Since 2025, the AFC/M23 offensive backed by Rwanda has plunged eastern DRC into a major security and humanitarian crisis: occupied territories, assassinations, violence, and millions of displaced people. Civil society is calling on Belgium and the EU to act in defence of international law.
* This open letter was published in Le Soir on 5 March 2026.
Since the capture of Goma in January 2025, followed by the fall of Bukavu in February and Uvira in December, the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is sinking ever deeper into an extremely serious multidimensional crisis. The AFC/M23 offensive, actively supported by Rwanda in violation of international law, has reignited a conflict of more than thirty years and has led to a sharp deterioration of the security, humanitarian and political situation. The civilian population is paying the highest price.
The de facto occupation of Congolese territory by an armed group supported by a neighboring state constitutes a clear violation of the United Nations Charter, of the principle of the inviolability of borders, and of the prohibition on the use of force. The established facts are not limited to a humanitarian crisis but represent a serious attack on the international legal order upon which the European Union claims to base its policy.
In the provinces of North and South Kivu, the AFC/M23 has established itself as a «de facto authority,» setting up unlawful structures with a view to creating an autonomous region - amounting to a form of balkanization of the Congolese state. This seizure of power is accompanied by systematic intimidation and repression against civil society: murders, arbitrary arrests, unlawful detention, torture, and enforced disappearances. The population is caught between its loyalty to the Congolese state and an armed force that governs through fear.
Human rights defenders, journalists, lawyers, and activists are being threatened, arrested, or forced into exile. Since January 2025, the crisis - aggravated by identity-based tensions and hate speech - has displaced more than 2.68 million people, bringing the total number of internally displaced persons to nearly 5.35 million, while almost 25 million people are facing food insecurity.. Interventions by the Congolese government, international partners, and NGOs are largely obstructed in occupied territories.
Violence by multiple actors and regional destabilization
The AFC/M23 and Rwandan forces are among the main perpetrators of serious violations and are responsible for approximately 45% of reported extrajudicial executions. Yet all parties to the conflict are guilty of violations of human rights and international humanitarian law. The United Nations Group of Experts unambiguously points to Rwanda's direct and decisive role in violating the territorial integrity of the DRC, accompanied by looting and other abuses.
Other armed groups also contribute to the violence, looting, and forced recruitment of child soldiers. Sexual violence remains a pervasive problem and is used as a weapon of war. Since early 2025, UNICEF has recorded more than 35,000 cases involving children - a figure that is likely an underestimate. The reduction in international funding, particularly from the United States, is jeopardizing essential programs supporting victims.
The crisis is destabilizing the entire Great Lakes region. Massive refugee flows are putting enormous pressure on refugee camps and health systems. Since December 2025, more than 100,000 Congolese refugees have fled to Burundi. This instability is fueling growing migratory pressure, weakening neighboring countries, and increasing the risk of a prolonged humanitarian crisis that demands stronger international mobilization, including from Europe.
The conflict is also driven by competition for control over natural resources. Eastern DRC occupies a strategic position in the global supply chain for critical minerals. Their armed and illegal exploitation feeds a war economy, directly contravening European regulations on conflict minerals and the objectives of the European Union's green transition.
An international diplomacy that has stalled
Recent diplomatic initiatives have yielded no tangible progress towards lasting peace. Agreements signed between the DRC and Rwanda are not being fully implemented, and no sustainable ceasefire has been respected. Talks with the M23 have stalled, UN resolutions remain ineffective, and the role of the African Union is insufficiently supported.
While the European Union remains active on the humanitarian front, its diplomatic engagement remains largely inadequate. The issue remains too marginal within the priorities of the Foreign Affairs Council. Europe is struggling to make its voice heard clearly in relation to Rwanda, the M23, and violations by all parties. This reluctance undermines its credibility and compromises its goal of contributing to peace and stability in the region.
It is time to act
Belgium deserves recognition for placing this issue on the agenda of the Foreign Affairs Council on 29 January 2026, but this is not enough. It must continue its efforts to mobilize member states in support of the African Union's mediation role and of Congolese civil society, and ensure that the latter is included in ongoing peace processes.
As a country with deep historical and political knowledge of the DRC, Belgium bears a particular responsibility to bring this issue to the highest European level and to defend respect for the territorial integrity of the DRC as an essential precondition for any lasting solution.
The European Union must speak with one voice to demand the withdrawal of AFC/M23 and Rwandan forces from Congolese territory. It cannot defend international law selectively. Resolute action can save lives, restore the rule of law, and prevent lasting regional destabilization. Inaction, on the other hand, will carry a considerable human, political, and moral cost.
We, civil society organizations, call on Belgium and the European Union to:
- maintain pressure on Rwanda, responsible for serious violations;
- support an inclusive, transparent, and participatory peace process and strengthen local civil society so that it can participate in peace initiatives;
- place the fight against impunity and access to justice at the centre of any agreements, including through European sanctions;
- strengthen international investigative mechanisms and guarantee unimpeded access to occupied territories; demand the rapid reopening of Goma airport for humanitarian operations;
- fully mobilize European instruments, in particular sanctions regimes, targeting the networks feeding the war economy, and the conditionality of partnerships.
* Co-signatories: Roland Mumbala Munungu, AETA; Jean-Claude Katende, ASADHO; Olivier Valentin, CGSLB; Arnaud Zacharie, CNCD-11.11.11; Edwin de Boevé, Dynamo International; Guy des Aulniers, Entraide et Fraternité; Selena Carbonero Fernandez, FGTB; Dido Mulumba, Fondation MULUMBA International (FMI-PAD Network); Jonas Tshiombela, NSCC; Véronique Wemaere, Solsoc; Fanny Polet, Viva Salud; Bart Verstraeten, WSM; Albert Kiungu, CRONGD Kasaï Central.
