Democratic Republic of the Congo: Briefing
Tomorrow morning (26 January), the Security Council will convene for a briefing on the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). France, the penholder on DRC, requested the meeting following a 21 January letter (S/2025/7) from DRC’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation, and La Francophonie, Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner, requesting the Security Council to hold an urgent public session to discuss the escalating security situation in eastern DRC. The expected briefers for the meeting are Bintou Keita, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General in the DRC and Head of the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO); Jean-Pierre Lacroix, the Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations; and Joyce Msuya, the Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator. Wagner and a representative of Rwanda are expected to participate in the meeting under rule 37 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure.
Tomorrow’s meeting will take place against the backdrop of significant military advances by the Mouvement du 23 Mars (M23) rebel group in North Kivu province, including the capture of additional territory such as Minova, a strategic town near the border with Rwanda, and the siege of Goma, the provincial capital. With Goma under siege, Western embassies in Kinshasa have been advising their nationals to leave the city immediately. MONUSCO is also reportedly evacuating its non-essential civilian personnel from Goma.
Although the meeting was initially scheduled for Monday morning (27 January), the rapidly evolving situation on the ground and a 25 September communiqué by the Alliance Fleuve Congo—a political-military coalition of armed groups, of which the M23 is a major component—calling on “all members of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) present in Goma and its surroundings to lay down their weapons within 48 hours” suggested that the group might move imminently to capture Goma. This seems to have prompted some Council members to push for the meeting to be convened tomorrow. Members will be interested in the briefers’ assessment of the situation surrounding Goma and the fate of the city and its inhabitants, the humanitarian situation, the challenges of protecting civilians, and the safety and security of MONUSCO peacekeepers.
The Council met in consultations just 11 days ago, at France’s request, to discuss the security situation in eastern DRC with the M23 expanding its control in the Masisi territory and capturing its administrative capital, Masisi Centre, a region considered militarily and economically strategic. (For more, see our 15 January What’s In Blue story.) France had also circulated a draft press statement on Monday (13 January) as a possible outcome of those consultations. The draft text urges the M23 to cease its territorial expansion and the establishment of parallel administrations, while calling on all parties to adhere to the ceasefire of 30 July 2024. It also expresses concern about the reported presence of the Rwandan Defence Forces (RDF) in eastern DRC, arguing that this presence is inconsistent with the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the DRC.
However, the reference to Rwanda appears to have complicated the negotiations on the draft press statement. The “A3 plus” grouping (Algeria, Sierra Leone, Somalia and Guyana) seemed to have pushed back against explicitly mentioning Rwanda, instead proposing a general reference to reports of direct foreign military intervention in the Congolese territory.
In the meantime, the M23 captured Sake, another strategic town 27 kilometres from Goma, on 23 January further tightening the siege on the provincial capital. According to a 24 January white note circulated by the UN Secretariat to Council members, the latest offensive has displaced ten thousand people to Goma. Humanitarian agencies also indicate that more than 40,000 people have been displaced since the beginning of January when fighting intensified.
MONUSCO is engaged in forestalling the M23’s advance toward the city through Operation Springbok, which was launched in November 2023 to strengthen the defense of Goma. In this context, members may be looking for more information on how MONUSCO is coordinating with the FARDC and the Southern African Development Community Mission in DRC (SAMIDRC), deployed in the region since December 2023.
So far, two MONUSCO peacekeepers have died, and nine others sustained injuries during the latest offensive which started on 23 January, according to the white note. In an urgent meeting on 24 January with Security Council members and MONUSCO troop-contributing countries, senior UN officials briefed on these developments. During the meeting, UN officials apparently emphasised that the fate of Goma and its millions of residents is at a critical juncture. Tomorrow Msuya is likely to provide an update on the humanitarian situation.
In a separate press release on 25 January, the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) confirmed that nine of its peacekeepers lost their lives in the fight against the M23. Seven of those killed were part of SAMIDRC, while two were from MONUSCO. The SANDF stated that “the South African contingent and its counterparts were able to halt the advancement of the rebel group towards Goma.”
Additionally, the Congolese government confirmed the death of the military governor of North Kivu province, Major General Cirimwami Nkuba Peter, who had been injured on the frontlines and evacuated to Kinshasa for urgent medical attention. North Kivu is under a “state of siege” (a form of martial law) which was declared in May 2021 and has since been continuously renewed.
DRC’s President Felix Tshisekedi, who was in Switzerland for the annual Davos Forum, reportedly returned to Kinshasa on 24 January and chaired the Defense Council to assess the unfolding situation in North Kivu, while Wagner flew to New York to push for an urgent meeting of the Security Council on the matter. She has been meeting Council members bilaterally to urge them to move beyond mere declarations and take punitive actions.
Earlier in the week Rwandan Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Olivier J.P. Nduhungirehe, was in New York to attend the 21 January Council meeting on counterterrorism in Africa and took the opportunity to meet with Council members to explain Rwanda’s position on developments in eastern DRC. On 24 January, the DRC decided to recall its diplomats from Kigali with immediate effect and requested that Rwanda cease its diplomatic activities in Kinshasa within 48 hours, marking a further escalation in tensions between the two countries.
In a 23 January statement, the Secretary-General condemned the renewed offensive by the M23, including the capture of Sake and called on the group to stop its offensive, withdraw from all occupied areas and abide by the 31 July 2024 ceasefire agreement signed between DRC and Rwanda under Angola’s facilitation. He also referred to the DRC Sanctions Committee’s Group of Expert’s midterm report regarding the presence of the RDF and its continued support to the M23, calling for an end to such support and respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of DRC.
Following these developments, France circulated a revised version of the draft press statement on Friday (25 January), placing it immediately under silence until Monday afternoon (27 January). Unlike the “A3 plus”, many Council members appear agreeable to mentioning Rwanda in the draft statement. It seems that the “A3 plus” is under pressure to accept the revised draft, considering the latest developments on the ground and the Secretary-General’s statement. The “A3 plus” members apparently met on the same day at ambassadorial level and engaged with officials from the UN secretariat, as well as representatives of the DRC and Rwanda.
Angola’s President João Lourenço also issued a statement on 24 January, expressing deep concern over the deterioration of the security situation and strongly condemning the “irresponsible actions of the M23 and its supporters who endanger all efforts and progress achieved in the Luanda process”. Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame, who apparently expressed tacit displeasure with an earlier statement about the conflict by Lourenço on 7 January, was in Turkïye for a two-day official visit this week. Turkïye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan reportedly offered to mediate between DRC and Rwanda. The African Union, the South African Development Community, and the European Union also issued statements on 25 January, sharing their concerns about the unfolding situation in North Kivu.