Congolese authorities "must cease” any support and cooperation with the FDLR and other armed groups and ensure their country’s population is protected from harm, the European Union’s Commissioner for International Partnership, Jutta Urpilainen, has said.
"[DR Congo] authorities must ensure that the instructions it issued to its armed forces last November with regard to the FDLR be swiftly implemented,” Urpilainen said, referring to an announcement by the Congolese armed forces in 2023 that ordered the DR Congo army to sever ties with the UN-sanctioned militia linked to the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.
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As she addressed the EU parliament on Tuesday, February 27, Urpilainen said she condemned the actions by all armed groups that operate in eastern DR Congo.
"Those groups must cease hostilities, withdraw from the areas they occupy, lay down their weapons, and be integrated in a disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration process,” said Urpilainen, who was expected to meet Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi over the conflict in eastern DR Congo between a government-led coalition and M23 rebels as well as his country’s tensions with Rwanda.
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For years, the Rwandan government has called on the Congolese army (FARDC) to end its collaboration with the FDLR, to no avail. Rwanda says the FARDC integrated the FDLR as it fights the M23 rebels in North Kivu Province.
Only inclusive political dialogue can address root causes of insecurity and instability
Urpilainen said the EU was "appalled by the increased military build-up and spike of violence” in eastern Congolese provinces, and added that it supported dialogue through the Luanda and Nairobi peace processes.
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"Only an inclusive political dialogue that can address the root causes of insecurity and instability, the comprehensive and rigorous implementation of the decisions taken within the frame of the Luanda and Nairobi processes and the respect of the sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of all the countries in the region, can break the cycle of violence and impunity once and for all,” Urpilainen said.
She condemned hate speech in eastern DR Congo.
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She reiterated "in absolute terms our condemnation of hate speech and xenophobia, as well as ethnic-based narratives and politics.”
"According to some experts, the level of hate speech and ethnic violence reminds the worst pages of history in this region, where we are about to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Genocide against the Tutsi.
"More than ever, we urge all political and civil society actors, including at the highest level, to refrain from such narratives and to intensify efforts against this,” Urpilainen said.
ALSO READ: UN confirms FDLR active in DR Congo, warns of genocide
The United Nations Office for Genocide Prevention has, since November 2022, documented ethnically motivated violence against Kinyarwanda-speaking communities in eastern DR Congo such as the Banyamulenge and the Tutsi and issued genocide warnings.