President Paul Kagame’s declaration in Washington, on December 4, 2025, "Rwanda will not be found wanting”, was more than a diplomatic assurance. It was a reaffirmation of Rwanda’s deepest national doctrine, that security is not optional, not negotiable, and never taken for granted.

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Standing alongside Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi for the signing of the U.S.-brokered Washington Accords, Kagame spoke with the conviction of a leader whose country rose from the ashes of genocide and learned, at immeasurable human cost, that survival depends on vigilance. His words were calm but defiant, forward-looking but uncompromising about Rwanda’s right to defend itself after enduring one of the greatest tragedies of the twentieth century.

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The Washington Accords matters because it confronts the core threat that has haunted Rwanda for over three decades; FDLR. This militia was born from perpetrators of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi who fled into eastern Zaire, present-day DR Congo, with an explicit mission to regroup, rearm, and finish what they started. They did not fade into obscurity. Instead, they entrenched themselves in the forests and hills of North and South Kivu, attacked Rwanda, terrorized civilians, and embedded their genocidal ideology in the region.

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What makes the genocidal militia uniquely dangerous is not just its origins but its consistent collaboration with elements of the Congolese national army. Recent UN Group of Experts reports, in 2024 and 2025, documented joint operations between FARDC units and FDLR, arms transfers, shared uniforms, and even drone training provided to FDLR elements. Captured fighters spoke openly about formal alliances. These are not rogue connections. They are part of a pattern that has persisted for years, creating the intolerable reality of a genocidal force operating with state support just across Rwanda’s border.

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It is against this backdrop that Kagame’s pledge in Washington takes on profound significance. Rwanda is not entering the accord reluctantly. Its message is clear. Kigali will uphold every commitment required to secure a lasting peace, provided Kinshasa does the same. Rwanda has always insisted that genuine regional stability is impossible while FDLR remains armed, protected, and politically instrumentalized. The Washington Accords finally recognizes this truth. It sets out obligations aimed at neutralizing FDLR, ending assistance from Congolese territory, and facilitating the disarmament and repatriation of its fighters. For Rwanda, these are not aggressive demands. They are the minimum conditions for a future in which its citizens can live without the perpetual shadow of a force that once slaughtered their families and still vows to finish the job.

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Just as important as what the accord includes is what it does not. The Washington Accord does not and cannot resolve the internal Congolese conflict involving the AFC/M23 movement. That responsibility lies with the Doha framework signed between the Congolese government and AFC/M23 on November 15, 2025 under Qatari mediation. Rwanda is not a party to those negotiations because AFC/M23’s grievances are domestic. The grievances are protection of Congolese Tutsi communities, recognition of citizenship rights, the integration of combatants, and the return of refugees. Confusing these separate tracks is not only analytically wrong; it is politically destructive. The Washington Accords address Rwanda’s security. Doha addresses DR Congo’s internal governance challenges. Progress requires both agreements to move forward without being conflated or undermined by the other.

Rwanda’s posture in Washington reflects its broader philosophy born of its post-genocide transformation.

Few nations in modern history have rebuilt from such complete devastation. The country’s recovery was driven by homegrown mechanisms and programmes that re-anchored communities shattered by violence. Over the past three decades, Rwanda has achieved exceptional gains in governance, safety, health care, education, gender equality, and economic growth. These successes are not accidental. They are rooted in a collective determination to ensure that the horrors of 1994 would never be repeated. For Rwanda, security is the foundation on which everything else stands, national unity, economic progress, and the confidence to engage the world as a stable partner rather than a fragile survivor.

This is why Kagame’s words resonate far beyond the signing ceremony. When he said Rwanda "will not be found wanting,” he was sending a message to his citizens, to DR Congo, and to the international community. Rwanda will meet its obligations. It will pursue peace in good faith. It will continue to anchor its regional engagement in dignity, restraint, and clarity of purpose. But it will also insist, rightly, that its neighbours dismantle the structures that have threatened it for decades. No country should be asked to tolerate a genocidal movement on its doorstep, much less one supported by a national army.

The Washington Accords offers a rare opportunity to reset regional dynamics, reduce humanitarian suffering, and open a path toward shared growth in one of Africa’s most troubled but potentially transformative regions.

But the deal will succeed only if its promises become action. DR Congo must take verifiable steps to sever alliances between FARDC units and FDLR. It must honor its Doha commitments to address the demands of its own citizens in the Kivus. And the international community, having facilitated both agreements, must shift from passive observation to active enforcement. This is not the moment for congratulatory diplomacy.

It is a moment for sustained pressure, monitoring, and support.

The Great Lakes region stands at a crossroads. For decades, it has lived under the long shadow of genocide, displacement, insurgency, and mistrust. Yet the path to a different future is now visible.

Kagame’s pledge was not a boast; it was a statement of responsibility. Rwanda will do its part. The question that remains, the question on which regional peace now hinges, is whether its partners will do the same.