All For Rwanda welcomes the signing, yesterday in Washington, of the agreement between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of Rwanda. This development represents a significant diplomatic step forward, made possible by the decisive leadership of the United States and the personal engagement of President Donald J. Trump, whose determination to build peace in the region opens up genuinely new prospects. By bringing together actors long opposed to one another, President Trump has once again demonstrated that he is a man of peace, capable of initiating dynamics that many had believed to be out of reach.
While this agreement provides a serious foundation, All For Rwanda is convinced that one essential issue must now be placed at the very heart of international efforts: the situation of Rwandan refugees. For more than three decades, over half a million men, women, and children have lived in exile—mainly in the DRC—in conditions of extreme precarity, often stateless, invisible, and deprived of political prospects or effective protection. Their situation is not only a pressing humanitarian concern; it is also one of the structural drivers of the instability that has affected the region since 1994. No peace process can be sustainable as long as these refugees are not fully integrated into a political process aimed at ensuring their voluntary, safe, and dignified return.
It is therefore indispensable that the dynamic opened in Washington make it possible to move beyond the restrictive approaches that have thus far prevented a comprehensive treatment of this issue. In this regard, All For Rwanda wishes to underline, respectfully but firmly, that a narrative which has become dominant—promoted for years by the Rwandan authorities—tends to reduce the complexity of the regional situation to the single question of the “neutralization” of the FDLR. This vision, which presents the military elimination of this group as the sole key to stability, obscures the decisive factor constituted by a prolonged and unresolved exile. It fails to take into account the political, social, and historical dimensions of the crisis and risks diverting attention away from the essential pillars of a genuine peace: dialogue, guarantees, reforms, and reintegration.
At the same time, despite the Washington Agreement, the realities observed on the ground indicate that the war imposed by Rwanda on the DRC and on the region as a whole is continuing. Additional deployments of Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) troops have been recorded in several areas. Political, military, and logistical support for the AFC/M23 parallel structure remains constant, and these entities continue to operate solely thanks to Rwanda’s backing. The arrival of increasingly sophisticated military equipment has been documented, suggesting that Kigali does not yet feel compelled to undertake the efforts required for a lasting peace. This contradiction between diplomatic progress and military realities deserves close and continuous scrutiny if the credibility of the process is to be preserved.
In this context, the Washington Agreement can become a decisive turning point, provided that it is followed by concrete measures. All For Rwanda respectfully recommends:
– The full and explicit integration of the situation of Rwandan refugees present in the DRC into the implementation of the Washington Agreement, as one of the central elements of regional stability;
– The establishment of a joint mechanism on the question of Rwandan refugees, bringing together Rwanda, representatives of Rwandan refugees, the DRC, and international partners, including the United States. This mechanism would be tasked with defining a framework for return and protection, a timetable for reforms in Rwanda, the transition of politico-military structures into civilian structures, and the supervision of cantonment and reintegration;
– The introduction of robust political, legal, and security guarantees, grounded in reforms to be carried out in Rwanda, in order to enable a voluntary, safe return free from any form of coercion;
– Support for a comprehensive and credible transition of Rwandan politico-military groups in exile into civilian and political movements, fully free to exist and operate within a politically open Rwanda.
All For Rwanda reaffirms its full readiness to contribute, through political and diplomatic means, to the construction of a just, balanced, and sustainable solution. The Washington Agreement opens a promising path; it is now incumbent upon the guarantors of the process, with the continued support of the United States, to translate this opening into a peace architecture that excludes no one and addresses, with clarity and courage, the key questions at the heart of stability in the Great Lakes region.
ALL FOR RWANDA
For any further inquiries, please contact:
Norman Ishimwe Sinamenye (Coordinator of the Humanitarian and Human Rights Division of All For Rwanda)
norman.sinamenye@jamboasbl.com
