The Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Olivier Nduhungirehe, has warned that multiple ceasefire declarations to end conflict in eastern DR Congo will be in vain if the Congolese government does not show political will implement them. ALSO READ: AFC/M23, DR Congo sign ceasefire monitoring mandate in Doha Nduhungirehe said this on Thursday, February 12, shortly after the Angolan presidency announced a proposed ceasefire between the Congolese government coalition and AFC/M23 rebels, expected to take effect on February 18, pending confirmation by the parties. The proposal followed a meeting in Luanda between Angolan President João Lourenço, DR Congo's Felix Tshisekedi, Togo's leader Faure Gnassingbe, who is also the African Union-appointed mediator as well as Nigeria's former President Olusegun Obasanjo, one of six facilitators appointed to support the African-led peace process. In a post on X, Nduhungirehe recalled that several ceasefire agreements and peace agreements had been singed over the past two years, yet clashes have persisted. He cited the 2024 humanitarian truce announced by the United States from July 4 to July 19, later extended to August 3, as well as the July 31 ceasefire agreement signed in Luanda between Rwanda and the DR Congo, which came into force on August 4. In 2025 alone, he noted, at least six peace agreements or ceasefire declarations were signed, including the April 23 ceasefire declaration between Kinshasa and AFC/M23, the Washington Declaration of Principles of April 25, the Washington Peace Agreement of June 27, the Doha Declaration of Principles of July 19, the Doha Framework Agreement of November 15, and the Washington Agreements of December 4. “We can pile up peace agreements or ceasefire declarations endlessly, but as long as there is no political will from Kinshasa to end its airstrikes and artillery attacks,” Nduhungirehe said, “as long as President Tshisekedi remains obsessed with an improbable military solution, and as long as the international community continues to turn a blind eye to Kinshasa’s whims acting solely at its own discretion in violation of all these agreements, it will all be in vain.” ALSO READ: DR Congo: MONUSCO to deploy in Uvira to monitor ceasefire The newly proposed February 18 ceasefire builds on the Qatar-mediated peace process between Kinshasa and AFC/M23, underway since April 2025. Earlier this month in Doha, the parties signed a mandate establishing a mechanism to oversee adherence to the ceasefire, as part of broader efforts to end the conflict in eastern DR Congo. Under that arrangement, monitoring teams led by the United Nations peacekeeping mission, MONUSCO, in coordination with the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), are expected to verify compliance and document any breaches. ALSO READ: Kagame discusses DR Congo security with Togo president, AU facilitators The Angolan proposal also followed a regional tour by the AU-designated facilitators, who engaged leaders in DR Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, and Uganda, as well as representatives of AFC/M23, in a bid to consolidate support for the mediation process. Meanwhile, the United Nations has confirmed plans to deploy MONUSCO elements to Uvira in South Kivu to help monitor commitments under the ceasefire framework and contribute to stabilisation efforts.
