At Urugwiro Village, President Kagame received Amb. Tete, as President Lourenco’s special envoy, with a message from the Luanda Process facilitator.
President Paul Kagame on Tuesday afternoon, at Urugwiro Village, received Amb. Tete Antonio, Angolan Minister of External Affairs , who delivered a message from President João Laurenço of Angola, Facilitator of the Luanda Process, following the cancellation of the December 15 Presidential Summit to address the crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
According to the Angolan press, Amb. Tete’s message contained the proposed way forward following the collapsed summit, which resulted from Rwanda and DRC not agreeing on some of the proposed recommendations that would help create sustainable peace and security in eastern DRC and the Great Lakes region.
Rwanda maintains that throughout the negotiations, Kinshasa has not shown the political will and honesty to address the causes of the decades-long conflict which has left hundreds dead and millions displaced.
To Urugwiro Village, Amb. Tete was accompanied by his Rwandan counterpart, Amb. Olivier Nduhungirehe, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, who has been part of the lengthy discussions to find a solution to the conflict, at the heart of it, hundreds of armed groups operating in DRC, some of which threatening Rwanda’s own security and stability.
President Lourenço was appointed by the African Union (AU) to mediate talks between Rwanda and the DRC, with a view of finding a solution to the conflict, with each of the countries bringing their issues to the table. Following the collapsed summit, President Lourenço expressed optimism that a summit in Luanda with Presidents Kagame and Tshisekedi will eventually happen in the near future, to find a lasting peace agreement.
Prior to the cancelled summit, there had been progress in the implementation of the CONOPS, otherwise known as the Concept of Operations, which contains actions each of the two countries was to take, amidst a ceasefire in the fighting between DRC Government forces FARDC and allied armed groups such as FDLR, against the M23 rebels, who hold expansive sections of the eastern part of the country.
Ahead of the scheduled summit, Rwanda had expressed concerns, pointing out that DRC was selectively implementing the CONOPS, with Kinshasa failing to show the political will to do what it is required to do, including ceasing ties with, and dismantling armed groups that threaten regional security.
Among the more than 250 armed groups is FDLR, a genocidal militia linked to the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, which is Rwanda’s main concern. DRC was also required to put an end to ethnic violence and hold talks with fighting parties, including M23, to find a political solution, among other responsibilities. After that, Rwanda would scale down security measures along her border with DRC.
As a result of these concerns, President Kagame did not make the Sunday journey to Luanda, but President Félix Tshisekedi of DRC proceeded to Luanda, where he met President Lourenço and former Kenyan President, Uhuru Kenyatta, facilitator of the Nairobi Process, and later issued a misleading statement which was debunked by Rwanda.
DRC representatives at the ministerial level said the government would not engage in dialogue with the M23 armed group, despite previous commitments under the “Nairobi Process”.
The message related to the conflict in Eastern DRC.
In response to DRC claims, Minister Nduhungirehe said DRC chose to undermine previous progress, emphasizing that lasting peace cannot be achieved without the government of DRC taking proactive steps to discuss with groups such as M23, whose issues can only be addressed through a political dialogue.
Nduhungirehe also debunked claims that the issue of talks with M23 was introduced at the last minute, stating that it was agreed upon during the 7th ministerial meeting which took place on December 14, 2024. The grievances of the M23 had been addressed through a 2013 political dialogue but DRC failed to live up to the peace agreement, leading the resurgence in November 2021.
“The M23 issue was introduced into the Luanda process, not by Rwanda, but by the Angolan Facilitator who had prepared a “draft framework agreement” that he had personally proposed to the Rwandan and Congolese Presidents on 11 and 12 August 2024 respectively,” Minister Nduhungirehe explained.
Amb. Nduhungirehe revealed that the Angolan Facilitation invited, from August 31 to September 3, 2024 to Luanda, a delegation of the M23 led by its Secretary General, Benjamin Mbonimpa, who informed it of the political demands of their movement.
It was further revealed that during the fourth ministerial meeting, held on September 14, 2024 in Luanda, “Rwanda expressed its position on the need for a political dialogue between the government of the DRC and the M23 with a view to finding a definitive solution to this conflict.” It is a position Rwanda has maintained right from the beginning of the conflict.
It is further stated that during the virtual meeting of 26 November 2024, the issue of dialogue with the M23 was discussed once again by the three Ministers of Foreign Affairs. Concluding this meeting, the Angolan Facilitator even asked the Rwandan delegation to submit a written proposal on the resolution of this issue.
The issue has resulted in an impasse, with the date of the next summit not known to this point.
