On May 20, 2025, the National Commission for Monitoring the Implementation of the Addis Ababa Agreement in Ethiopia released a comprehensive report detailing serious crimes committed against civilians in Goma and Bukavu between January and April 2025, during the occupation by AFC-M23 rebels. The report, unveiled at the National Museum in Kinshasa, was presented by Alphonse Ntumba Lwaba, the commission’s coordinator, and attended by high-ranking officials, including the Deputy Prime Minister for Internal Security and the Minister of Defense.
The over 100-page document aims to provide evidence of severe atrocities, including war crimes and crimes against humanity, committed by M23/AFC forces. Lwaba emphasized the importance of documenting these acts for international judicial proceedings to seek global justice.
The Minister of Human Rights stated that the report would serve as a crucial tool for gathering evidence to prepare submissions to international justice bodies. Meanwhile, the Minister of Communication, Patrick Muyaya, expressed concerns over the ongoing suffering of civilians in eastern Congo due to continued violence and human rights abuses perpetrated by M23 rebels.
The report highlights that the nearly three-decade-long conflict in eastern DRC has resulted in approximately 12 million deaths, though it does not specify the methods or the parties responsible for these casualties.
This publication comes amid accusations from M23 rebels, who claim that the Kinshasa government is complicit in ongoing violence and discrimination against Tutsi populations in North and South Kivu. They allege that the government collaborates with armed groups like the FDLR, responsible for the 1994 Rwandan genocide, to commit atrocities against civilians.
M23 also accuses the Congolese government of violating peace agreements, including the Nairobi accords, by failing to reintegrate M23 fighters into civilian life and governmental structures.
As both sides continue to exchange blame, the civilian population in eastern Congo bears the brunt of the conflict, facing killings, persecution, and displacement, while the Kinshasa government remains resistant to internationally advocated dialogue as a solution.
