Serious challenges remain despite sustained diplomatic engagement to address the conflict in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Security Council heard today, as speakers welcomed the ceasefire monitoring and verification conducted by the UN mission in that country.
The mineral-rich eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo has seen several years of offensives by the 23 March Movement (M23) armed group, with support from Rwandan forces. In February 2025 , the Council called on M23 to cease hostilities and on the Rwanda Defence Force to end its support to that group when it unanimously adopted resolution 2773 (2025) . Later that year, a peace agreement was signed between Kinshasa and Kigali; however, at the Council’s last meeting on the topic, it heard that violence is continuing.
Today, James Swan, Head of United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) and Special Representative of the Secretary-General for that country, outlined ongoing efforts to address the conflict. He said that Kinshasa has announced a voluntary disarmament and cantonment process for the Democratic Liberation Forces of Rwanda, often abbreviated as “FDLR”. MONUSCO is working with both Congolese and Rwandan authorities to address the Forces’ presence.
He emphasized that the first joint verification missions to the provinces of South Kivu in August and to North Kivu in September represent a key milestone for a ceasefire. And, while he said that the African Union’s diplomatic engagement has resulted in a road map and an action plan for advancing peace and security in the country, he stressed: “The developments in eastern DRC [Democratic Republic of the Congo] underscore the scale of challenges that remain.”
In North Kivu, he detailed fighting between the M23 and its allies, “supported by Rwanda”, and Kinshasa’s Armed Forces and their allies. In South Kivu, he said that the parties’ increasing use of heavy weapons is causing displacement and disrupting the provision of essential services and the delivery of humanitarian aid. In response to this and other insecurity, MONUSCO is strengthening its patrols alongside Congolese authorities and deploying mobile bases.
Turning to the human-rights situation – 1,537 documented abuses since he last briefed the Council – he stressed that these violations “are occurring in a humanitarian context in which conflict, population displacement, food insecurity and the Ebola virus outbreak intersect”. He also reported that 26.5 million people are facing food insecurity and 6.1 million remain internally displaced; yet, the 2026 humanitarian response plan is only 50 per cent funded.
Encouraging inclusive dialogue, he called on all Congolese actors to overcome their differences, remain engaged in diplomatic processes and translate commitments made into tangible progress. “MONUSCO remains committed to standing alongside the Congolese people in their pursuit of lasting peace, security and development,” he said.
Minerals Fuelling Conflict
“The east [Democratic Republic of the Congo] is no longer in crisis – it is in collapse,” stressed Néné Bintu Iragi, representing civil society from South Kivu. What is happening there is not a series of isolated incidents, she stressed, but “a deliberate strategy to terrorize and suppress the local populations”. It is impossible to understand this war without addressing what fuels it – the country’s minerals – and she stressed that the conflict is not ethnic in nature; “it is an economic war”.
To illustrate, she said that artisanal miners extract cassiterite, coltan and gold under the coercion of armed groups. This ore is then taxed at the mining site, transported to Bukavu or Goma, mixed with other ore to mask its origins and exported through trading houses. “Every ton of coltan that leaves the country illegally finances the purchase of weapons and the recruitment of our children,” she stressed.
“This irresponsible purchasing is the fuel currently setting North and South Kivu ablaze,” she stated, urging implementation of resolution 2773 (2015), unconditional humanitarian access and protection for human-rights defenders. She also called for inclusive dialogue and peace processes, pointing out that the “Luanda and Nairobi [processes] failed because decisions were made about us without us”, while the current “ceasefire” remains only on paper.
Further underlining the need for economic justice and accountability by strengthening the relevant Group of Experts and the Independent Commission of Inquiry , she said that armed groups – as well as the economic networks financing them – must be sanctioned. “We are counting on you to continue to listen to local truth-tellers,” she said, adding: “If you fail to protect the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo today, history will remember that you watched while holding to your ear a phone that financed its destruction.”
Rwanda Says Armed Group Must Be Neutralized
In the ensuing discussion, the representative of Rwanda recalled that the UN has committed more than $30 billion to address the security crisis in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo since 1999. Yet, the core security challenges remain unresolved. Nevertheless, he welcomed the “diplomatic momentum” generated by mediating partners and said that Kigali has taken steps to lift its defensive measures.
On that, he cited recent examples of continued collaboration involving Kinshasa’s Armed Forces, the Democratic Liberation Forces of Rwanda, the Wazalendo group and other parties. However, he warned against any plans to “shift the goalposts” through “the arrangement being advanced between the [Democratic Republic of the Congo] Government and the FDLR”.
Rejecting any unilateral, selectively reinterpreted or separate bilateral arrangements made with “the very armed groups that the [Democratic Republic of the Congo] has committed to neutralize”, he underscored: “The FDLR must be neutralized, and that neutralization must be effective, complete and verifiable.”
Noting that the Forces’ continued presence in the east, along with “its genocidal ideology and the continued collaboration and support it receives from the [Democratic Republic of the Congo] Government”, pose a “direct and existential security threat to Rwanda”, he underscored: “That is how Rwanda understands this threat, and that is how we must treat it. It is an immediate threat – it is not distant.”
Democratic Republic of Congo Condemns Rwandan Strike
For his part, the representative of the Democratic Republic of the Congo said that his country is simultaneously pursuing the defence of its sovereignty and territorial integrity and consolidating its internal political processes. Stressing that the Council cannot remain indifferent to the persistent insecurity in the east of his country, he stressed that, in the face of the “manifest bad faith of its aggressors”, Kinshasa will continue to defend its territorial integrity.
Further, he said that his country assumes its responsibilities concerning disarmament, demobilization and reintegration, spotlighting the signing on 30 May of a protocol to this end concerning elements of the Democratic Liberation Forces of Rwanda. “This process is going through concrete steps,” he stated.
However, “this good faith was put to the test on 20 September”, he said, condemning a drone strike attributed to the Rwanda Defence Force on a Congolese position in Pinga that killed five people. “The Council cannot demand commitments without ensuring their implementation by all parties,” he stressed, also voicing concern over the “criminal” demographic management in occupied areas.
He therefore urged the organ to suspend the participation, deployment and rotation of Rwandan contingents in UN peacekeeping operations until that country’s armed forces withdraw from his country’s territory.
Neighbours Welcome Ceasefire Verification Missions
Underscoring the regional dimension of the crisis, Burundi’s representative stressed that resolving the crisis requires a “coordinated regional approach”. Noting that his country hosts a significant number of Congolese refugees, he emphasized: “This solidarity places a heavy burden on a country with limited resources.”
Welcoming the initial ceasefire verification missions conducted with MONUSCO’s support, he also underscored the Mission’s role in the disarmament, demobilization and repatriation process for former Democratic Liberation Forces of Rwanda combatants. These capacities must be considered ahead of the Mission’s mandate renewal, he added.
“A key element for de-escalation is the full respect for ceasefire arrangements,” stressed the representative of the United Republic of Tanzania, also welcoming the MONUSCO-enabled ceasefire and verification missions in North and South Kivu. Calling the issue of disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of former combatants “central to long-term stability”, he underscored the importance of continued dialogue between the Mission and the host Government regarding its presence and future configuration.
“The protection of civilians – in particular, women and children – must remain at the centre of all our efforts,” he urged.
