The United States welcomes the final report by the United Nations Group of Experts on the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). We condemn the violence that has left so many dead, injured, displaced, and vulnerable to violence. Those responsible for these acts must be held accountable. We call on all armed groups, including M23, CODECO, FDLR, MAPI, and others to cease hostilities and lay down their weapons. We call on foreign non-state armed groups to return to their countries of origin and domestic armed groups to join the East African Community-led Nairobi Process consultations between the DRC government and armed groups.
We reiterate our call for Rwanda to immediately remove Rwanda Defense Force (RDF) troops from Congolese territory. We also call on Rwanda to immediately cease support for the UN- and U.S.-sanctioned M23 armed group, which the Group of Experts has documented committing multiple violations of international humanitarian law and human rights abuses, including rapes and summary executions of civilians. We also denounce the collaboration, endorsed by national military authorities, of Congolese armed forces (FARDC) elements with multiple armed groups, including the UN- and U.S.-sanctioned FDLR, and we reiterate our call for the government of the DRC to immediately stop all collaboration between these elements.
The United States designated the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), also known as ISIS-DRC, as a Foreign Terrorist Organization in 2021 and urges our partners to do the same. We condemn the attacks by ISIS-DRC.
The United States welcomes the report’s recommendations and continues to support African-led diplomatic efforts, including the Nairobi and Luanda processes, to promote lasting peace.