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3w ago

US-Mediated DRC–Rwanda Peace Pact Enters Critical Implementation Phase

Weak enforcement coupled with the M23’s rejection casts doubt on whether the US-mediated pact can end decades of violence in eastern DRC.

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U.S. President Donald Trump sigs a letter of congratulations as he meets with Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Rwanda Olivier Nduhungirehe and the Foreign Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner in the Oval Office at the White House on June 27, 2025.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Democratic Republic of the Congo Foreign Minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner and Rwandan Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe applaud after signing a peace agreement in Washington

Overview

  • Kinshasa and Kigali have three months to withdraw foreign troops and cease proxy support for militias in North Kivu and other eastern provinces under the June 27 accord.
  • The “Critical Minerals for Security and Peace” framework grants US companies preferential access to the DRC’s estimated $24 trillion in cobalt, lithium, tantalum and coltan reserves.
  • The primary M23 militia, excluded from the Washington talks, has rejected the pact and continues parallel negotiations with Kinshasa in Doha.
  • Amnesty International and other watchdogs warn the deal omits enforcement mechanisms and accountability for war crimes, sexual violence and illegal mining.
  • Analysts see the agreement as part of broader US–China competition over strategic minerals and caution that without judicial safeguards the fragile peace may unravel.