DRC sees limited progress in peace talks as UN experts criticize diplomacy and assumes UN Security Council presidency

A United Nations panel of experts concluded that diplomatic advances between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda remain limited, despite the Washington, Doha and Montreux agreements. The report notes that Rwandan troop withdrawals have amounted only to short‑range tactical repositioning, that Rwandan air‑defence systems will stay in place until 2026, and that the DRC has not fully neutralized the FDLR militia.

The same UN report corroborates earlier actions against former president Joseph Kabila, confirming his role in the Rwanda‑backed AFC/M23 rebellion. Kabila has already been sentenced to death by a Congolese military court and placed on a U.S. Treasury sanctions list.

On 1 July 2026 the DRC took over the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council, planning high‑level meetings on natural‑resource governance, sexual violence in conflict and the link between resource economies and peace.

Domestically, the DRC’s vice‑prime minister oversaw a session to overhaul the legal framework governing the FARDC, aiming to modernise the army’s statutes.

In parallel, the Trump administration’s attempted Congo peace deal is unraveling as Rwanda‑backed M23 forces seized Uvira, highlighting the limits of the U.S. transactional approach to African conflicts and critical‑mineral access.