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STORY: UN / DRC RWANDA
TRT: 04:55
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / FRENCH / NATS
DATELINE: 27 JUNE 2025, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
FILE - NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, exterior United Nations Headquarters
27 JUNE 2025, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, Security Council
3. Med shot, Sierra Leone Ambassador Michael Imran Kanu
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Bintou Keita, Special Representative of the Secretary-General in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Head of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO):
“The signing this afternoon in Washington by the ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and of Rwanda of the draft peace agreement is a major step forward towards the end of the conflict. I would like to welcome the tireless efforts made by the United States in facilitating this agreement, which marks a decisive step towards peace and stability in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in the region of the Great Lakes.”
5. Wide shot, Council
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Bintou Keita, Special Representative of the Secretary-General in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Head of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO):
“My visit allowed me to meet MONUSCO’s civilian and uniformed personnel after a very difficult time. The goal was to boost their morale and reaffirm MONUSCO’s commitment to conflict affected communities. My visit also aimed to engage the AFC M23 on operational challenges related to the implementation of our mandate.”
7. Med shot, Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Ambassador
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Bintou Keita, Special Representative of the Secretary-General in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Head of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO):
“I am encouraged by progress made to reach a political solution to the recurring cycles of conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. MONUSCO continues to stand ready to support these efforts sustained by the decision and the will of this Council.”
9. Wide shot, United States Ambassador Dorothy Shea addressing Council
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Dorothy Shea, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, United States:
“Just hours ago in Washington, DC, 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, and founded on the prospect of shared prosperity through regional economic integration. This development is a major accomplishment. It supports African led processes and represents an historic step towards securing durable peace in eastern DRC and creating the conditions for economic development for the benefit of the people in the region.”
11. Wide shot, DRC representative Hippolyte Kingonzila Mfulu addressing Council
12. SOUNDBITE (English) Hippolyte Kingonzila Mfulu, Minister Counsellor, Permanent Mission to the United Nations, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC):
“We must underscore that the security situation in the eastern region of my country remains characterized by the continuation of the Rwandan aggression. The troops deployed in support of the AFC / M23 elements continues to be illustrated by the massacres of civilians, the raping of women and young girls, forced recruitment of young boys and other violations of human rights and international humanitarian law.”
13. Med shot, Keita and Rwandan Ambassador Martin Ngoga
14. SOUNDBITE (English) Hippolyte Kingonzila Mfulu, Minister Counsellor, Permanent Mission to the United Nations, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC):
“This morning Rwanda signed, with the mediation of the American administration and with the State of Qatar as a witness, the peace agreement between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda. In that agreement, Rwanda commits to withdrawing unconditionally all of its troops from DRC's territory. We hope that this time the United States of America, responsible for mediation, will be able to impose sanctions on Rwanda commensurate with their misconduct if they again fail to comply.”
15. Wide shot, Ngoga addressing Council
16. SOUNDBITE (English) Martin Ngoga, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Rwanda:
“While there is still some way to go, the path to lasting peace in the Great Lakes region is clear now than it has ever been before. An important part of today's agreement is the provision for the parties to form a standing joint security coordination mechanism, whose first order of business will be to oversee the implementation of the concept of operations for the neutralization of FDR and the lifting of Rwanda's defensive measures, as approved under the Rwanda process in November last year.”
17. Wide shot, Ngoga addressing Council
18. SOUNDBITE (English) Martin Ngoga, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Rwanda:
“The defensive measures are directly linked to a specific threat that is well known to this Council, and that is the FDR, remnants of the forces that committed the genocide against the Tutsi in 1994, and that continues to pursue the genocidal intent and ideology.”
19. Wide shot, Ngoga addressing Council
20. SOUNDBITE (English) Martin Ngoga, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Rwanda:
“We call on MONUSCO to tone down their rhetoric and end the public attacks and instead focus on working and engaging in supporting the fragile but credible diplomatic initiatives underway. Rwanda remains convinced that the negotiated political solution is the only responsible and viable path. Particularly in light of the history of the Great Lakes region.”
21. Wide shot, Council
The Head of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), Bintou Keita, today (27 Jun) told the Security Council that “the signing this afternoon in Washington by the ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and of Rwanda of the draft peace agreement is a major step forward towards the end of the conflict.”
Keita welcomes “the tireless efforts made by the United States in facilitating this agreement, which marks a decisive step towards peace and stability in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in the region of the Great Lakes.”
She told the Council that her recent visit to the Eastern DRC had the goal of boosting their morale of MONUSCO’s personnel “after a very difficult time,” as well as to “engage the AFC M23 on operational challenges related to the implementation of our mandate.
Keita said she was “encouraged by progress made to reach a political solution to the recurring cycles of conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo,” and stressed that “MONUSCO continues to stand ready to support these efforts sustained by the decision and the will of this Council.”
United States Ambassador Dorothy Shea told the Council that the peace agreement was “based on mutual respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity, human rights, and international humanitarian law, and founded on the prospect of shared prosperity through regional economic integration.”
She said the signing of the agreement was “a major accomplishment” as “it supports African led processes and represents an historic step towards securing durable peace in eastern DRC and creating the conditions for economic development for the benefit of the people in the region.”
The representative of the DRC, Hippolyte Kingonzila Mfulu, told the Council that the security situation in the eastern DRC “remains characterized by the continuation of the Rwandan aggression” as “troops deployed in support of the AFC / M23 elements continues to be illustrated by the massacres of civilians, the raping of women and young girls, forced recruitment of young boys and other violations of human rights and international humanitarian law.”
Kingonzila Mfulu told the Council that in the agreement, “Rwanda commits to withdrawing unconditionally all of its troops from DRC's territory” and said, “we hope that this time the United States of America, responsible for mediation, will be able to impose sanctions on Rwanda commensurate with their misconduct if they again fail to comply.”
Rwandan Ambassador Martin Ngoga for his part said, “while there is still some way to go, the path to lasting peace in the Great Lakes region is clear now than it has ever been before. An important part of today's agreement is the provision for the parties to form a standing joint security coordination mechanism, whose first order of business will be to oversee the implementation of the concept of operations for the neutralization of FDR and the lifting of Rwanda's defensive measures, as approved under the Rwanda process in November last year.”
Ngoga said, “the defensive measures are directly linked to a specific threat that is well known to this Council, and that is the FDR, remnants of the forces that committed the genocide against the Tutsi in 1994, and that continues to pursue the genocidal intent and ideology.”
He called on MONUSCO to “tone down their rhetoric and end the public attacks and instead focus on working and engaging in supporting the fragile but credible diplomatic initiatives underway” and said, “Rwanda remains convinced that the negotiated political solution is the only responsible and viable path. Particularly in light of the history of the Great Lakes region.”
