The Democratic Republic of Congo and the M23 rebel group signed a framework agreement on Saturday for a peace deal aimed at ending fighting in the country’s east that has killed thousands of people and displaced hundreds of thousands more this year.
The agreement was signed by representatives from both sides at a ceremony in the Qatari capital, Doha.
It was the latest in a series of documents signed in recent months as part of efforts, backed by the United States and Qatar, to end decades of fighting in Congo that has been an enduring threat to regional stability.
The framework was described by U.S. and Qatari officials as an important step toward peace but one of many that lie ahead.
MANY DETAILS STILL TO BE WORKED OUT
The top U.S. envoy to the region, Massad Boulos, told Reuters the framework covered eight protocols, and that work still needed to be done to agree on how to implement six of them.
Boulos also acknowledged that implementation of the first two – concerning the exchange of prisoners and the monitoring of a ceasefire, which were agreed in recent months – had been slow.
“Yes, people were expecting to see probably some immediate results on the ground, but this is a process … This is not a light switch that you just switch on and off,” he told reporters after the signing.
M23, in the latest of a string of actions supported by neighbouring Rwanda, seized Goma, eastern Congo’s largest city, in January and went on to make gains across North Kivu and South Kivu provinces.
Rwanda has long denied allegations that it has helped M23, which has seized more territory in Congo than it has ever previously held.
Tibor Nagy, former top envoy to Africa during the first Trump administration, said much more work needed to be done to truly address the root causes of the conflict and the deep mistrust between the warring parties.
“It needs extensive hand-holding instead of multiple “drive-by” peace processes,” he told Reuters. “The players seem more interested in getting credit than results.”
CONFLICT CONTINUES IN CONGO AS TALKS MOVE AHEAD
In Congo, violence has continued through the various diplomatic processes in Washington and Doha, with Congolese authorities and M23 trading blame for violating the principles of earlier agreements and deliberately delaying talks.
And the prolonged negotiations do not address the threat from a multitude of other armed groups operating in the volatile east. On Friday, local officials said that as many as 28 people were killed by Islamic State-allied Ugandan militants in North Kivu.
Qatar has hosted multiple rounds of direct talks between the Congo government and M23 going back to April, but they have dealt largely with preconditions and confidence-building measures.
The two sides agreed in July to a declaration of principles that left many key issues at the root of the conflict unresolved, and in October they reached a deal on the monitoring of an eventual ceasefire.
Qatar’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al-Khulaifi said Saturday’s agreement set the parties on the path towards peace.
“Peace cannot be enforced by force, but is built through confidence, mutual respect and sincere commitment,” he said.
