The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwanda have held the first meeting of a joint oversight committee, taking a step towards implementing a peace deal even as other commitments are yet to be fulfilled.
The African Union, Qatar and the United States joined the committee meeting in Washington on Thursday.
The committee “discussed progress on implementing the agreement”, among other things, a joint statement released by Rwanda and DRC on social media said on Friday.
The deal in June between Rwanda and DRC marked a breakthrough in talks held by US President Donald Trump’s administration, which aims to bring an end to fighting that has killed thousands and attracted billions of dollars of Western investment to a region rich in tantalum, gold, cobalt, copper, lithium and other minerals.
The deal outlines provisions for the “respect for territorial integrity and halting hostilities” in eastern DRC, which are still yet to be implemented.
It also includes economic measures, but has few details.
In the Washington agreement, the two African countries pledged to implement a 2024 deal that would see Rwandan troops withdraw from eastern DRC within 90 days.
The agreement also said DRC and Rwanda would form a joint security coordination mechanism within 30 days and implement a plan agreed last year to monitor and verify the withdrawal of Rwandan soldiers within three months.
Congolese military operations targeting the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a DRC-based armed group that includes remnants of Rwanda’s former army and fighter groups that carried out a 1994 genocide, are meant to conclude over the same timeframe.
But 30 days from the signing have passed without a meeting of the joint security coordination mechanism, and operations targeting the FDLR and the withdrawal of Rwandan soldiers have yet to begin.
‘Deal not off track’
The joint oversight committee was established as a forum to deal with the implementation and dispute resolution of the peace agreement.
The committee’s meeting, due to take place within 45 days of the signing, was on schedule.
Trump’s senior Africa adviser, Massad Boulos, told reporters on Wednesday that the deal was not off track, adding that a meeting of the security mechanism was due to be announced in the coming days.
Asked about the lack of progress on operations against the FDLR and withdrawal of Rwandan soldiers, Boulos said: “There was no timeline for that … If you look at the chronology of what we’ve been able to do since April, it’s been extensive, and it’s been very much on point and very much in line with our aspirations. So it’s not off track in any way.”
Sources with knowledge of the negotiations recognised delays in the implementation of the deal, but added that they were not yet threatening the deal as a whole.
Military and diplomatic sources told the Reuters news agency that the parties in conflict – including armed groups such as Rwanda-backed M23 and DRC-aligned fighters groups known as Wazalendo – have strengthened their military presence on the front lines.
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