The Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda agreed to advance two new initiatives aimed at strengthening monitoring and verification of the Washington Accords on the ground, according to a joint statement issued after their sixth Joint Security Coordination Mechanism (JSCM) meeting.
The two governments asked the United States to review the proposed initiatives and provide feedback at the next JSCM session. They also agreed to hold a trilateral planning conference in October that will culminate in a revised Operations Order to guide coordinated efforts under the peace agreement.
The African Union Commission briefed the meeting on outcomes from a high-level AU meeting held in Gaborone, Botswana, on July 24-25. Congo also presented its disarmament, demobilization and reintegration plan targeting the Forces Démocratiques de Libération du Rwanda (FDLR), fielding questions from other JSCM members.
The Washington Accords, brokered under U.S. President Donald Trump and signed in Washington in December 2025, aim to end years of conflict in eastern Congo, including troop withdrawals, refugee returns and a ceasefire, while opening access to the region’s critical mineral reserves for foreign investment.
Previous rounds of talks between the two countries, including in March and July, produced commitments to accelerate FDLR neutralization and explore verification mechanisms, though implementation on the ground has faced persistent delays amid continued tensions in eastern Congo.
