- Advertisement -
UNITED NATIONS, Oct 14 (APP):Pakistan has welcomed the United States’ facilitation of a peace agreement between Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda, who were engaged in a prolonged conflict, and Qatar’s efforts that led to the Doha Declaration and a prisoner exchange mechanism, saying these moves raise hopes for a ceasefire in the country’s troubled eastern region.
“Recent diplomatic initiatives offer a fragile but real opening for peace,” Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, permanent representative of Pakistan to the United Nations, told the UN Security Council on Tuesday.
Speaking in a debate on the situation in Africa’s Great Lake region, he emphasized that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the DRC must be fully upheld.
For decades, armed groups have plagued the eastern DRC. However, the situation has sharply deteriorated since January 2025, when M23 rebels, backed by Rwanda, captured key cities in the Kivu provinces. Rwanda has denied that it provides military support to the rebels.
Since the start of the year, more than 1.6 million people have been newly displaced, with over 68% of these displacements attributed to ongoing conflict, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
In his remarks, the Pakistani envoy said, “The Great Lakes region stands at a decisive juncture.”
He also commended the mediatory role of Togo’s President Faure Gnassingbe who was tasked with facilitating talks between the DRC, Rwanda and the M23 rebels, with a focus on implementing peace agreements and achieving a sustainable ceasefire.
“Sustained peace also requires tackling root causes: illicit resource exploitation, governance gaps, and cross-border criminal networks,” Ambassador Asim Ahmad said.
“Transforming the region’s mineral wealth into shared prosperity is essential to breaking the cycle of conflict”.
The Pakistani envoy also called for strengthening MONUSCO, the UN peacekeeping mission in DRC, to enable it to perform its vital mandate which was being eroded by resource constraints. The Mission, he said, was already impacted by the budget cuts, and further reductions might irreversibly cripple it.
The Mission, the Pakistani envoy said, must be strengthened — not weakened — to ensure, among other of its task, ceasefire verification and civilian protection. “M23 (rebels) must also lift all restrictions on the freedom of movement of MONUSCO.”
(The Pakistani ‘Blue Helmets’, who formed the bulk of the UN peacekeeping mission in DRC, departed earlier this year after 20-years of service in the country.)
Pakistan, he said, remains steadfast in its support for international and African-led initiatives with UN engagement for peace in DRC.
Briefing the Security Council, a senior United Nations official told ambassadors that there is “real hope” for a ceasefire in eastern DRC, outlining several key priorities, including addressing the root causes of conflict, such as illegal resource exploitation and weak governance.
“Significant developments have occurred at the diplomatic level” since his last briefing in April, said Huang Xia, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Great Lakes Region. “There has been real hope generated for a ceasefire that could pave the way for a lasting and definitive resolution” to the conflict between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, he added.
Huang expressed hope that talks between the Congolese authorities and the 23 March Movement (M23) would resume soon and result in a comprehensive peace agreement.