Thank you, Madam President. And thank you, Special Representative Bintou Keita, for your briefing today and for the work of you and your team on the ground. I also welcome the representatives of Rwanda and the DRC who are with us today.
In the three months since our last briefing, we have witnessed extreme violence and hardship in eastern DRC. But we are starting to see glimmers of hope and, today, have genuine reason for optimism.
President, just hours ago in Washington, D.C., the foreign ministers of the DRC and Rwanda signed a peace agreement based on mutual respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity, human rights, and international humanitarian law. It is founded on the prospect of shared prosperity through regional economic integration.
This development supports African-led processes and represents a historic step toward securing durable peace in eastern DRC and creating conditions for economic development for the benefit of people in the region.
The causes of this 30-year conflict are complex, and solutions are intricate. Today’s agreement weaves together complementary regional and international initiatives essential to successful implementation. We thank the African Union and Togo for leading regional diplomatic efforts, and Qatar for leading negotiations between the DRC and M23.
While celebrating today’s diplomatic breakthrough between the DRC and Rwanda, it is crucial to recall that the situation across eastern DRC remains highly volatile. Violent conflict and humanitarian crises persist as armed groups continue to sow instability in the region.
Against this backdrop, MONUSCO has remained a constant presence making life-saving contributions to security in eastern DRC through expertise, analysis, and access.
But Madam President, obstruction of MONUSCO undermines these contributions. We call on parties to abide by their agreement to support MONUSCO's ability to carry out its mandate.
We regret that M23 blocked MONUSCO from accessing fuel for nearly two months and continued preventing troop rotation.
Now more than ever, supporting implementation of the peace agreement requires empowering MONUSCO to execute tasks assigned by us at the Security Council.
We commend operations resulting in transferring 1,000 Congolese military and police under MONUSCO’s protection in Goma since January. We also recognize MONUSCO’s interventions to protect civilians in Ituri province and Grand Nord.
Madam President, "the United States is proud to have supported" securing today's peace agreement—highlighting our priority on African-led processes. This joins other peace deals negotiated by President Trump including Iran-Israel and India-Pakistan agreements; we look forward to promoting future negotiations ending unnecessary suffering.
As we recognize this step toward regional cohesion benefiting Great Lakes region stability let us work together ensuring full implementation.
I thank you.