Although progress has been made through peace initiatives, such as the Washington Agreement signed on June 27 between the DRC and Rwanda, and the Doha Declaration of Principles signed on July 19 between the Congo River Alliance/M23 and the Congolese government mediated by Qatar, additional efforts are still needed to achieve lasting peace.
“Even though these African and international peace efforts are laudable and promising, they have not yet kept their promises: the agreed ceasefire is not respected,” he said.
For decades, armed groups have been raging in eastern DRC. However, the situation has deteriorated sharply since January 2025, when M23 rebels, supported by Rwanda, took control of key towns in the Kivu provinces. Rwanda has denied providing military support to the rebels.
Since the start of the year, more than 1.6 million people have been newly displaced, with more than 68% attributed to the ongoing conflict, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
UN calls for immediate ceasefire
Xia commended the United States and Qatar for their tireless efforts to facilitate peace negotiations and expressed hope that talks would resume soon, leading to the adoption of a lasting peace agreement.
“The humanitarian issue remains catastrophic,” he stressed, calling on all parties to work hand in hand to prioritize an “immediate and unconditional ceasefire.”
In the same spirit, France called for the adoption of Security Council resolution 2773 (2025), which reaffirms the sovereignty of the DRC and calls for an immediate end to hostilities by the M23 rebel group.
“Resolution 2773 must be fully implemented, particularly with regard to the withdrawal of Rwandan forces from Congolese territory and the cessation of their support for the M23,” urged French Ambassador Jérôme Bonnafont.
Sustainable peace, Xia stressed, requires addressing the root and structural causes of conflict.
In this effort, the 2013 Addis Ababa Framework Agreement, designed to address chronic instability in the DRC, continues to serve as a key instrument to guide processes of dialogue, reconciliation and reform.
Originally published at Almouwatin.com
