Pretoria: President Cyril Ramaphosa has reiterated South Africa’s commitment to a diplomatic solution that ensures stability in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and its neighbours, while also protecting the well-being of the Congolese people.
According to South African Government News Agency, President Ramaphosa expressed South Africa’s support for the Congolese people’s right to live free from forces that violate their human rights, plunder their natural resources, and terrorise their communities. In his weekly newsletter, the President emphasized solidarity with the Congolese people and highlighted the importance of a diplomatic and political solution for stability in the DRC and its neighbouring countries.
President Ramaphosa recently returned from a Heads of State summit in Tanzania focused on the conflict in the eastern DRC. The summit’s outcomes are seen as a beacon of hope for the troubled region. Heads of State from the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) and East Africa Community (EAC) called for political and diplomatic engagement by all parties, including M23 rebels, in the eastern DRC.
The historic joint summit brought together EAC and SADC leaders, including President Ramaphosa, to discuss the deteriorating security situation in the eastern DRC and seek a sustainable political solution. As a member of SADC and the African Union, South Africa feels a responsibility to support efforts for peace and stability in the DRC, a nation plagued by over three decades of war.
South Africa contributes troops to the United Nations Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) and the SADC Mission in the DRC (SAMIDRC). Recently, the conflict claimed the lives of 14 South African National Defence Force (SANDF) troops, highlighting the conflict’s alarming escalation.
The strategic city of Goma in the eastern DRC is now under the control of the M23 rebel group, which has made advances in other towns. President Ramaphosa reiterated South Africa’s commitment to diplomacy as the most sustainable solution to the conflict, while also participating in various diplomatic efforts to end the conflict.
These efforts include initiatives like the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework for the DRC and the Great Lakes Region, the Luanda Peace Process led by Angola’s President Joo Louren§o, and the EAC-led Nairobi Process facilitated by former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta. South Africa believes in involving all parties, state or non-state, in negotiations to resolve the conflict.
The President noted the significance of EAC countries like Uganda, Burundi, Tanzania, and Rwanda attending the summit, as they share borders with the DRC and are directly impacted by the conflict. The summit reiterated calls for an immediate ceasefire and cessation of hostilities to allow humanitarian aid corridors to deliver essential supplies to civilians.
The summit instructed EAC/SADC Chiefs of Defence Forces to meet within five days to develop a securitisation plan for Goma, reopen Goma airport, evacuate civilians, and repatriate the deceased. A key outcome was the agreement for direct negotiations between all state and non-state parties, including M23, under the Luanda and Nairobi frameworks.
President Ramaphosa expressed satisfaction with the inclusive approach adopted at the summit under the leadership of President William Ruto of Kenya and President Emmerson Mnangagwa of Zimbabwe. The summit also affirmed the DRC’s independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity, emphasizing the need for uninvited foreign armed forces to withdraw.
The President concluded by quoting Congolese revolutionary Patrice Lumumba, reflecting on the solidarity of Africa and the free peoples of the world with the Congolese struggle. The outcomes of the summit are seen as confidence-building measures towards sustainable peace, paving the way for the eventual drawdown of SAMIDRC troops and lasting peace in the region.