The 44th Southern African Development Community (SADC) Summit of Heads of State and Government, held in Zimbabwe on Saturday, August 17, commended Angola for its role in the ongoing facilitation of the Luanda Process, which seeks to find a peaceful and lasting solution to the conflict in eastern DR Congo. The 15-member bloc has deployed a military mission comprising troops from South Africa, Tanzania and Malawi to eastern DR Congo to shore up the coalition of Congolese army, which includes the United Nations-sanctioned genocidal armed group FDLR, in the war with M23 rebels. However, the South Africa-led SADC Mission in DR Congo (SAMIDRC) has not made any progress in bringing peace and stability to the troubled region where up to 200 armed groups are active. In a communique released at the weekend after the SADC heads of state and government summit, the bloc commended Angolan President João Lourenço for facilitating the Luanda Process. “Summit commended His Excellency João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço, the President of the Republic of Angola, for his efforts to bring lasting peace to the security challenges in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo through the Luanda Process,” the communique read in part. The also commended Angola for brokering a ceasefire between the warring parties in eastern DR Congo. The open-ended ceasefire agreed at the July 30 meeting of foreign ministers of DR Congo, Rwanda and Angola took effect on August 5. Although the M23 were not represented in the Luanda negotiations, they have committed to a peaceful resolution and de-escalation of hostilities. In a recent interview with The New Times, M23 spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka said they were willing to give the ceasefire a chance. “We support all initiatives that bring peace in eastern [DR Congo]. Even though we were not in Luanda, we hope the ceasefire [agreed there] is going to open the door to direct dialogue with the [Congolese] government to address the root cause of the conflict,” Kanyuka said. The Luanda Process offers an opportunity to bring a ceasefire between the M23 and the Congolese army and lasting peace in eastern DR Congo, although Kinshasa has been accused of not being committed to the process. For three decades, a lack of good will on the part of successive Congolese governments and lack of commitment on the part of the international community have been the major factors underlying the failure to neutralize the FDLR militia, which was founded by remnants of the perpetrators of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. A recent report by the UN Group of Experts on DR Congo highlights Kinshasa’s growing use of FDLR to fight the M23 rebels, thereby escalating the conflict and chaos in eastern DRC. The UN-sanctioned terrorist group, which has launched attacks on Rwanda since its founding in 2000, is at the heart of diplomatic tensions between Rwanda and DRC. Rwanda has laid out its concerns about the integration of the FDLR into the Congolese army in its war against the M23 rebels. The SADC Summit also noted the official closure of the SADC Mission in Mozambique (SAMIM) and commended member states for contributing troops, personnel, equipment and other resources towards the successful conclusion of SAMIM. The SAMIM withdrew from its areas of responsibility in Cabo Delgado last month leaving the Rwanda Security Forces, comprising the Rwanda Defence Forces and the Rwanda National Police, to fill in the gap. During its stay in Cabo Delgado, the SAMIM constantly came in the spotlight over reports that remnants of the jihadist insurgency in the province remained active in areas under its responsibility. The SADC Summit elected Zimbabwe president, Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa, as the new Chairperson of SADC, and the president of Madagascar Andry Rajoelina, as the Incoming Chairperson.
