A detailed examination of previous DR Congo pacification initiatives

Last Saturday, leaders of the South African Development Community (SADC) and the East African Community (EAC) accepted a new set of steps that are anticipated to be essential in bringing peace to the war-torn eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.

One of the conclusions of the summit, which took place in the port city of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, required the Kinshasa administration to engage direct negotiations with M23 and other armed groups that operate in the unstable area.

The Luanda and Nairobi procedures, which have now been combined, will govern these talks.

According to analysts, the conference that united the two blocs is a significant step forward. They contend that any diplomatic solutions would be unsustainable in the long run and lack credibility until all sides to the conflict are brought to the bargaining table.

As a member of both regional blocs, Kinshasa has historically dealt with the two blocs separately.

Analysts who cited the earlier agreements that have not yet produced results said that despite the optimism, it is still unknown whether all parties would adhere to the resolutions.

The conference is the most recent development in a string of efforts to address the growing security crisis in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Since 2000, the New Times has compiled a timeline of the many peace accords and agreements that have been struck to bring about peace in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement was concluded in early 2000, having been signed on July 10, 1999.
Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Namibia, Uganda, Rwanda, and Zimbabwe signed the Lusaka Agreement with the goal of ending the violence that was being spread in the DR Congo.

Additionally, the agreement called for the deployment of MONUC, a UN peacekeeping force that has subsequently been renamed MONUSCO.

Parties sought to resolve a number of concerns at the time, such as ending hostilities, forming a joint military commission (JMC) with members from both sides, withdrawing foreign organizations, and disarming, demobilizing, and reintegrating fighters.

Later criticized for “achieving no results,” the UN peacekeeping mission was supposed to keep an eye on the truce, look into violations, and disarm, demobilize, and help armed groups reintegrate.

More than 20 years have passed since the deployment, and despite the mission receiving over $40 billion in financing, nothing has been accomplished.

Agreement of Pretoria (July 30, 2002)

An agreement “on the Withdrawal of the Rwandan Troops from the Territory of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Dismantling of the ex-FAR and Interahamwe Forces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo” was signed by Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo on July 30, 2002, in Pretoria, South Africa.

As per the deal, Kinshasa was supposed to “assemble and disarm the ex-FAR and Interahamwe in the whole of the territory” of DR Congo, while Rwanda promised to remove its forces from the country’s territory.

At the time, the Kinshasa government pledged to prevent its territory from being used as “a base for attacks against its neighboring countries.”

Both Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo also agreed that South Africa, then led by President Thabo Mbeki, and the UN Secretary-General would serve as third parties, helping to carry out this peace deal.

Over two decades later, the FDLR, a Rwandan militia founded by those connected to the Genocide against the Tutsi, is now fighting alongside the Congolese army (FARDC).

The accord was supposed to be facilitated by South African forces, who are also part of the FARDC alliance. Through SAMIDRC, the troops are battling the AFC/M23 coalition alongside Congolese forces. 

Reports, however, suggest that the FARDC alliance has suffered a severe setback as a result of the latest onslaught.

Finalized in December 2002, the Sun City Agreement was signed on April 19, 2002.

The Sun City Agreement, which was signed in South Africa following protracted discussions, demanded that the DR Congo disarm genocidal troops who had fled to Congolese territory during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.

The Congolese government has funded and incorporated the FDLR into its army coalition, which was founded by the remaining members of the culprits.

Rwanda has often said that the FDLR militia poses a threat because of its evil scheme to destabilize the country. The UN has also designated FDLR as a terrorist organization.

Prior to being driven back and fleeing to the Congolese woods, the gang killed dozens of people and injured others during raids on Rwandan territory.

Experts say that Congolese Tutsi populations face an existential threat from the FDLR’s genocidal ideology.

The Sun City deal was viewed in South Africa as the answer to the issues facing the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Former South African President Thabo Mbeki laments that the deal was never put into effect.

Agreement on Goma Peace (January 23, 2008)

The Goma peace deal, which was signed by the Congolese government and 22 armed groups, including the Laurent Nkunda-led National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP), aims to put an end to combat in the provinces of North and South Kivu.

The agreement was made following a string of devastating losses to the Nkunda-led rebel organization by Congolese soldiers.

