Rwanda has urged the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to adopt a more balanced and accountability-centered approach to resolving the ongoing crisis in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), saying that failure to address the root causes continues to endanger civilians and regional stability.
Speaking during the Council’s session on Tuesday, October 7, Rwanda’s Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva, Ambassador Urujeni Bakuramutsa, said that decades of unaddressed impunity, hate speech, and state-backed militias have kept the conflict alive—despite repeated international interventions.
“The Council must go beyond rhetoric and ensure that accountability is central to all peace efforts in eastern Congo,” Amb. Bakuramutsa said. “Ignoring the real drivers of the crisis will only prolong the suffering of innocent civilians.”
She emphasized that the failure to confront the activities of more than 260 armed groups, including the UN-sanctioned FDLR militia, has undermined peacebuilding efforts. The FDLR, composed of remnants of those who committed the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, remains one of the most destabilizing forces in the region, according to Rwanda.
The envoy accused the UN and other international actors of maintaining a “selective silence” on Congolese government support for armed groups, particularly the FDLR and the Wazalendo militia, while focusing blame on Rwanda.
“This Council cannot claim to promote human rights while turning a blind eye to collaboration between state forces and genocidal militias,” she said. “Lasting peace requires impartiality and the courage to confront uncomfortable truths.”
Bakuramutsa also called for stronger measures within the Council’s draft resolution to protect children from recruitment by armed groups and to combat hate speech targeting specific communities, including Congolese Tutsi and Banyamulenge populations.
She warned that hate-driven rhetoric by public officials and militia groups risks reviving genocidal patterns in the region.
Rwanda’s envoy criticized what she described as “recycled accusations” against Rwanda’s involvement in eastern DRC, saying such narratives deflect attention from the real causes of the crisis.
“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result,” Bakuramutsa told the Council. “Repeating accusations without addressing the root causes will not bring peace—neither to the people of DRC nor to our region.”
Amb. Bakuramutsa reaffirmed Rwanda’s commitment to dialogue and constructive engagement, saying that security, accountability, and civilian protection should guide all regional and international efforts.
“Peace in the Great Lakes region will not come from political convenience or blame games,” she said. “It will come from confronting impunity, protecting civilians, and ensuring that no state or militia operates above international law.”
Prince Ruzigana / The Kaminuza Star