Uvira: A Call for Genuine Peace in the Heart of the DRC

Uvira is still bleeding quietly. Not always through gunfire, though that still echoes too often, but through exhaustion, fear, and the slow erosion of hope. Markets open late. Children learn to distinguish silence from danger. Mothers calculate every journey, every nightfall. In Uvira today, insecurity is not an event; it is a condition.

And yet, far from our hills and our lake, far from the cracked roads and overcrowded health centers, hands were shaken in Washington, D.C., in 2025. An agreement was signed. Cameras flashed. Words like stability, cooperation, and peace were spoken.

June 27: A Deal Signed in the Name of Peace and Minerals

On 27 June 2025, the foreign ministers of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda signed a U.S.-brokered peace agreement in Washington. Reuters described the accord as a breakthrough that aimed to end fighting and “attract billions of dollars of Western investment to a region rich in tantalum, gold, cobalt, copper, lithium, and other minerals.” At the ceremony, U.S. President Donald Trump boasted that the United States was “getting… a lot of the mineral rights from the Congo.” The deal pledged to withdraw Rwandan troops from eastern Congo within 90 days and create a regional economic integration framework.

Amnesty International, however, immediately warned that the agreement failed to address justice for victims of serious crimes, noting that even after the signing, M23 and Wazalendo fighters continued to clash and commit abuse. People in Uvira saw little change. The guns did not fall silent; the nights did not become safer. We understood that peace cannot be delivered by contracts that value what lies beneath our feet while ignoring those who walk on the land. Our contacts on the ground confirm that the situation has continued to worsen, with no tangible improvements despite the agreements.

July and August: Ratification, Oversight, and Delays

On 16 July 2025, Rwanda’s cabinet, chaired by President Paul Kagame, ratified the June 27 accords. U.S. officials invited Presidents Félix Tshisekedi and Paul Kagame to Washington for a head-of-state signing. Yet implementation lagged. The first joint oversight committee met on 1 August with the African Union, Qatar, and the United States. Reuters noted that crucial steps, such as the withdrawal of Rwandan troops and operations against the FDLR militia, had yet to begin. The committee meeting, due within 45 days of the signing, was on schedule, but beyond talking, there was little action.

September: Promises of Security Measures

On 24 September, Congolese and Rwandan officials met in Washington and announced that security measures would start on 1 October, aiming to implement the June peace deal. The timeline included neutralizing armed groups and verifying troop withdrawals. Yet on the ground, people braced for another offensive. Implementation, as so often in Congolese history, remained a promise rather than a reality.

December 4: The Washington Spectacle and New Deals

On 4 December 2025, Presidents Tshisekedi and Kagame stood alongside President Trump in Washington for a highly publicized ceremony. Reuters reported that they “affirmed commitments to an economic integration compact” and were due to sign an agreement on critical minerals. While the event was presented as peace, it also formalized four separate agreements, including a Strategic Partnership Agreement that gives the United States a decisive role in managing Congolese critical mineral assets.

Civil society figures were outraged. Nobel laureate Denis Mukwege declared, “For me, it is clear that this is not a peace agreement… the M23 continues to seize territory.” His words resonated with those of us in Uvira: we were burying the dead while leaders signed papers thousands of miles away.

December 9–10: Violence Returns to Uvira

The ink was barely dry when M23 rebels advanced on Uvira. Reuters reported on 9 December that about 200,000 people fled their homes, at least 74 civilians were killed, and over 80 were wounded as fighting intensified. On 10 December, the rebels entered Uvira, prompting Human Rights Watch’s Lewis Mudge to remark that signing agreements in Washington is “not enough to ensure the safety of civilians in eastern Congo.” Our city became a battlefield again, despite all the declarations of peace.

At the same time, Goma, once a refuge for people displaced by fighting, was being emptied. As M23 seized the city and its airport, thousands of residents streamed out, carrying their children and belongings across the border. Aid groups warned that Goma had become effectively besieged, and it is now a rebel stronghold. Uvira is starting to face the same fate. People tell us that armed men enter houses and kill civilians without warning. A child belonging to a family I know was killed in their own home. These are not rumors; they are the lived experiences of our neighbors.

What Was Missing from the “Peace” Agreement

For people in Uvira and across eastern Congo, the Washington Accords exposed a painful truth: peace without people is not peace. A real peace agreement should have included:

1. Security Guarantees for Civilians: Verified withdrawal of foreign troops, independent monitoring, and protection corridors for traders, women, and children.

2. Justice and Accountability: Mechanisms to investigate and prosecute war crimes committed by all sides; support for survivors; recognition of past abuses.

3. Local Economic Repair: Revenue-sharing for provinces, investments in schools and hospitals, jobs for locals, rather than mineral concessions to foreign investors.

4. Inclusion of Local Voices: Participation of local leaders, women’s groups, youth, and displaced communities in negotiations and implementation.

5. Transparency and Regional Trust: Honest commitments on non-interference, public disclosure of economic deals, and regional dialogue centered on human life.

   
   

These elements were largely absent. Instead, the agreements prioritized supply chains and strategic minerals, leaving Uvira’s people to confront the same violence and insecurity as before.

A Congolese Sadness and Resolve

We are sad, not because we reject diplomacy, but because we understand it too well. Agreements can be written in elegant language while ignoring the cries of the vulnerable. Peace can be declared while war continues. Congo is often treated as a problem to be managed, not a people to be respected.

But sadness does not mean silence. As Congolese, we carry grief, yes, but also memory, dignity, and an unyielding demand: peace that includes us. Until agreements speak of lives before land, of people before profit, and of justice before extraction, Uvira will remain uneasy, and Congo will remain unresolved.

Peace without people is not peace. It is simply business.

Conclusion: A Path Forward

As we reflect on the events of 2025, it becomes clear that the journey toward genuine peace in Uvira and the broader DRC is fraught with challenges. We must advocate for a peace that prioritizes the voices and needs of the people. This means holding leaders accountable and ensuring that agreements translate into real, tangible benefits for our communities.

We must also foster resilience within our communities. By empowering grassroots movements, we can create a foundation for lasting change. Education, economic opportunities, and community engagement are essential components of this process.

In the face of adversity, we must remain hopeful and committed to building a future where peace is not just a word, but a lived reality for all.

References

• Reuters: Rwanda, Congo sign peace deal in Washington – coverage of the June 27 signing and Trump’s remark about mineral rightsreuters.com.

• KT Press: Cabinet Endorses Rwanda–DR Congo Peace Deal – details of Rwanda’s July 16 ratificationktpress.rw.

• Reuters: Rwanda, Congo hold first meeting of joint oversight committee under peace deal – reporting on the August 1 meeting and implementation delaysreuters.com.

• Amnesty International: DRC: Peace deal with Rwanda fails to address serious crimes – critique that the peace agreement ignored justiceamnesty.org.

• Reuters: Exclusive: Congo, Rwanda eye October start to security measures under Trump-backed peace deal – summary of September negotiations and pledgesreuters.com.

• Reuters: Congo, Rwanda leaders affirm commitment to Trump-backed peace deal – coverage of the December 4 ceremony and criticism from Denis Mukwegereuters.comreuters.com.

• Black Agenda Report: United States Secures its National Security Interests In Congo Peace Deal – analysis of the Strategic Partnership Agreement and mineral focusblackagendareport.com.

• Reuters: Some 200,000 flee new push by Rwanda-backed rebels in Congo despite Trump deal – reporting on mass displacement and casualties around Uvirareuters.com.

• Reuters: Congo rebels enter strategic town as peace deal crumbles – report of M23 entering Uvira and Lewis Mudge’s warningreuters.com.