Peace and Security Council of the African Union undertakes a Field Mission to the Democratic Republic of Congo from 20 March to 23 March 2023

The Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the African Union (AU) is in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for a Field Mission from Monday, 20 March to Thursday, 23 March 2023, under the auspices of H.E. Ambassador Willy Nyamitwe, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Burundi to the AU, standing in for H.E. Ambassador Innocent Shiyo, the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Tanzania to the AU and Chairperson of the PSC for March 2023. 

The Field Mission of the AU PSC is pursuant to its mandate as a standing decision-making organ for the prevention, management and resolution of conflict and its previous decisions adopted in various meetings on the situation in the DRC and the Great Lakes Region. Specifically, the PSC, at the level of the Heads of State and Government held on 17 February 2023, on the margins of the 36th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Union, dedicated to the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework for the DRC and the Region (hereafter referred to as Framework Agreement) signed on 24 February 2013 in Addis Ababa, as well as the deployment of the East African Community Regional Force. 

The PSC is undertaking the Field Mission to obtain first-hand information regarding the situation in the DRC, with a particular focus on the developments in the eastern part of the country, to better inform its decisions on the required steps and interventions to support the Government and people of the DRC to address peace and security challenges more effectively. To do so, the PSC will engage various stakeholders in Kinshasa and Goma, including the Government of the DRC, at the National and Provincial Levels, African Diplomatic Corps represented in the Country, the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) and the East African Community (EAC) Regional Force, Civil Society Organisations, Internally Displaced Persons and the International Community. 

The PSC remains faithful to the decisions made by the Heads of State and Government on the need to revitalise the 2013 Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework and the effective implementation of the Luanda and Nairobi processes. During this Field Mission, the PSC will reaffirm the unwavering commitment of the AU to respect the sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of the DRC and its solidarity with the people and the Government of the DRC in their legitimate aspirations for peace, stability and socio-economic development.

The PSC of the AU has remained actively seized of the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Recently, on the margins of the 36th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Union, the PSC met at the level of Heads of State and Government on the situation in the eastern DRC, focusing particularly on the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework for the DRC and the Region (hereafter referred to as Framework Agreement) signed on 24 February 2013 in Addis Ababa, as well as the deployment of the East African Community Regional Force. Noteworthy, the PSC reaffirmed the Framework Agreement as a viable instrument to support the DRC and institutions in the region to achieve peace and stability and decided, amongst other things, that the Framework Agreement should be urgently revitalised. The signatory countries were beseeched to redouble their efforts individually and collectively to fully implement the national and regional commitments enshrined in the Framework Agreement. 

Preceding this session, the PSC considered the situation in the DRC twice in 2022, at its 1103rd meeting held on 31 August 2022 and its 1078th meeting held on 19 April 2022, respectively. In August 2022, the PSC was apprised of recent developments in the eastern DRC, particularly the resurgence of the March 23 Movement armed group (M23) and its destabilising activities. The meeting in April followed the conclusion of the 10th Regional Oversight Mechanism (ROM), which was held in Kinshasa, DRC, on 24 February 2022. Notably, the PSC endorsed the Conclusions of the 10th ROM and reiterated the relevance of the Framework Agreement to address the security challenges in the Great Lakes Region and the critical role of the Guarantors in ensuring its full implementation.