A senior United Nations official has told the Security Council that a “window of opportunity” exists for peace in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, a region rich in minerals and long scarred by conflict.
Huang Xia, the UN special envoy for the Great Lakes Region, said on Tuesday that the US-led and Qatar-led peace processes have made “notable progress.” He cautioned, however, that security and humanitarian conditions in the east have kept deteriorating despite these diplomatic efforts.
Fighting persists despite signed peace agreements
Several parties, including the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group and the Congolese army, have clashed in the territory. The Congolese government and M23 committed to a ceasefire in Doha in July 2025, while the DRC and Rwanda formalised a US-brokered deal in Washington, DC, in December. Fighting has nonetheless continued on the ground.
Huang urges parties to act on pledges
Huang stressed the urgency of seizing the opening created by increasingly aligned peace efforts. “Such a window does not remain open indefinitely,” he said.
He called on all parties to turn their commitments into verifiable actions and to build trust through deeds rather than declarations.
Lusaka defence ministers meeting planned for October
New talks took place in August in Switzerland, with representatives from the United States, Qatar and the African Union taking part. Huang said the UN would facilitate an October 18 meeting in Zambia’s capital, Lusaka, bringing together the defence ministers of Burundi, the DRC, Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania.
