Rwanda’s remark at Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe’s UNSC briefing on MONUSCO

Thank you for allowing me to speak. I would like to start by thanking you on your leadership and president of this Council in March 2025. I also thank the earlier briefers and speakers for their efforts.

Rwanda firmly supports peacekeeping and peacekeepers wherever they serve as a United Nations member state and a major donor to peace support operations. For this very reason, Rwanda demands that everyone appointed by the UN Security Council to work for peace be held accountable and transparent.

Permit me to explain the Eastern DRC situation in more detail. Rwanda did not initiate this war. However, Rwanda is now directly responsible for the load.

Furthermore, several parties’ actions have allowed the DRC to evade its obligations, especially with relation to governance and leadership shortcomings.

The FDLR’s persistent existence as a genocidal militia, in spite of its history of ethnic atrocities, child soldier recruitment, and destabilization of both Rwanda and the DRC, is one of the conflict’s primary reasons. The fact that certain members of the international community simply still refuse to acknowledge its existence is regrettable.

The DRC government’s integration of FDLR combatants into its national army is further demonstrated by the recent capture and transfer of FDLR soldiers, including a top commander, to Rwanda. Kinshasa provided them with tools, supplies, and a stage on which to spread their philosophy of genocidal action.

Second, colonial heritage is linked to the systematic persecution of Congolese Kinyarwanda speakers, especially Tutsi populations. Communities in the provinces of Ituri and South Kivu are included in this.

The hundreds of thousands of refugees in Rwanda, Uganda, and other countries in our region who have been unable to safely return to their homes for many years are among the effects of the discrimination, violence, and ethnic cleansing in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

In light of this, what can be anticipated from Rwanda? Why is Rwanda being singled out disproportionately? It’s unclear. We in Rwanda are certain that the defensive measures we have implemented will not be lifted until a reliable framework for long-term security assurances along our border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo is established.

According to the report we recently got, the MONUSCO case has been especially concerning. MONUSCO’s discussions have frequently been utilized to advance a narrative that is not representative of the situation on the ground. Unfortunately, this story is not an exception.

The study continues to single out other actors as the main cause of instability in Eastern DRC, even if it correctly names abusive armed groups as the main perpetrators of human rights crimes, including the ADF, CODECO, the FDLR genocidal militia, which is sponsored by Kinshasa, and even DRC military. As a result, there is a definite pattern of bias in the report’s coverage of the security situation in that area.

MONUSCO’s persistent inability to carry out the mission it was given twenty-five years ago, which is to eradicate all armed groups, including the FDLR genocidal militia, which has been operating in the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo with complete impunity for the last thirty years. If the underlying reasons of this problem are not addressed, we have little chance of achieving peace.

When Resolution 2098, which called for the deployment of a Force Intervention Brigade (FIB) within MONUSCO with the explicit mission of neutralizing all armed organizations, including the FDLR, was enacted on March 28, 2013, I was present in this Council.

However, MONUSCO/FIB refused to neutralize the FDLR, which was still wreaking havoc in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2025, and operational concentration was solely on the M23.

Indeed, in over 20 resolutions since 2003, this Council has reaffirmed the necessity of addressing the FDLR danger. However, significant outcomes are still elusive despite billions of dollars being spent on the UN’s most costly peacekeeping operation ever.

This has led to the ongoing persecution, discrimination, and forced displacement of Congolese residents, particularly Tutsis. In October 2023, militants supported by the DRC destroyed 300 Congolese Tutsi homes in the entire town of Nturo, which is located in Masisi area. MONUSCO was where? Attack drones and fighter jets from the Democratic Republic of the Congo have been bombing the Banyamulenge communities in Minembwe, South Kivu, since February of this year. MONUSCO is where? Additionally, the DRC has to address this issue of political inclusiveness and governance.

MONUSCO has not made a positive contribution to de-escalation or peace efforts since the resumption of hostilities in October 2021. More concerningly, MONUSCO put itself in a hostile position by directly supporting the DRC coalition’s military effort, occasionally even engaging in combat with the very organizations it was established to oppose.

I should mention that this coalition includes European mercenaries. These mercenaries, who were assisting the DRC army and MONUSCO, were sent in defiance of a 1989 UN Convention. These issues have been brought up by Rwanda on numerous occasions before this Council, but they have never been resolved.

MONUSCO and SRSG Bintou Keita have also helped to misrepresent the facts surrounding recent events. After Goma was captured in January 2025, MONUSCO officers issued wildly inflated allegations of 3,000 civilian casualties.

Journalists and aid workers on the ground dispute these numbers, which the DRC government has used as leverage to demand harsh punishments on Rwanda. And my colleague from the DRC just gave you another example of a false statement.

However, Rwanda is optimistic that MONUSCO can still turn around and contribute positively, so long as it fulfills its mandate to safeguard civilians, guarantee humanitarian aid, and potentially offer logistical support for the joint EAC-SADC initiatives that are presently being discussed.

We have renewed momentum for regional peace after the last briefing in December 2024. The inaugural EAC-SADC summit was held on February 8, 2025. The African Union approved the findings of the joint summit, which reaffirmed the need for a stop to hostilities and inclusive political discourse while also deciding to combine the Luanda and Nairobi processes. Under the direction of the chairperson of the African Union, an expanded panel of five facilitators from throughout Africa will lead this conversation.

Rwanda is in full support of these developments and welcomes them. We especially applaud the DRC’s declaration that all offensive activities by FARDC and Wazalendo will cease, as well as the recent decision by the AFC/M23 to redeploy its soldiers from Walikale in support of ongoing peace negotiations. We further call on the Security Council and the international community to back this African-led initiative.

To sum up, Madam President, let me restate that Rwanda has spent the past 31 years putting a lot of effort into fostering economic growth, unity, reconciliation, and stability in order to advance the rights of all vulnerable groups.

We can resume the serious and pressing task of building Rwanda and connecting our region with our neighbors if a long-term political solution is found that provides long-term security assurances.

A long-term political and security agreement for the area has always been a goal of Rwanda. In this sense, we are dedicated to collaborating with all stakeholders to make sure we fulfill our obligations, especially those related to the joint EAC-SADC Summit process and other complementing activities aimed at fostering confidence.

Thank you.