“CENCO urges the governments of Rwanda and DR Congo to respect this agreement,” the Catholic Bishops say.
They appeal to the solidarity of international partners to “effectively support” the roadmap of the ceasefire that was to kick in on August 4.
“All parties should take into consideration the pressing need to enable all these women, children, and men, displaced by the force of recurrent insecurity, to live in dignity and peace in their homelands as people created in the image and likeness of God,” the Catholic Church leaders say in their August 7 statement that CENCO Secretary General, Mons. Donatien Nshole, signed.
They further express cautious optimism, noting that while this agreement is a “positive development, it is not the first of its kind.”
“While congratulating everyone on this small step forward, we recall that this is not the first agreement signed between the Governments of Rwanda and DRC. All the previous agreements had been brilliantly violated, and the various reports relating to them had not given rise to sanctions,” CENCO members say.
They call on the international community to bolster its support for the agreement, and urge global partners to prioritize the situation in the DRC and ensure that the roadmap to peace is “fully implemented.”
“To date, international partners have not yet considered the war in eastern DR Congo as much of a priority as the war in Ukraine or the situation in the Middle East. And yet, on both sides, the same human lives are being cut short, the same human rights violated, and the same human dignity trampled upon,” the Catholic Bishops say.
CENCO members emphasize that the success of the peace agreement depends “not only on the commitment of Rwanda and DRC but also on the active involvement of international partners in supporting and monitoring the peace process.”
DRC government has long accused Rwanda of backing March 23 Movement (M23) rebels fighting its army in North Kivu Province, an accusation Rwanda denies.
Earlier, in July, a two-week humanitarian truce took place amid fierce fighting between Congolese government troops and rebels from the M23 group.
