Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo are returning to negotiations in Geneva as continued fighting in eastern DRC and unresolved security commitments put their US-backed peace agreement under renewed pressure.
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND — Officials from Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo are meeting in Geneva on September 16 and 17 in another attempt to turn last year’s peace agreements into action on the ground.
The two-day talks bring together representatives from Kigali and Kinshasa, as well as mediators from the United States, Qatar, Togo, and the African Union Commission.
The meeting is the seventh session of the Joint Security Coordination Mechanism (JSCM), established to monitor security commitments between the two neighbors.
But more than a year after Rwanda and the DRC signed their June 2025 peace agreement in Washington, fighting continues in eastern Congo, and some of the deal’s most important provisions remain unresolved.
Washington Peace Deal Still Faces Major Obstacles
The DRC and Rwanda signed a peace agreement in Washington on June 27, 2025, followed by the Washington Accords for Peace and Prosperity on December 4.
At the heart of the agreement are two interconnected commitments.
Kinshasa is expected to neutralize the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), while Rwanda is required to disengage its forces and lift defensive measures linked to the threat it says the armed group poses.
Neither process has been declared complete.
That leaves Geneva facing the same difficult question that has repeatedly complicated peace efforts: which side moves first?
FDLR Remains at Center of Rwanda-DRC Dispute
The FDLR has operated in eastern DRC for decades and traces its origins to forces that fled Rwanda following the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi.
Kigali considers the group a direct national security threat and has repeatedly accused Congolese forces of supporting or cooperating with it. Kinshasa has taken steps towards disarming FDLR fighters. In July, the Congolese government announced that an FDLR faction had accepted a protocol covering disarmament, demobilization, and cantonment.
Rwanda rejected that approach, arguing that the Washington agreement requires the FDLR to be neutralized rather than negotiated with. The disagreement is critical because progress against the FDLR is linked to Rwanda’s commitment to withdraw forces and remove its defensive measures.
M23 Conflict Complicates the Peace Process
The Rwanda-DRC agreement is only one part of the effort to end the conflict.
The M23 armed group remains a major force in eastern DRC after capturing Goma and Bukavu, the capitals of North and South Kivu, during its major 2025 offensive. Kinshasa accuses Rwanda of backing M23. Kigali denies the allegation.
M23 is not a party to the Washington agreement, meaning its conflict with the Congolese government is being addressed through a separate Qatar-led process. That diplomatic track led to the Doha Framework for Peace, signed between the Congolese government and the Congo River Alliance/AFC-M23 in November 2025. The two peace tracks are nevertheless closely connected. Progress between Rwanda and the DRC will be difficult to sustain if fighting between M23 and Congolese forces continues.
Fighting Continues in Eastern DRC
Despite months of diplomacy, clashes have continued in North and South Kivu.
The United Nations has reported continued confrontations involving heavy weapons, artillery, and drones, while M23 retains control over significant territory and continues to operate administrative structures in areas it holds.
The violence has kept civilians at the center of a conflict that has repeatedly displaced communities and disrupted livelihoods across eastern Congo. For people living in the region, diplomatic agreements will ultimately be judged by whether they produce security on the ground.
Geneva Talks Build on August Meeting
The latest negotiations follow the sixth JSCM meeting held in Geneva on August 12 and 13.
During those talks, Rwanda and the DRC agreed to advance two initiatives designed to strengthen monitoring and verification of the Washington Accords. Kinshasa also presented its Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration plan for the FDLR, while both countries agreed to continue security planning ahead of a trilateral conference expected in October.
The Geneva meeting will now test whether those commitments can move from planning to implementation.
Can Rwanda and DRC Turn Diplomacy Into Peace?
The Washington and Doha agreements have created diplomatic frameworks for addressing the conflict, but agreements alone have not stopped the fighting.
Rwanda continues to demand credible action against the FDLR.
The DRC, meanwhile, insists that its sovereignty must be respected and that Rwandan forces must leave Congolese territory.
Those positions remain closely linked, leaving each government reluctant to make major security concessions without evidence that the other side will fulfill its obligations. The Geneva talks are unlikely to resolve decades of mistrust in two days.
But measurable progress on FDLR disarmament, Rwanda’s military disengagement, and independent verification of security commitments could determine whether the Washington peace process gains momentum or becomes another agreement unable to end the violence in eastern Congo.
For communities across North and South Kivu, the measure of success is far simpler: whether diplomacy finally translates into fewer weapons, fewer displaced families, and an end to the fighting.
