North Kivu is a province in North-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, which is blessed with rich minerals but cursed with perpetual deadly conflicts and victim to a deadly movement, the M23, a rebel group that has been terrorizing the region for decades now. Although the rebel group went dormant for almost a decade, it has re-emerged and continues its atrocities across in the region. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported that in 2023, about 5.8 million Congolese find themselves displaced across the provinces of Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu and Tanganyik due to the alarming resurgence of conflicts by armed groups. These conflicts killed many civilians and caused massive and repeated forced displacements of hundreds and thousands of Congolese, many of which are unable to satisfy their most urgent needs without humanitarian assistance. As a result, the DRC remains one of the world’s most complex and protracted humanitarian crises in the world with an estimated 26.4 million people in need, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

So far five peace agreements and peace talks have failed to restore peace and stability in the region, this is due to the challenges the DRC is facing to achieve long-sustainable peace. The situation in the eastern DRC has developed into a complex and multifaceted conflict with the re-emergence of Ugandan and Rwandan-backed M23.

The M23 rebel group was formed on April 2012 after a peace agreement signed on March 23, 2009, between the DRC government and the National Congress for the Defense of the People (NCDP) failed to maintain peace. The accord was to transform CNDP (an armed group in North Kivu) from a politico-military movement to a legal political party and integrate its military unit into the Congolese National Police and the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC).

Due to poor conditions in the army and the government’s unwillingness to implement the peace deal, the majority of former NCDP soldiers in FARDC mutinied against the DRC government and formed the rebel group in North Kivu, the M23 (named after the failed peace accord). The rebel group went on committing heinous atrocities against the Congolese people; deliberately killing men and raping women – approximately 140,000 civilians were displaced and more than 280 killed in 2013 when hostilities began in 2012.

In March 2013, the UN intervened militarily with MUNOSCO alongside the Congolese army and the rebels surrendered for peace talks, only to re-emerge decades later.

Ever since its creation and re-emergence, peace talks and agreements have failed to establish long-lasting peace, mainly due to the rebel group not being present in peace talks, the division in the M23, ongoing fighting during peace talks, and influence from neighboring countries such as Uganda and Rwanda.

In 2013, the UN brokered a peace deal between the DRC government and envoys of 11 African countries including Uganda and Rwanda (who were accused of supporting the rebel group). The 11 African countries agreed on a framework to help the DRC structurally reform its organizations and to refrain from interfering with the DRC’s internal issues. The deal also addressed the poor conditions in the FARDC (which played a role in the conflict) and urged the Congo to implement security reforms. M23 leaders were not present at the agreement. The agreement faced a lot of criticism, with commentators stating that the deal was lacking a “concrete action plan” and was not a “long time solution”. Although the Congolese government separately negotiated with the rebel leaders, M23 should have been present in the UN-brokered deal. This would have allowed both conflicting parties to voice their grievance and work on an agreement.

A disagreement within M23 on how to react to the UN-brokered peace agreement led to internal violence and the group was split into two factions (those loyal to their political leader, Bertrand Bisimwa and Jean-Marie Runiga Lugerero and those loyal to the military leader, Sultani Makenga). Shortly after, fighting resumed, and the rebels attacked government forces on May 2013. An UN-backed offensive helped Congo push M23 to surrender once again, though they surrendered in large numbers in DRC, Makenga’s faction (about 1500 fighters) fled and surrendered in neighboring country Uganda and others in Rwanda. The rebel group announced that it would disarm and pursue political talks, this announcement opened an opportunity for another peace negotiation.

However, peace talks failed firstly due to foreign influence from Uganda and second, because M23 was divided into two factions and peace deals were being negotiated with one faction and excluding the other. A peace talk between DRC and the M23 hosted by Uganda in Entebbe, failed due to a disagreement between the DRC government and Uganda on a document that would have officially ended the insurgency. Lambert Mende, a spokesman for the DRC government, blamed Uganda for the breakdown saying, “Uganda seems now to be acting as part of the conflict. It has interests in M23”. The talk never advanced to the agreement stage.

