Officers from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwanda are as a consequence of reconvene in Geneva on September 16 and 17 for talks on the implementation of the 2025 Washington Accords.
The 2-day assembly of the Joint Safety Coordination Mechanism (JSCM) will deliver collectively representatives of the 2 international locations, with mediators from america, Qatar, Togo and the African Union Fee. The mechanism was established to watch and coordinate the implementation of safety commitments between the 2 international locations.
The assembly comes as preventing continues within the japanese DRC and key commitments below the peace course of stay unresolved.
The peace settlement between the DRC and Rwanda was signed in Washington, DC on June 27, 2025. The Washington Accords for Peace and Prosperity, signed on December 4, reaffirmed the events’ dedication to implementing that settlement.
Among the many key safety commitments are the DRC’s obligation to neutralise the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) and Rwanda’s disengagement of forces and lifting of defensive measures.
What’s at stake?
The September talks will concentrate on whether or not the 2 sides could make additional progress on these commitments.
The settlement is a part of a wider diplomatic effort to finish many years of battle within the japanese DRC, a area bordering Rwanda, Uganda and Burundi that has been affected by armed teams and repeated preventing.
The battle has repeatedly drawn neighbouring international locations into the japanese DRC. Rwanda has lengthy stated armed teams working from DRC territory pose a risk to its safety, whereas the Congolese authorities has accused Kigali of supporting armed teams searching for to grab territory and affect within the east.
“The Washington Accords reaffirm the events’ dedication to implement the Peace Settlement between the DRC and Rwanda, agreed to in Washington, June 2025, and obtain the imaginative and prescient of the Regional Financial Integration Framework, to create a daring roadmap for peace, safety, and unprecedented financial progress,” a US Division of State spokesperson stated.
However preventing has continued.
A September forecast by Safety Council Report stated clashes between the Congolese Armed Forces (FARDC) and the M23 armed group had continued in North and South Kivu, two provinces within the japanese DRC. It additionally stated two central obligations below the Washington course of, the neutralisation of the FDLR and Rwanda’s lifting of defensive measures, had but to be declared full.
Rwanda has repeatedly accused the DRC of supporting, arming and dealing alongside the FDLR.
The FDLR has its roots in forces and militias that fled Rwanda after the 1994 genocide towards the Tutsi. A few of its members had been linked to the previous Rwandan military and the Interahamwe militia. The group has remained energetic within the japanese DRC and has lengthy been a central safety concern for Rwanda.
Kinshasa, in the meantime, has accused Rwanda of supporting M23, allegations Kigali denies.
M23 first emerged as a significant armed motion in 2012. After withdrawing from territory it managed, it resurfaced in 2022 and launched a brand new offensive within the japanese DRC.
The group made main territorial beneficial properties in 2025, together with the seize of Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, and Bukavu, the capital of neighbouring South Kivu.
Though M23 is just not a celebration to the Washington settlement, it stays central to efforts to finish the broader battle.
The US-backed course of requires Rwanda and the DRC to help a separate Qatar-led dialogue between Kinshasa and M23. That course of produced the Doha Framework for Peace, signed by the Congolese authorities and the Congo River Alliance (AFC/M23) in Doha on November 15, 2025.
The place issues stand
The September assembly follows the sixth JSCM assembly, held in Geneva on August 12 and 13.
At that assembly, the DRC and Rwanda agreed to advance two initiatives aimed toward strengthening monitoring and verification of the Washington Accords on the bottom. They requested the US to think about the initiatives and supply suggestions on the subsequent JSCM assembly.
The DRC additionally introduced its Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) plan for the FDLR and responded to questions from JSCM members.
The events additionally agreed to carry a trilateral planning convention in October that can culminate in a revised operations order guiding their coordinated efforts.
The FDLR dispute
The neutralisation of the FDLR is predicted to stay some of the tough points.
On July 28, the Congolese authorities stated a faction of the FDLR had accepted and signed a protocol masking disarmament, demobilisation and cantonment. Kinshasa introduced the transfer as progress in the direction of assembly its obligations below the Washington settlement.
Rwanda rejected the transfer, arguing that the Washington settlement requires the FDLR to be neutralised reasonably than negotiated with. Kigali has additionally accused Kinshasa of continuous to help the group.
The disagreement issues as a result of progress on the FDLR is tied to Rwanda’s personal commitments below the Washington course of.
Rwanda has maintained that its safety measures alongside the border with the DRC are obligatory to guard the nation from armed teams working within the japanese DRC. Underneath the Washington settlement, Rwanda is predicted to disengage its forces and raise these defensive measures as a part of the broader safety preparations.
For the September assembly, the FDLR difficulty will stay a central level of competition as the 2 international locations attempt to resolve the commitments that stay on the coronary heart of their dispute.
