UN officials have warned that despite diplomatic gains, violence in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo continues unabated, stressing women’s leadership in peace efforts.

According to them, women’s leadership in peace efforts remains central to breaking the cycle of violence dominated by M23, reportedly backed by Rwanda, battling Congolese forces and allied groups.

The officials told the Security Council on Wednesday, during a meeting on the deteriorating security situation in the DRC and the wider Great Lakes region, that despite mediation efforts in Doha and Washington, regional tensions between the DRC, Rwanda, and Burundi remain acute.

According to them, heavy fighting is costing lives, making families flee as the violence spreads, with women and children bearing the brunt of displacement.

Ambassador Zenon Ngay Mukongo of the DRC restated the “complementary nature” of the Oversight and Verification Mechanism, the Doha Framework Agreement, the Washington Accords and the enhanced coordination of African-led peace efforts.

Their common ground was the full implementation of resolutions 2773 (2025) and 2808 (2025), he said, voicing concern over the sincerity of Rwanda’s commitment and that of its auxiliaries.

He pointed to an interview with Jeune Afrique in early April and remarks made at the national dialogue in February, when Rwandan authorities assumed responsibility for the presence of Rwandan troops in the DRC, which they called “indispensable defence measures”.

They denied the looting of natural resources in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, he said, and refused to yield to the threat of international sanctions.

The same holds true for the Luanda and Nairobi processes, he said, whose implementation Rwanda blocked to “gain time” and create a zone of influence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Ambassador Karoli Martin Ngoga of Rwanda said today’s meeting took place one week after the General Assembly commemorated the genocide against the Tutsi.

The perpetrators who committed this crime “forayed into DRC and remain active until today”, he explained.

Since 2013, Rwanda has “fully upheld its framework commitments“, he said, a principled approach aligned with the framework’s core objective to address root causes of conflict on the path to sustainable peace in the region.

More than 10 years later, “the fundamental drivers of instability remain unchanged”, he said.

Rwanda’s security concerns and existential threat are the presence and deterrence of the FDLR in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

(NAN)