Finally, a peace deal was signed in Nairobi in 2013, the DRC government agreed to provide amnesty except to those who committed war crimes, crimes of genocide and crimes against humanity per the national and international law. It also agreed to finalize its implementation of the commitments in the 23 March 2009 accord. The rebel group agreed to renounce the rebellion and to Disarm, Demobilize, and Reintegrate (DDR) into society. However, there were still concerns about the DDR process for the M23 fighters in Uganda and Rwanda which eventually led to a resurgence. This is because the peace deal signed in Nairobi was signed between the DRC government and Bisimwa’s faction excluding Makenga’s faction.

The remaining M23 fighters with their leader Sultani Makenga in Uganda waited for the implementation of the peace deal that would repatriate them to Congo on a case-to-case basis. But no offers were made, as a result, Makenga and his men returned to Congo in 2017 to resume the insurgency. On March 2022, Makenga’s M23 faction launched a new attack in North Kivu clashing with the FARDC and capturing several villages. By April, the M23 temporally retreated to their bases and declared a unilateral ceasefire for peace negotiations.

In Late April, talks were held in Nairobi, Kenya between the DRC government and the two M23 factions but they failed, as DRC suspended Bisimwa’s faction from negotiation or they voluntarily left due to ongoing fighting.

In May 2022, M23 launched a new offensive, this time the forces were led by both Makenga and Bisimwa and reportedly supported by 1,000 Rwandan soldiers. This latest attack displaced about 70,000 people as they advanced to Goma. Rwanda has been accused of backing up the rebel group and despite evidence from the UN, Rwanda denies its involvement.

A failed ceasefire brokered by Angola on March 2023, resulted in Angola joining the East African Community (EAC) in sending military units to Eastern DRC to restore peace and stability. The EAC is in DRC with the mandate to contain, defeat and eradicate negative forces.

Overall, peace in eastern DRC will be difficult to achieve due to the nature of the conflict and how it has grown to be a complex and multifaceted conflict. For peace to prevail, the DRC government alongside neighboring countries Uganda and Rwanda will have to overcome serval obstacles. This includes strengthening the FADRC, ending support of the rebels, and effective implementation of the DDR.

M23’s motives seem clear “to pressure the Congolese government to answer their demands,” said Jason Stearns, founder of the Congo Research Group at New York University. Their demand is the implementation of the 2013 pact, the Nairobi agreement that would grant them amnesty and reintegrate them into the Congolese army or civilian life. “We signed an agreement with President Tshisekedi and Congo government,” Ngoma said, referring to the 2013 pact, “and we are ready to talk with the government. Whatever they are saying — that we stop fighting and we leave eastern DRC — where do you want us to go? We are Congolese. We cannot go into exile again. … We are fighting for our rights as Congolese.” The DRC government should look to effectively implement the DDR process with both factions to end the conflict. However, the foreign influence from Uganda and Rwanda poses a threat to the DDR process.

Eastern DRC is rich in minerals with minerals such as tin, tungsten, tantalum, and gold which attracted foreign interest from Uganda and Rwanda. A report from African Center explained that there is sufficient evidence to “suggest that Ugandan- and Rwandan-backed rebel factions — including M23 — control strategic but informal supply chains running from mines in the Kivus into the two countries.” The groups also benefit from the trafficked minerals to ‘buy weapons, recruit and control artisanal miners, and pay corrupt Congolese customs and border officials as well as soldiers and police.” Based on this report, supporting the M23 has been profitable to Uganda and Rwanda. Moreover, without a successful DDR process, Uganda and Rwanda will continue to use the grievance of rebel groups for their profit.

Finally, DRC has a “weak, incoherent and to some extent dysfunctional army,” says Thomas Mandrup, Associate professor at Stellenbosch. Although the army can extend its military presence around the country, it lacks control and often has to work alongside non-state actors. In addition, corruption and misuse of money have led to soldiers only receiving a portion of their salary. This led to the M23 mutiny and leaves the army powerless in defending its territory. The UN addressed this issue in its brokered deal between DRC and 11 African countries in 2013. The accord urged DRC to improve its security reform in the army and police. The accord also urged the neighboring states to refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of DRC, to stop assisting armed groups, and to respect their sovereignty. Until these obstacles are dealt with and Uganda and Rwanda end their support to the rebel groups, peace in eastern DRC will be difficult to achieve.