Rwanda’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Amb. Martin Ngoga, said a separate arrangement between the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the FDLR risked prolonging the security threat rather than fulfilling existing commitments to neutralize the armed group.
Ngoga made the remarks during a UN Security Council meeting on the situation in the DRC and MONUSCO, where he said the Washington Peace Agreement, together with the agreed CONOPS and OPORD, had already established obligations, operational arrangements, sequencing, verification mechanisms and implementation timelines.
He argued that those commitments could not be selectively reinterpreted, subjected to new conditions or replaced by separate arrangements with the FDLR, which the DRC committed to neutralize under the Washington process.
“We view it as an attempt to substitute a separate arrangement for a clear commitment already undertaken, and as a delaying tactic that risks prolonging rather than resolving the security threat,” Ngoga said.
He added that the obligation under the agreement remained the effective, complete and verifiable neutralization of the FDLR.
The DRC has presented its engagement with the FDLR differently. Kinshasa says a protocol involving the disarmament, demobilisation and cantonment of FDLR combatants is part of implementing its commitments under the Washington Accords. Rwanda has argued that the arrangement does not amount to the neutralization required under the agreement.
Ngoga said the parties had already identified and mapped FDLR locations through the Joint Security Coordination Mechanism, including what Rwanda described as the locations of the group’s political and military command structures.
He also said Rwanda remained committed to the Washington Accords and continued to participate in the Joint Oversight Committee and Joint Security Coordination Mechanism.
According to Ngoga, Rwanda had taken steps toward lifting its defensive measures and reported those steps through the mechanisms established under the Washington process. Kigali had also proposed a tripartite verification mechanism involving Rwanda, the DRC and the United States as mediator.
Ngoga said verification was necessary to establish whether commitments were being implemented and to ensure that all parties were held to the same standard.
He told the Council that Rwanda continued to see a major implementation gap regarding the FDLR, saying the group remained operational in parts of Rutshuru, Masisi, Nyiragongo and Walikale.
Rwanda also alleged continued operational collaboration involving elements of the Congolese army, the FDLR, Wazalendo and other allied forces during 2026. Ngoga said information supporting those allegations had been shared through the Joint Oversight Committee and Joint Security Coordination Mechanism.
“The continued presence of the FDLR in eastern DRC, its genocidal ideology, and the continued collaboration and support it receives from the DRC government constitute a direct and existential security threat to Rwanda,” Ngoga said.
He argued that the FDLR’s neutralization could not be treated as a secondary issue or indefinitely postponed, describing it as a central security commitment under the Washington process and necessary for durable peace between Rwanda and the DRC.
The wider implementation dispute remains contested. Security Council reporting says the DRC maintains that its FDLR protocol is consistent with the Washington Accords, while Rwanda characterizes it as a delaying tactic. Both countries have accused each other of failing to meet commitments under the peace framework.
Ngoga said the Washington and Doha processes still offered an opportunity to change the course of the conflict but stressed that agreements would only produce lasting results if their commitments were implemented and verified.
“Agreements alone will not bring peace. Implementation will,” he said.
He concluded by calling for accountability and scrutiny to be applied equally to both Rwanda and the DRC, saying the credibility of the Washington process depended on the timely and verifiable implementation of commitments by both sides.
Elie GATETE
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