Geneva Talks Test Rwanda-DRC Peace Agreement Amid Renewed Fighting

Officials from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwanda are set to resume talks in Geneva on September 16 and 17 to assess progress in implementing their US-backed peace agreement.

The two-day meeting of the Joint Security Coordination Mechanism (JSCM) will bring together representatives of Rwanda and the DRC, alongside mediators from the United States, Qatar, Togo and the African Union Commission.

The talks come as fighting continues in eastern DRC, with several key security commitments under the 2025 Washington Accords yet to be fully implemented.

The peace agreement, signed in Washington on June 27, 2025, requires the DRC to neutralise the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), while Rwanda is expected to disengage its forces and lift defensive measures along the border.

However, both sides continue to disagree over the implementation of these commitments.

Rwanda has repeatedly accused the Congolese government of supporting and working with the FDLR, an armed group with roots among forces that fled Rwanda following the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi. Kinshasa has denied the allegations and has, in turn, accused Rwanda of backing the M23 armed group, a claim Kigali rejects.

The M23 conflict remains a major obstacle to lasting peace in eastern DRC. The group made significant territorial gains in 2025, including the capture of Goma and Bukavu.

Although M23 is not a direct party to the Washington agreement, the peace process requires Rwanda and the DRC to support separate Qatar-mediated negotiations between Kinshasa and M23.

The FDLR issue is expected to be one of the most contentious matters at the Geneva meeting. In July, the Congolese government announced that an FDLR faction had accepted a disarmament, demobilisation and cantonment protocol. Rwanda rejected the move, insisting that the agreement requires the group to be neutralised rather than negotiated with.

The two countries previously agreed at their August JSCM meeting to strengthen monitoring and verification of the peace agreement on the ground. They also agreed to hold a trilateral planning conference in October to develop a revised operational plan.

The latest Geneva talks will therefore test whether Rwanda and the DRC can overcome their differences and translate the peace agreement into concrete security measures, amid continued violence in the region.

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