Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Amb. Olivier Nduhungirehe, has said that the main obstacle to the implementation of the peace agreement signed between Rwanda and the DRC is the continued lack of political will on the part of Congo.
Minister Nduhungirehe made these remarks in an interview with French International Radio RFI, which focused on the issues between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
On June 24, 2026, London hosted the sixth meeting of the Joint Oversight Committee (JOC) responsible for monitoring the implementation of the Washington Peace Agreement. The meeting concluded with Rwanda and the DRC committing to several steps, including the full implementation of the Peace Agreement signed on June 27, 2025, including provisions related to drone strikes, and the immediate de-escalation of tensions particularly around Minembwe.
Minister Nduhungirehe said in the RFI interview that the Washington Peace Agreement is comprehensive, containing all the provisions that should address every problem, whether related to security, politics or the economy.
He said: “But the issue that still needs to be resolved concerns political will, and political will starts with respecting the ceasefire wherever fighting is taking place, because any peace agreement, whatever it may be, starts with the full observance of a ceasefire.”
He said that despite the many agreements signed, including ceasefire provisions within the Washington Peace Agreement, this commitment has never once been honored, as the Kinshasa government has continued launching attacks using heavy weapons including drones.
He said: “It is not only attacks on AFC/M23 positions covered by those agreements, but also attacks targeting the Banyamulenge, Congolese civilians of Tutsi origin who continue to be killed day after day.”
Minister Nduhungirehe said the foundation of the signed Peace Agreement was the observance of a ceasefire, but the Congolese government has continued to show a lack of political will to honor it.
He also noted that another clear sign of this lack of political will is the DRC government’s failure to dismantle the FDLR as committed under the agreements, while Rwanda on its part had honored its own commitment by withdrawing the defensive measures it had put in place.
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