not off track, adding that a meeting of the security mechanism was due to be announced in coming days.
Asked about lack of progress on operations against the FDLR and withdrawal of Rwandan soldiers, Boulos said that there was no timeline for that and when you look at the chronology of what has been done since April, it shows extensive development, and it’s been very much on point and very much in line with the stakeholders aspirations.
But knowledgeable sources of the negotiations recognised delays in the implementation of the deal, though it added it was not yet threatening the deal as a whole.
Currently Military and Diplomatic sources indicate that the parties in conflict, including armed groups as M23 and militia fighters known as Wazalendo, have strengthened their military presence on the front lines.
Additional Reporting from Associated Press