It also created a truce and an amnesty for fighters.

According to analysts, the United States, the United Nations, and the European Union (EU) mediated the peace agreement in an attempt to help bring about a sustainable peace in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The agreement’s contracting parties at the time declared their conviction that a speedy and permanent resolution to the issue that had dominated the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo for years was imperative.
Additionally, they reaffirmed their awareness that “dialogue is the best way to solve conflicts.”

Agreement of March 23, 2009 (March 23, 2009)

The March 23 accord, which was signed by the CNDP and the DRC government, attempted to reintegrate CNDP combatants into the FARDC.

However, several former CNDP members founded the M23 rebel organization after Kinshasa failed to enforce the pact.

A number of long-standing grievances propagated against the Kinyarwanda-speaking Congolese populations would be addressed, the CNDP would become a political party, and its forces would be partially integrated into the FARDC (with the proviso that they would remain under semi-autonomous command structures and only deployed in the East).

Once more, the Kinshasa government broke this deal, which led to the M23 movement.

Framework for Peace, Security, and Collaboration in Addis Ababa (February 24, 2013)

The peace agreement, which was signed by eleven African nations and supported by the UN, AU, SADC, and ICGLR, sought to address the underlying causes of the violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo while also avoiding outside intervention.

Several African and other officials attended the signing event, which was held at the new Conference Center of the African Union (AU) Headquarters.

The Central African Republic (CAR), Burundi, Rwanda, South Sudan, Zambia, Tanzania, Uganda, South Africa, Angola, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo signed the pact.

The framework aimed for, among other things, putting an end to the local strife and establishing lasting peace and stability in the area.

Declarations of Nairobi (December 12, 2013)

On December 12, agreements to formally stop hostilities in the eastern region of the nation were inked by the M23 rebel organization and the DR Congo’s government.

The Southern African Development Community and the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) jointly issued the declarations and a Final Communique on the Kampala Dialogue, which helped to facilitate nearly a year of tumultuous peace negotiations in the capital of Uganda.

The government’s limited offer of amnesty to combatants, the release of prisoners, the demobilization and reintegration of former rebels, national reconciliation and justice, social security and economic reforms, and M23’s renunciation of rebellion and transition into a political party were among the many issues on which both parties made commitments.

At the time, Kinshasa also pledged to act swiftly to enable internally displaced civilians—there are over two million in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo—return home and to facilitate the repatriation of refugees in accordance with tripartite agreements reached with neighboring governments.

Kinshasa did not uphold the deal either.

Peace Processes in Luanda and Nairobi (2022–2023)

A number of consecutive meetings and agreements involving the EAC, Angola, and other regional players have been made possible by the recent peace efforts in order to address the ongoing M23 resurgence and conflicts in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The concepts of inclusion, conversation, ownership, regional leadership, and international backing are the foundation of the peace negotiations, which were initiated in April 2022 but have since stopped.

In order to find a peaceful end to the conflict via discussion and negotiation, this approach aims to involve all parties involved, including the DRC government, armed groups, civil society organizations, and the international community.

The East African Community Regional Force (EACRF) was sent in November 2022 to assist in putting the Nairobi process into action after the M23 reappeared in 2021. One of its duties was to take over regions that the M23 rebels had given up when they decided to leave in order to allow for the possibility of peace.

They had been sent to help with a peace process, but shortly after their arrival, Tshisekedi ordered them to fight M23 rebels, which was against their rules of engagement.

One significant instance of this occurred in February 2023 when Tshisekedi met Maj Gen. Jeff Nyagah, the Kenyan officer who served as the first military commander of EACFR, during a Heads of State conference in Bujumbura. In a televised tirade, Tshisekedi accused Nyagah of “being part of the problem.”

Later, when the force failed to comply with his orders, he ordered their departure from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

In total disdain for the Nairobi Process, he subsequently left the EAC and approached the Southern African Development Community (SADC), of which DR Congo is a part, to send soldiers to assist him in fighting M23.

With limited success on the front lines, SADC’s SAMDRC army has been fighting alongside European mercenaries, FARDC, and armed militia groups like the FDLR against M23.

Whether Kinshasa will follow the decisions taken in Dar es Salaam is still up in the air.