Rwanda, DRC Return to Geneva as Washington Accords Face Critical Test
GENEVA — Congolese and Rwandan officials are set to return to Geneva on Sept. 16-17 for a new round of talks on the implementation of the 2025 Washington Accords, with mediators from the United States, Qatar, Togo and the African Union Commission expected to take part.
The two-day meeting of the Joint Security Coordination Mechanism (JSCM) will bring together representatives of the two governments. The mechanism was created to monitor and coordinate the security commitments each side made under the peace process.
The session comes at a delicate moment. Fighting continues in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and several of the most important commitments in the agreement remain unresolved.
The DRC and Rwanda signed a peace agreement in Washington, D.C., on June 27, 2025. The Washington Accords for Peace and Prosperity, signed on Dec. 4, reaffirmed their commitment to carrying out that agreement.
At the center of the deal are two security obligations: the DRC’s pledge to neutralize the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), and Rwanda’s commitment to disengage its forces and lift defensive measures. The September talks will focus on whether the two sides can make measurable progress on those fronts.
The Washington process is part of a broader diplomatic push to end decades of conflict in eastern DRC, a region that borders Rwanda, Uganda and Burundi and has been destabilized by armed groups and repeated cycles of fighting.
The conflict has repeatedly drawn neighboring countries into the eastern DRC. Rwanda has long argued that armed groups operating from Congolese territory threaten its security. The Congolese government, meanwhile, has accused Kigali of supporting armed groups seeking to seize territory and influence in the east.
“The Washington Accords reaffirm the parties’ commitment to implement the Peace Agreement between the DRC and Rwanda, agreed to in Washington, June 2025, and achieve the vision of the Regional Economic Integration Framework, to create a bold roadmap for peace, security, and unprecedented economic growth,” a U.S. Department of State spokesperson said.
But the fighting has not stopped.
A September forecast by Security Council Report said clashes between the Congolese Armed Forces (FARDC) and the M23 armed group had continued in North and South Kivu, two provinces in eastern DRC. It also said two central obligations under the Washington process — the neutralization of the FDLR and Rwanda’s lifting of defensive measures — had yet to be declared complete.
Rwanda has repeatedly accused the DRC of supporting, arming and working alongside the FDLR. The FDLR traces its roots to forces and militias that fled Rwanda after the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi. Some of its members were linked to the former Rwandan army and the Interahamwe militia. The group has remained active in eastern DRC and has long been a central security concern for Rwanda.
Kinshasa, for its part, has accused Rwanda of backing M23, allegations Kigali denies.
M23 first emerged as a major armed movement in 2012. After withdrawing from territory it once controlled, it resurfaced in 2022 and launched a new offensive in eastern DRC. In 2025, the group made major territorial gains, including the capture of Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, and Bukavu, the capital of neighboring South Kivu.
Although M23 is not a party to the Washington agreement, it remains central to efforts to end the wider conflict. The U.S.-backed process requires Rwanda and the DRC to support a separate Qatar-led dialogue between Kinshasa and M23. That track produced the Doha Framework for Peace, signed by the Congolese government and the Congo River Alliance (AFC/M23) in Doha on Nov. 15, 2025.
The September meeting follows the sixth JSCM meeting, held in Geneva on Aug. 12-13. At that session, the DRC and Rwanda agreed to advance two initiatives aimed at strengthening monitoring and verification of the Washington Accords on the ground. They asked the United States to review the initiatives and provide feedback at the next JSCM meeting.
The DRC also presented its Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) plan for the FDLR and answered questions from JSCM members. The parties further agreed to hold a trilateral planning conference in October that would culminate in a revised operations order guiding their coordinated efforts.
The neutralization of the FDLR is expected to remain one of the most difficult issues.
On July 28, the Congolese government said a faction of the FDLR had accepted and signed a protocol covering disarmament, demobilization and cantonment. Kinshasa presented the move as progress toward meeting its obligations under the Washington agreement. Rwanda rejected it, arguing that the Washington agreement requires the FDLR to be neutralized rather than negotiated with. Kigali has also accused Kinshasa of continuing to support the group.
The disagreement matters because progress on the FDLR is tied to Rwanda’s own commitments under the Washington process. Rwanda has maintained that its security measures along the border with the DRC are necessary to protect the country from armed groups operating in eastern DRC. Under the Washington agreement, Rwanda is expected to disengage its forces and lift those defensive measures as part of the wider security arrangements.
The stakes extend beyond the bilateral file. The Washington and Doha tracks are meant to reinforce one another, and diplomats see the JSCM as the main forum for testing whether security commitments are being carried out. If the FDLR dispute remains unresolved, it could hold up Rwanda’s disengagement and keep the border security issue at an impasse, complicating broader efforts to stabilize eastern Congo.
For the September meeting, the FDLR issue will remain a central point of contention as the two countries try to resolve the commitments at the heart of their dispute.