US President Donald Trump on Thursday oversaw the signing of an accord between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, hailing it as a major step towards ending decades of conflict in Africa's Great Lakes region.
The move caps months of efforts by the Trump administration to end the three-decade conflict that has killed millions of people and displaced more than seven million.
“Today, we commit to stopping decades of violence and bloodshed and to bring a new era of harmony and co-operation between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda,” Mr Trump said. “It's an amazing day, great day for Africa, great day for the world and for those countries, and they have so much to be proud of.”
The signing ceremony was held at the United States Institute of Peace, which on Wednesday was renamed after Mr Trump. Its offices near the National Mall in Washington now bear his name.
Bringing peace to the Great Lakes region is part of the US President's wider aim to assert himself as a global peacemaker who claims to have ended eight wars. He says he deserves a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts.
But his peacemaking coincides with new belligerence. Since September, the US military launched air and naval strikes on suspected drug vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific Ocean, resulting in at least 83 deaths. He has threatened to attack Venezuela on land, drawing fears of a full-blown war in Latin America.
First established by Congress in 1984, the USIP was an independent, non-profit institution aimed at preventing violent conflict, promoting peacebuilding, and supporting diplomatic solutions abroad.
This year, the Trump administration moved to dismantle several foreign policy and aid agencies, saying they were a waste of taxpayer dollars and ran counter to his “America First” approach.
Most USIP staff in Washington were laid off, and the building was taken over.
Thursday's ceremony capped months of effort that started in April, and combines a series of pacts between the DRC and Rwanda, including an economic treaty aimed at drawing western investments in the region's gold, cobalt, copper, lithium and other minerals.
“We're going to take out some of the rare earth, take out some of the assets, and pay and everybody's going to make a lot of money,” Mr Trump said.
The ceremony formalises the terms of agreements Rwandan and DRC officials signed in the White House on June 27.
The Washington Accord is also known as the 2025 Democratic Republic of the Congo–Rwanda peace agreement. The White House said it includes a permanent ceasefire, the disarmament of non-state forces, provisions for the return of refugees, and justice and accountability for those who committed atrocities.
“President Trump introduced a new and effective dynamism that created the space for breakthroughs,” said Rwandan President Paul Kagame. “His approach is even-handed, never taking sides.”
The current fighting in eastern DRC has its roots in the 1994 genocide in neighbouring Rwanda, when violence between ethnic groups erupted.
The Tutsi rebel group called the March 23 Movement – M23 – came to prominence in 2012.
The DRC, UN and the US have long accused Rwanda of providing weapons and training to the M23 rebels. Rwanda’s government denies the accusations.
Thousands were killed this year by the M23 after the group seized the key provincial capitals of Goma and Bukavu.
“I do believe this day is the beginning of a new path, a demanding path,” DRC President Felix Tshisekedi said. “But this is a path where peace will not just be a wish and aspiration, but a turning point.”
The agreement comes as clashes between M23 rebels and the Congolese army were reported this week in several areas of the South Kivu province. Leaders of both countries traded accusations of violating the terms of the ceasefire.
Amnesty International on Thursday said civilians in the DRC continue to face serious human rights abuses by the M23 and the Wazalendo, a coalition of armed groups.
The group also said diplomacy may have temporarily scaled back escalations in fighting in eastern Congo, but does not address or resolve core issues.
“The upcoming signature of the peace deal between the presidents of DRC and Rwanda in Washington takes place as the violence continues in eastern DRC with immense suffering for civilians,” Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty International’s director for East and Southern Africa, said in a statement.
“Months of discussions and the signing of multiple agreements in Washington and Doha have had no tangible impact on the lives of Congolese civilians."
Asked when the countries could expect to see an end to the fighting and a “real peace,” Mr Trump responded: “Very quickly, I think you're going to see things happen.”
“I think you'll see very immediate results. I have confidence that that's what's going to happen.”
Denis Mukwege, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2018 for his response to sexual violence in the Congo, said the war is intensifying in Kivu and civilians are enduring immense suffering.
“There will be no peace without justice,” Mr Mukwege wrote on X. “An independent investigation is urgently needed to bring those responsible to justice and prevent the repetition of these atrocities committed against civilians.”
M23 did not attend the signing in Washington and is not bound by the terms of the new agreement.
Rwanda and M23 signed a framework for a peace agreement in Qatar on November 15 designed to end the fighting in the DRC. The deal included eight protocols, most of which still required negotiation by the two parties.
