President Paul Kagame and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron "held a productive call" on Tuesday, April 23, during which they discussed the fruitful bilateral cooperation and areas of future collaboration, according to Village Urugwiro.
The Heads of State also extensively discussed regional matters, among them eastern DR Congo, the Office of the President posted on X, formerly Twitter.
"They highlighted the need for a comprehensive political solution and they noted the processes in place to help achieve a solution including the Luanda Process and the EAC's Nairobi Process."
President Kagame and President @EmmanuelMacron held a productive call this morning. They discussed the fruitful bilateral cooperation and areas of future collaboration. The Heads of State also extensively discussed regional matters, among them Eastern DRC. They highlighted the...-- Presidency | Rwanda (@UrugwiroVillage) April 23, 2024
While in Kigali for the 30th commemoration of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, earlier this month, South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa said that a political solution was needed to end the crisis in eastern DR Congo where his country deployed thousands of troops as part of a mission from the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
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Ramaphosa who faced criticism after he approved the deployment of 2,900 troops to eastern DR Congo to fight alongside a Congolese government-led coalition that includes the FDLR, a terrorist group linked to the Genocide against the Tutsi, told reporters that he was leaving Rwanda "with renewed vigour and intention that we should find a solution - a political solution - to what is prevailing [in this region]."
A day later, former South African President Thabo Mbeki also said that DR Congo should disarm the genocidal forces who fled into the country after committing the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, in line with the Sun City Agreement signed between Kigali and Kinshasa in April 2003. Mbeki said the disarmament of the genocidal forces under the Sun City Agreement can ensure peace and stability is achieved in eastern DR Congo.
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The agreement was signed in April 2003 in South Africa's casino resort, Sun City, under the watchful eye of then United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan. It was seen as the solution to the problems besetting eastern DR Congo. The agreement was never implemented.
Although Kinshasa has invested a lot of effort in fighting M23 rebels who are fighting to protect their persecuted community, at the heart of the insecurity affecting eastern DR Congo and the region is the FDLR, a UN sanctioned genocidal group based in eastern DR Congo for close to three decades.
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The M23, a Congolese rebel group which Kinshasa claims is backed by Kigali, is fighting to stop the oppression, killing, and exclusion especially of the Congolese Tutsi community in eastern DR Congo.
The United Nations Special Advisor on the Prevention of Genocide, Alice Wairimu Nderitu, has continuously stressed that the Congolese government has the responsibility to protect the Tutsi and Banyamulenge communities who are targeted for their identity.
Her office has documented the violence targeting the Tutsi communities who are targeted by groups like the FDLR and the Congolese national army.
The FDLR was formed by the masterminds of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi who fled to eastern Zaire, present-day DR Congo, in July 1994 and were given a safe haven. They continue to commit acts of genocide against the Congolese Tutsi as well as plot and execute attacks against Rwanda.
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The situation in eastern DR Congo is a major human rights challenge for the international community, according to Kigali. There are more than 150 local and foreign armed groups in the region.
Besides their genocidal agenda, the FDLR and their backers, also want to topple the government in Kigali.
ALSO READ: UN Genocide prevention chief to genocidaires: We are watching you!
In November 2022, Nderitu said the violence against the Congolese Tutsi and Banyamulenge in eastern DR Congo was "a warning sign" in a region that had a history of genocide.
