Tag: M23

Why U.S Plan For D.R Congo Question Good for U.S not Kishasha

Posted on By Alan Collins Mpewo

Massad Boulos, the United States (US) senior advisor for Africa was on Thursday, April 17, 2025
introduced in style. Or did he introduce himself in style. The entrance into the role in Africa is the
most interesting because he was introduced at a time when there is a lot happening globally, but
importantly, Democratic Republic of Congo – the raging war between the D.R Congo government
in Kinshasa, the Rwanda backed M23 rebel faction. He started the introduction by highlighting the
U.S concerns towards D.R Congo under Trump, before unveiling the grand plan his country has for
not only D.R Congo, but the East Africa Region, with “America first.” Massad Boulos is yet
another visitor in the D.R Congo. His visit will be a strategic entrance that will have long standing
effects with the understanding of today’s contemporary matters.He made it clear that the US is pro
peace and only looks forward towards peaceful existence of the East Africa region to which D.R
Congo is instrumental because of the effects it pauses to the global economy if the war continues.

Addressing African media and researchers, Massad Boulos, unveiled the U.S grand plan for the D.R
Congo stated that the U.S calls upon M23 to withdraw its operations from the country, adding that
Rwanda should cease with immediate effect funding of the M23 rebels. He maintained the
allegation of Rwanda backing the M23 rebels in D.R Congo throughout his communications, an
indicator of the U.S position on the conflict. The U.S might have become another official Rwanda
diplomatic enemy in light of Rwanda’s reaction to other countries that have openly stated their
opposing positions towards Rwanda. Massad Boulos intimated how he has been on a busy schedule
in the past weeks on the Africa continent, meeting among others, the current head of the East Africa
Community, H.E William Ruto, President of the Republic of Kenya, Rwandan President Paul
Kagame and officials in Kampala.

D.R Congo is one such country that will never run out of ‘friends’. History has shown that, and the
keen observers know that this ‘friendship’ has been posited on various factors, but mineral wealth.
Looked at closely, D.R Congo has been having the conflict ongoing for a long time, with M23-
Rwanda-D.R Congo occasionally making headlines to regional body discussions like the EAC,
SADC, and Africa Union, and internationally to the United Nations Assembly. Now that the U.S
withdrew fulfilling much of its obligations to the U.N, all eyes are on Massad Boulos’s grand plan.
With diplomacy during war, intentions are advised to be reviewed from beneath rather than from the
onset. Afghanistan and Ukraine are world examples whose mention of U.S involvement will never
be erased. Massad Boulos noted that peace in D.R Congo will be beneficial for every nation
globally, but with a major focus on economic stability. No doubts about that.

But the eye opener of Massad Boulos’s highlights was that there are companies of U.S origin whose
operations were affected by the advances by the M23. He called for a win-win diplomatic
conversation of key players, as a stair-way for U.S companies to make penetration into the D.R
Congo markets. In the various analyses by Development Watch Centre regarding the D.R Congo
question, what has been maintained is the need for honest diplomacy in the bid to achieve long
lasting peace in D.R Congo. It is therefore shocking to wonder what makes Massad Boulos think
that the questionable U.S economic diplomacy will be the key to unlocking the much sought peace
in D.R Congo.

The EAC and SADC not so long ago had their armies in D.R Congo, both having later withdrawn
due to various geopolitical realities. The new African Union Secretariat has been on a spree of talks
for the concerned parties in the ongoing war. The United Nations security council has before it
ongoing discussions with China’s backed Global Security Initiative framework lingering for
realising longlasting peace. But Massad Boulos believes the U.S can pull off the magic of the

century in the D.R Congo. History laughs in the face of any such plans. The U.S now faces much
criticism under the Trump administration because of its foreign policy. It therefore goes without
saying how interesting it is that Massad Boulos intends to solve the D.R Congo question by
engaging countries that the U.S imposed tariffs on, and suspended from AGOA, while using an
economic policy of laying a foundation for U.S private sector investment into the region. But it is
not surprising because of the growing list of allies the U.S is losing by day.

The U.S and Ukraine deal on rare earth stands at great risks, China has recently reciprocated tariffs
on some rare earth that the U.S has been benefiting from, the European Union is on guard, and what
a way to seek a solution, but from a war stricken D.R Congo. Massad Boulos, just like his bosses in
Washington D.C is aware of the U.S steady decline of influence globally, and for long, Africa had
been neglected on its radar. Now with the East refusing to bend the knee, and growing economic
uncertainties, D.R Congo has been pointed to as the antidote. But certainly, peace will not be
achieved in D.R Congo through such an entrance as highlighted by Massad Boulos. In fact, it is not
about peace, but a seek of grip on Africa’s mineral cradle Washington badly needs.

Alan Collins Mpewo, is a Senior Research Fellow, Development Watch Centre.

