Africa's regional blocs merge initiatives to steer DRC peace talks

NAIROBI - Kenyan President William Ruto and Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa have announced a decision to merge two initiatives to advance peace efforts in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Ruto and Mnangagwa, co-chairing a virtual extraordinary joint summit on Wednesday of the East African Community (EAC) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), endorsed merging their respective Nairobi and Luanda peace processes into a single African-led mediation framework supported by the African Union to improve coordination.

"They also approved key operational documents and a resource mobilization plan to sustain the initiative," the Kenyan presidency said in a statement released on Thursday.

During the summit, Ruto advocated a united African-led approach, calling it "the surest path" to durable peace in the eastern DRC, it said.

The joint summit endorsed appointing former Botswanan President Mokgweetsi Masisi to join the five-member Panel of Facilitators mandated to steer inclusive dialogue on the eastern DRC.

The other four panel members are former presidents Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria, Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya, Catherine Samba-Panza of the Central African Republic, and Sahle-Work Zewde of Ethiopia.

The summit welcomed progress from US and Qatari diplomatic initiatives and commended Rwandan President Paul Kagame and DRC President Felix Tshisekedi for embracing dialogue.

The EAC-SADC initiative, an Africa-led process, aims to restore peace in the DRC and complements ongoing US and Qatari mediation, the statement said.

The eastern DRC has suffered decades of conflict, intensified by the March 23 Movement (M23) rebel group's resurgence since late 2021.

According to the United Nations, more than 27.8 million people in the DRC face food insecurity, with more than 7 million internally displaced, many repeatedly.