DRC, Rwanda to sign US-mediated peace deal and end conflict • FRANCE 24 English

DRC, Rwanda to sign US-mediated peace deal and end conflict • FRANCE 24 English

on this france 24’s international affairs editor Shirley Sitbon joins me on set hi Shirley so what else do we know about the deal itself what’s in it well much of it is still unknown uh there’s a confidentiality issues but the main guidelines the main lines in it are known uh let’s first look into what is happening if we can really bring it down uh that more than a 100 groups 100 armed groups are now fighting uh in DRC uh and well there are various roots to this uh of course going way back into history with the colonization the scars left behind the 1994 genocide of neighboring Rwanda some of the who uh you know some of those who were involved in the genocide who fled to neighboring DRC vowing to liberate Rwanda and f founding and founding uh various groups including the FDLR the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda and for Rwanda they are a threat to the country saying that they will fight them for their own security that brought to of course violence of course the M23 we’ve talked about that group Wanda has been accused of funding and backing that group which Wanda said we did not do directly and that group has seized many territories including GMA in the east of the country and that has been ongoing so what does this plan this peace agreement have in it well we can see uh several bullet points if if we have them u the main thing is territorial integrity respecting that uh also um you know prohibiting the uh the hostilities and the disengagement and disarmament of non-state armed groups that’s in theory but the armed groups in question are saying we’re not involved in this so the question is how will this be um applied and uh DRC is hoping that the United States will help and that’s why to get the help of the United States because you know it’s easy to say that either country can participate can help can back these group and needs to disarm them it’s difficult to do and so they’re hoping that this economic economic deal you were talking about allowing the US to invest in the minerals in DRC and so having access to all these minerals well this will you know will push the Americans will persuade the Americans to help the authorities in the Democratic Republic of uh Congo to help dismantle these groups and to bring back security that’s the goal but of course uh everybody knows that this was these minerals is great for uh great resources for for vehicles electric vehicles but also they brought they’re also some of the root causes of the conflict with many groups trying to seize these minerals uh to to fund their actions their fighting and all that violence so yeah it’s extremely complicated and some people criticizing the fact that you know that DRC will have to give up some of its own minerals its riches um to other countries just for its security and even towanda because it’s a major security deal and now we’re having these various points and so Rwanda would have some advantages there so people in DRC have been criticizing this deal and saying that it’s very OPAC and they they you know but still the goal is to try and bring some security back so we shouldn’t forget surely that the humanitarian situation meanwhile in Congo is amongst uh the worst in the world and actually most of the victims aren’t dying from the armed conflict itself yes a lot of violence from the conflict but a lot of malnutrition lack of medicine millions and millions of people have been uh displaced and while we’re seeing all this suffering uh and diseases spreading because there’s no there’s lack of medicine a lack of vaccines while the funding the international funding are crumbling we talk about a lot about the United States also other countries have stopped funding have cut down their funding and have not stepped up to replace the US funding so let’s listen uh to uh Tom Fletcher who is an emergency relief coordinator at the UN explaining the importance of the US funding for the people in DRC here in DRC 70% of our programs were funded by the American taxpayer amazing generosity over decades and now we’re seeing most of that disappearing and so we’re having to make brutal choices life and death choices and for these women the survivors of sexual violence for the kids who told me they needed water for the the communities that told me they needed shelter medicine you know these cuts are real right now and people are dying because of the cuts
shirley Sidvon thank you very much as a reminder we’ll be covering of course that deal once it is signed here on France 24 do join us later on today for that if you

The Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda are set to sign a peace deal facilitated by the U.S. to help end the decadeslong deadly fighting in eastern Congo. The deal, to be signed in Washington Friday, would also help the U.S. government and American companies gain access to critical minerals in the conflict-battered, mineral-rich region.France24 journalist Shirli Sitbon explains.
#Drc #Rwanda #deal

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