Washington Peace Agreement Records Limited Progress After One Year

Kinshasa, June 27, 2026 - One year after the signing of the Washington Peace Agreement between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, implementation has remained limited, with the two countries completing less than one-third of their respective commitments, according to an independent assessment.

The agreement, signed on June 27, 2025, was designed to promote peace and stability in the Great Lakes region through the neutralization of armed groups, the withdrawal of foreign forces, enhanced security cooperation, and regional economic integration.

An annual evaluation found that only 35% of the agreement's overall commitments had been implemented during its first year. Of the 30 identified tasks, 22 showed some level of progress, ranging from initial implementation to full completion.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo completed 31.7% of the commitments assigned to it, while Rwanda reached 30.6%. The international partners involved in supporting the agreement-including the United States, Qatar, the African Union, and other stakeholders-recorded the highest implementation rate at 53.5%.

The assessment noted that implementation progressed rapidly during the first two months after the agreement was signed before slowing considerably toward the end of 2025. Progress remained largely stagnant between December 2025 and February 2026 before modest improvements resumed in the following months.

Several factors were cited for the limited progress, including an imbalance in implementation priorities, with greater attention given to institutional and economic measures than key security commitments. Persistent mistrust between the parties also slowed the fulfillment of interdependent obligations.

Operations aimed at neutralizing the FDLR began only in late March 2026, while continued clashes between the Congolese army and the AFC/M23, along with delays in deploying the Expanded Joint Verification Mechanism Plus (EJVM+), further hindered implementation.

The report also highlighted that the worsening humanitarian and security situation in eastern DRC continues to undermine efforts to implement the agreement, despite repeated diplomatic initiatives.