View from Africa illustration by Kate Copeland.

The resource-rich Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has long been at the centre of the fight for Africa’s survival. Kwame Nkrumah, the first president of Ghana, described it as ‘the heart’ of the continent, saying that ‘any wound inflicted upon the Congo is a wound to the whole of Africa’.

After decades of devastating conflict, Rwanda and the DRC signed a peace agreement in June this year. Finalized thousands of miles away, in Washington DC, the deal disregards accountability and fails to address the multi-faceted issues at play.

Since Rwanda-backed M23 fighters swept across the eastern part of the country at the start of 2025, seizing key cities like Goma and Bukavu, violence has displaced over one million people in Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu provinces.1 The humanitarian situation was already dire, with 6.7 million internally displaced persons and 1.1 million Congolese refugees abroad.2

Despite holding an estimated $24 trillion in untapped mineral resources in vast deposits of cobalt, coltan, gold, tin and tungsten, the DRC has one of the world’s poorest populations.3 Still, described as ‘a mineral deal first, an opportunity for peace second’, the Washington deal legitimizes plunder.4

As well as the disarmament of armed groups and the eventual withdrawal of Rwandan soldiers from eastern DRC, the agreement reportedly includes the expansion of foreign trade and investment in the critical mineral supply chain, strengthening economic links with the US.5

Throughout the DRC’s history, empires and imperial powers have vied directly or indirectly for unfettered access to the Congo’s resources – before the Washington deal, there was the Luanda process, followed by Dar es Salaam, and then Qatar. None of these processes have brought lasting peace.

Ineffective governance and ethnic divisions are exploited by regional armies and political players who use rebel groups fighting against neighbouring Rwanda and Uganda as an invitation to meddle. In the absence of a coherent national force respecting all Congolese rights, there remain significant obstacles to peace.

Driven by foreign interests, this new deal promises peace, but will it hold? ‘Some wounds will heal, but they will never fully disappear. Those who have suffered the most are watching. They are expecting this agreement to be respected, and we cannot fail them,’ Congolese Foreign Minister Kayikwamba Wagner told journalists.6

African countries cannot overlook their duty to protect their citizens. Our leaders must look beyond exploitable colonial statehood and reflect on the impacts of the global geopolitical scramble on their compatriots.

Communities and ecological systems remain extremely vulnerable under this new deal. The intrastate and interstate Congo conflicts have outlived many leaders, taking millions of lives prematurely. Comprehensive approaches to peace which focus on justice, not global extraction chains, must be prioritized.

Rosebell Kagumire is a Pan-African feminist writer and activist with expertise in African women’s liberation, racial and gender equality, peace and security.

  1. ‘DR Congo crisis...’, UN News, 13 June 2025, a.nin.tl/appeal
  2. ‘Eastern DRC displacement...’, Relief Web, 26 March 2025, a.nin.tl/overview
  3. ‘The Congolese fight for their own wealth’, Tricontinental, 25 June 2024, a.nin.tl/wealth
  4. Lewis Mudge, ‘Minerals for peace...’, The Hill, 7 April 2025, a.nin.tl/stick2
  5. Daphne Psaledakis et al, ‘Rwanda, Congo sign peace deal...’, Reuters, 27 June 2025, a.nin.tl/attract
  6. ‘DR Congo, Rwanda sign peace deal...’, Al Jazeera, 27 June 2025, a.nin.tl/turning