D.R Congo’s Problems: Time To Try China’s Global Security Initiative?

Posted on By Alan Collins Mpewo

From the wake of global biases, arose Democratic Republic of Congo (herein referred to as D.R Congo). It is one of the most unfortunate Republics globally. Some argue, that it the most unfortunate in East and Central Africa. For a country known as the cradle of wealth, it has been known for a wealth of wars. Imagine, with some of the world’s largest deposits of copper, diamond, gold, tantalum; and natural forests. Interventions have been proposed in the past. Responses too. But it never seems enough. Such is what comes of a war torn community. Disunity in the same fashion. The present pain in D.R Congo cannot be looked at a mere present day lens. Its origin is from way back. Some historians and academics of the Congo basin have even gone ahead to argue that the woes are so harshly dated to the days of old before the European colonialists entered this rich basin.

Today, Democratic Republic of Congo is in the United Nations headlines as it was in the 1990s during the Mobutu heat. As all modern day conflicts, opportunists keep lurking. And so is the story of D.R Congo. Multinational corporations, direct neocolonial representatives, and its border neighbors have been recorded to have had a contribution to it. To loot, to mine, and destabilize. This is even publicly documented that to some, there is even court judgment to it. I raise you the International Court of Justice decision of D.R Congo Versus Uganda. Insurgents have equally been a plague. Over 6 million people have since lost lives to the non ending conflicts. Unfortunate it is to state, that more lives will still be lost. The UN Security Council has had a busy end of January, 2025 with the D.R Congo problem, and each day coming into February, more revelations keep arising.

From M23 rebels, to allegations of Rwanda’s financing of these rebels, and now South Africa SADC peacekeepers and UN Staff getting caught in-between the conflict. The state of affairs has become so complex that now, it is a geopolitical issue that has gone as far as introducing tribal questions of belonging. Living the legacy of the scramble and partition of Africa. Border tribes and their reception in the isolated borders today – the Tutsi are that group. The United Nations notwithstanding, where is the African Union? A test to the new African Union Council post the Organization’s elections in early 2025. It is that point in time when the African Union has to outlive the bad reputation it has come to be crowned with. It is understood that regional relations across the African continent have become rusty that divided response is foreseeable.

As noted in a publication by Development Watch Centre in December, 2023 there had been systematic neglect of D.R Congo and Sudan by the international community because of the spotlight to Ukraine and Gaza. The call was on African Union to reign in on the situation. An approach has to be devised by the Commission to foresee protection of the vulnerable communities whose hope is lingering. The conflict in D.R Congo is telling of the underlying status of the governance fabric on the continent. It rather comes off as shameful and indicting on the holistic leadership on the Africa continent that by the time such a conflict escalated to the United Nations Security Council, the basic interventions had been issued by regional blocs than continental.

Leaders from the regional blocs of The Southern African Development Community (SADC) and The East African Community (EAC) pose for a family photograph before attending a joint summit to discuss the conflict in eastern Congo, in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania February 8, 2025. Photo credit: Reuters

Politics has always been rusty business on the African continent. The greatest gift for D.R Congo is going to be genuine extract of politicking from the soul searching process. Right now the world is divided on who to stand with. South Africa has taken to the international scene against Rwanda on accusations of funding M23 rebels whose activities have recently seen a takeover of major Eastern towns of D.R Congo. As such, the conversation has taken a greatly different trajectory for where it matters most – the safety of the citizens of D.R Congo. Interestingly, many countries on the UN Security Council came out steady on the condemnation of Rwanda. But where were they when D.R Congo needed their voice earlier before that – when alleged genocide motives were reported perpetrated by multilateral mining companies.

Such selective responses have been seen at such time after South Africa stood strong. But should it not have been a role of the African Union? Is the conflict so complex for the African Union? Or is it a case of interests? It goes without saying that in the past the African Union has tried to cease the conflicts with the recent one having commenced during an emergency AU seating recently on the 26th January, 2025. The sincere expectation is that the arrangements that will arise therefrom for the extended engagements will be forthcoming without the past biases. The people of D.R Congo deserve a clear-sighted African Union during this era of biased alliances.

China in 2021 advocated for the adoption of the Global Security Initiative for all countries, and in there, it laid some key highlights that would be important to consider as a means of achieving the end result of global peace. At the core of its call for diffusing tensions, it called for an outward outlook for the root causes of the conflict as a guide to engaging in meaningful dialogue among all parties on a resolution table. The concept paper is comprehensive and the African Union can perhaps embrace it to lay a framework for implementation, adapted to Africa’s context. Such will be the positive way of the never-ending conflicts for which, as history has showed, parties on reconciliation tables fail to face off with regarding the bottom standing root causes.

Alan Collins Mpewo is a Senior Research Fellow, Development Watch Centre.