High-stakes diplomatic negotiations are set to resume in Geneva on September 16 and 17 as officials from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwanda assess the fragile implementation of the 2025 Washington Accords. Facilitated by mediators from the United States, Qatar, Togo, and the African Union Commission, the Joint Security Coordination Mechanism (JSCM) meeting comes amid persistent fighting in the eastern DRC that threatens to undermine regional peace commitments.
The central tension of the talks revolves around twin security obligations: Kinshasa’s commitment to neutralise the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR)—an armed militia linked to the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi—and Kigali’s commitment to withdraw its military forces and lift border defense measures. While Kinshasa announced in July that an FDLR faction had signed a disarmament protocol, Rwanda rejected the move, insisting that the peace accords require full neutralisation rather than negotiation, and accused the Congolese government of continuing to support the group.
The conflict is further complicated by ongoing clashes between Congolese forces and the M23 armed group in North and South Kivu provinces. Although M23 is not a direct signatory to the Washington process, its territorial gains in 2025—including the capture of Goma and Bukavu—remain pivotal to the crisis. Kinshasa accuses Kigali of backing M23, an allegation Rwanda denies. Delegates in Geneva will attempt to resolve these disputes and prepare for a trilateral planning conference in October aimed at establishing a coordinated security roadmap.