WASHINGTON – Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo signed a peace agreement on Friday that aims to end fighting that has killed thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands more this year.
At a ceremony with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington, the two African countries’ foreign ministers signed the agreement pledging to implement a 2024 deal that would see Rwandan troops withdraw from eastern Congo within 90 days. The agreement signed on Friday says Rwanda and Congo will de-risk mineral supply chains and establish value chains.
“This moment has been long in coming. It will not erase the pain, but it can begin to restore what conflict has robbed many women, men and children of safety, dignity and a sense of future,” said Congolese Foreign Minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner.
U.S. President Donald Trump was upbeat about the prospects for peace when teams from Rwanda and the DRC initialed a draft agreement on June 18, while at the same time suggesting that he would not get credit for his role in ending this or other conflicts. Trump went further to suggest that he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in facilitating the agreement.
The agreement includes several critical provisions. The Agreement includes provisions on respect for territorial integrity and a prohibition of hostilities; disengagement, disarmament, and conditional integration of non-state armed groups; establishment of a Joint Security Coordination Mechanism that incorporates the CONOPS of October 31, 2024.
Crucially, the M23 rebel group did not sign the accord. However, the rebel coalition Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC), of which M23 is a key member, told CNN it did not participate in the US-brokered peace process between the Rwandan and Congolese governments.
Reporting from Goma, the capital of the DRC’s North Kivu province, Al Jazeera’s Alain Uaykani said the deal was a “big step”, but there was “confusion” on the ground over the absence of any mention of when the M23 rebels would withdraw.
Rwanda must withdraw its troops within 90 days under the deal’s terms. Kinshasa and Kigali will also launch a regional economic integration framework within 90 days, the agreement said.
“This is the best chance we have at a peace process for the moment despite all the challenges and flaws,” said Jason Stearns, a political scientist at Simon Fraser University in Canada who specialises in Africa’s Great Lakes region.
The conflict has created one of the world’s most significant humanitarian crises. Since the start of 2025, at least 237,000 people have been displaced by the conflict. Over seven million people are displaced in the east of the DRC, and the agreement included a commitment to protect and advance humanitarian access for those affected.
M23 previously announced ceasefires and participated in talks. The truce, declared late on Wednesday after a round of negotiations in Qatar’s capital Doha, has raised hopes that the latest wave of violence, spurred by M23’s bloody January assault and capture of the DRC’s two largest cities, may begin to subside.
However, the group has also withdrawn from negotiations before. Rwanda-backed M23 rebels on Monday pulled out of peace talks with the Democratic Republic of Congo’s government less than 24 hours before the warring parties in eastern Congo’s worst conflict in decades were due to convene in Angola.
The agreement signed on Friday says Rwanda and Congo will de-risk mineral supply chains and establish value chains “that link both countries, in partnership, as appropriate, with the U.S. and U.S. investors”.
While the signed peace agreement does not specifically forfeit any mineral rights to the US, the document includes a framework “to expand foreign trade and investment derived from regional critical mineral supply chains”.
Regional analysts remain cautious about implementation. Christian Moleka, a political scientist at the Congolese think tank Dypol, told The Associated Press that he believes that the duration of the agreement will depend on “Kinshasa’s willingness to undertake structural reforms of the security apparatus, and the commitment of the international community to accompany the reforms to the end”.
Rubio said on Friday that heads of state would be “here in Washington in a few weeks to finalize the complete protocol and agreement”.
The Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) remains a contentious issue. Rwanda has long denied helping M23, saying its forces are acting in self-defence against Congo’s army and ethnic Hutu militiamen linked to the 1994 Rwandan genocide, including the FDLR.
According to a joint statement issued by the parties, technical teams from the DRC and Rwanda initiated the text of the peace agreement last week on June 18, during a meeting witnessed by US Under Secretary for Political Affairs Allison Hooker.
Michelle Gavin of the Council on Foreign Relations expressed concern that the deal does not adequately address M23’s territorial gains. As of January 2025, the group occupies various major towns in eastern North Kivu including Bunagana, Kiwanja, Kitchanga, Rubaya, Rutshuru, and the city of Goma.
