Kinshasa, 28 July 2022 (TDI): The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to visit the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda next month to de-escalate tensions between the two countries.
Washington has set August 9 and 10 as official visit dates for the official.
.@SecBlinken’s reported trip to #Rwanda and #DRC is an important opportunity for much-needed U.S. leadership and engagement on the worsening security crisis in eastern #Congo. The complexities of conflict in this region require our deliberate attention.https://t.co/taAFYLNAJA
— Senate Foreign Relations Committee Ranking Member (@SenateForeign) July 27, 2022
Agenda of the visit
The agenda of the visit of Anthony Blinken are the M23 rebellion, elections, mining contracts in the countries, and the decision to dispatch America’s top diplomat to the region despite a rash of geopolitical crises starting with the war in Ukraine.
This is a telling sign of the Joe Biden administration’s deep concern that the crisis in eastern Congo could spiral out of control.
Additionally, this will be Blinken’s second trip to the continent, following his visit to Kenya, Nigeria, and Senegal in November.
American diplomacy in the DR Congo-Rwanda conflict
DR Congo has blamed Rwanda, claiming it facilitates the Mouvement du 23 Mars (M23), a rebel terrorist group. It wants Washington to use its diplomacy to mediate tensions with Rwanda. Kigali, however, maintains it does not support the M23 rebels.
Rwanda has accused the DR Congo regime of supporting and insulating the Forces Démocratiques de Libération du Rwanda (FDLR), which Washington designated as a terrorist group in December 2001.
The FDLR is largely composed of perpetrators of the 1994 genocide against Tutsi in Rwanda, which claimed more than a million lives.
This terror organization is also responsible for war crimes and the deaths of Congolese civilians. The two have also previously tried to mediate conflict vis-a-vis Angola.
Finally, the chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee has also recently asked to hold on U.S. security assistance to Rwanda.
Congress has expressed concerns about the Rwandan government’s human rights record and role in the Democratic Republic of Congo conflict.
