UN Special Envoy for the Great Lakes region Huang Xia has condemned recent violations of the ceasefire in place in eastern DRC that started on August 4, 2024.
Through a dispatch on X on Tuesday, Huang urged all parties to refrain from any action that could jeopardise the progress achieved in the Luanda Peace Process.
“I reiterate my full support to H.E. President Lourenço’s efforts to bring peace to the DRC and the Great Lakes region. The UN will continue to provide full support to the Luanda and Nairobi peace processes,” the envoy said.
On July 30, the Angolan presidency issued a release stating that it had negotiated a ceasefire agreement between Rwanda and the DRC with the aim of silencing the guns in the eastern Congo.
But the ceasefire, which was negotiated in Luanda, Angola, was broken even before it could commence after fighting erupted in the eastern DRC.
For instance, while the ceasefire was set to take effect on August 4, fighting continued between Congolese soldiers and Rwanda-backed rebel movement, the M23.
M23 rebels are reported to have advanced and captured Nyamilima and Ishasha-towns on August 7.
Monusco, the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the DRC at the time “strongly condemned” the violation of the ceasefire of 4 August by the March 23 Movement (M23) with the capture of Ishasha (North Kivu/DRC).
“This violation compromises stabilization efforts in the region and runs counter to the agreement signed in Luanda on 30 July 2024,” Monusco said.
UN BRIEFING
In his briefing to the UN Security Council in October, Huang said the situation in the eastern DRC has remained “alarming” amid ongoing violence.
“It is the civilian population who will continue to bear the heavy toll of war daily: loss of life, sexual violence, health problems and malnutrition in displacement camps,” said Huang.
The envoy blamed the violence on the M23, which he said continues to expand its territory, and the Allied Democratic Forces (AFD), whose “terrorist links” and attacks against civilians in Ituri and North Kivu he noted threaten the region peace and security.
In the August fighting, at least 41 people were confirmed dead, according to the DRC government.
Armed fighters said to be ADF attacked residents of the villages of Masala, Keme, and Mahini using guns and machetes, according to residents.
In September, Bintou Keita, the head of the UN. mission in Congo, told the Security Council that trade from minerals in the Rubaya area accounts for over 15% of global tantalum supply, generating an estimated $300,000 in revenue per month to the armed group”.
Keita further noted that the criminal laundering of the DRC’S natural resources that are smuggled out of the country is strengthening armed groups, sustaining the exploitation of the civilian population, some of them reduced to de facto slavery, and undermining peace-making efforts.
“Unless international sanctions are imposed on those benefiting from this criminal trade, peace will remain elusive and civilians will continue to suffer<” she said, adding, “This is deeply concerning and needs to be stopped”.
