Rwanda’s Permanent Representative to United Nations Office in Geneva has said the root causes of instability in the Great Lakes Region lie in DR Congo's responsibility. Speaking in a right of reply during the 61st session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, on Monday, March 2, Urujeni Bakuramutsa, said the security crisis in eastern DR Congo, now spanning more than three decades, is largely the result of internal governance and structural challenges. ALSO READ: UN 'is falling into trap of ethnicising DR Congo situation' - Amb. Ngoga Bakuramutsa noted that more than 160 armed groups continue to operate in eastern provinces of DR Congo. A crisis of such magnitude and duration is above all the result of internal and structural dynamics, she said. Bakuramutsa also pointed to the continued presence of the Kinshasa-backed FDLR militia as a central driver of regional instability. She reminded the Council that the FDLR is composed of former members of the ex-Rwandan Armed Forces (FAR) and the Interahamwe militia responsible for the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. Despite being subject to UN sanctions and an arms embargo, she said, the group continues to operate in eastern DR Congo with support from the Congolese army. ALSO READ: Nduhungirehe urges UN action against hate speech, atrocities in Great Lakes The Rwandan envoy noted that the FDLR has been integrated into the Congolese armed forces, in violation of relevant UN Security Council resolutions. According to Bakuramutsa, the responsibility to neutralise the FDLR rests with DR Congo, a commitment she said Kinshasa has acknowledged in African Union mediation efforts and within the framework of the Washington Accords signed with Rwanda in early December 2025. She called for a focus on national responsibility and structural reform as prerequisites for lasting peace in the Great Lakes region. ALSO READ: Rwanda proposes regional front against hate speech, impunity “Stability in the Great Lakes region requires a clear-eyed analysis of the root causes of the conflict, and the full exercise of national responsibilities,” Bakuramutsa said. Speaking about the role of the AFC/M23 movement in the security issues, Bakuramutsa described the group as a Congolese movement composed of Congolese citizens, formed around what she called internal political and security grievances. Dismis Kinshasa's accusations that Rwanda supports the armed group, Bakuramutsa said the presence of the rebels calls for a political and institutional response led by Congolese authorities themselves, rather than blaming external actors for the insecurity.
