DRC GOVERNMENT AND AFC/M23 REBELS AGREE TO EASE HUMANITARIAN ACCESS

The joint statement, shared by the US Department of State on Saturday, April 19, commits both parties to facilitating rapid, unimpeded and sustained humanitarian access across conflict-affected areas in eastern DRC. Aid is to be distributed strictly on the basis of need, without discrimination, with humanitarian workers guaranteed freedom of movement and protection from attack. Both sides pledged not to divert or pillage assistance and to refrain from targeting food production systems, water supplies, hospitals, schools and telecommunications infrastructure.

The prisoner release agreement covers 477 detainees in total  311 held by the AFC/M23 and 166 by the Congolese government. Both sides committed to releasing them within 10 days of the agreement as a confidence-building measure. The arrangement is considered a critical test of good faith, given the repeated failure of previous commitments in the DRC conflict to materialise on the ground.

A ceasefire monitoring mechanism is also to be activated within one week, with MONUSCO providing logistical support for ground-level verification missions. The mechanism, backed by the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region, is the first attempt to systematically monitor compliance with the ceasefire on the ground filling a major gap that has allowed both sides to violate previous agreements with impunity.

The talks in Montreux were part of the implementation of the Doha Framework for a Comprehensive Peace Agreement, signed in November 2025. That deal was followed by continued M23 advances, including the seizure of Uvira on the Burundi border, a move that drew sharp condemnation from Washington. The involvement of Qatar, the US, Switzerland, Togo and the African Union Commission in the Montreux talks reflects the degree of international concern over a conflict that has displaced over 7 million people the highest number in Africa.

Human Rights Watch, which warned ahead of the talks of a dire humanitarian crisis in South Kivu's highlands, cautiously welcomed the commitments while noting that civilians continue to live in fear. The coming days will be decisive — not for the words in the joint statement, but for whether the prisoners walk free, the aid convoys move, and the monitoring missions begin on schedule.