Achieving lasting peace in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo is high on the agenda as leaders from southern Africa convene on 20 November to discuss the peace and security situation in the region.
An Extra-Ordinary Summit of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) meets in Harare, Zimbabwe to decide the future of regional military support being given to the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in the fight against armed groups operating in the eastern part of the country.
The conflict has been a source of destabilisation and has displaced more than six million people, according to the United Nations (UN).
SADC views peace and security as a foundational pillar of the integration, growth and development agenda in the region.
To bring a permanent solution to the instability and address the situation which has remained fragile since the late 1990s, SADC deployed a regional military force, known as the SADC Mission in the DRC or SAMIDRC on 15 December 2023.
As the mission nears the end of its initial one-year tenure in December 2024, regional leaders will decide its fate, amid strong indications of an extension.
Chairperson of the SADC Council of Ministers, Professor Amon Murwira said the future of the military mission will be decided based on findings from a recent field assessment mission report.
"It is therefore important that we take urgent and decisive measures to bring lasting peace and stability to the lives of the people in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo," said Murwira, who is the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade for Zimbabwe, addressing the council ahead of the summit.
The ability of the region to keep funding the mission to achieve its goal will be one of the main deciding factors in extending the mandate of the force. This comes against the backdrop of commitments by the UN and the African Union (AU) to provide additional funding for SAMIDRC.
SADC Executive Secretary, Elias Magosi said devoting funds to the region's peace and security "is a worthwhile investment," as it builds a foundation for sustainable development and prosperity for southern Africa.
"Our goal towards securing peace and security in eastern DRC will only be realised when our Congolese brothers and sisters, who have been internally displaced in large numbers, return safely to their places of origin and live in a secure environment that allows them to build better lives for themselves," he said.
Besides the military intervention, SADC is also supporting various diplomatic and political processes aimed at silencing the guns in the eastern DRC, which include the Luanda Process of the AU and the Nairobi Peace Process driven by the East African Community.
Angolan President João Lourenço is leading the Luanda process, initiated in November 2023, which is focused on ending hostilities between the DRC and neighbouring Rwanda.
The government of DRC accuses Rwanda of fuelling the instability in the region by continuing to support the March 23 Movement or M23 rebels. This claim has been supported by different countries and institutions, including the UN, although Rwanda has denied the allegation.
Uhuru Kenyatta, the former President of Kenya, leads the Nairobi process which was launched in April 2022 to facilitate dialogue between the DRC government and the armed rebel groups. The dialogue is intended to achieve a ceasefire, disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration of armed groups, and the return of displaced people to their homes.
The initiatives have begun to achieve results, resulting in a "relatively calm" environment in the eastern DRC following a two-week humanitarian truce reached in July this year and a ceasefire deal reached between the governments of DRC and Rwanda on 4 August 2024, according to Magosi.
A greater responsibility was placed on SAMIDRC following an agreement signed in November 2023 between the DRC and the UN for the gradual withdrawal of a UN peacekeeping force known as the United Nations Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO), which deployed in November 1999.
A complete withdrawal of over 16,000 UN military personnel is expected to be achieved by the end of 2024.
The decision to have a UN peacekeeping force in the DRC came after the signing of the Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement in July 1999. The agreement was signed by the government of DRC and its allies -
Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe - with Rwanda and Uganda, which had invaded eastern DRC.
Under the terms of the ceasefire agreement, Rwanda and Uganda were to cease supporting rebels operating in eastern DRC, particularly the M23.
Even with MONUSCO present, the situation in the region remained fragile, with rebel groups launching attacks at intervals, leading the government of the DRC, led by President Félix Tshisekedi, to request for the withdrawal of the UN mission.
Besides the DRC, the Extra-Ordinary SADC Summit is also expected to discuss the increasingly unstable political situation in Mozambique following the elections held on 9 October.
The country's electoral body, the National Elections Commission, said in its final results the governing Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo) party and its presidential candidate, Daniel Chapo, comprehensively won the elections.
However, an opposition presidential candidate claims the election was "stolen" to keep Frelimo in power and called for strikes and demonstrations in protest.
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His supporters heeded the calls, resulting in clashes between protestors and the country's security apparatus characterising the post-election environment.
The SADC Council of Ministers meeting was preceded by a meeting of the Ministerial Committee of the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation.
The mandate of the Organ is to provide a foundation of peace and stability in the region as a prerequisite for the achievement of SADC objectives of socio-economic development, poverty eradication and regional integration espoused in the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan 2020-2030 and the SADC Vision 2050.
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