Eastern Congo’s Ceasefire Finally Gets Its First Inspectors
Kinshasa and the AFC/M23 have agreed a mechanism to police their truce. The first inspection is due on Monday. The post Eastern Congo’s Ceasefire Finally Gets Its First Inspectors appeared first on The Rio Times .
The first ceasefire inspection under the Doha process is scheduled for Monday, 24 August, at Minembwe in eastern Congo. This marks ten months since the ceasefire was signed, and four months after the body meant to police the agreement, known as the Expanded Joint Verification Mechanism Plus (EJVM+), was created. EJVM+ has yet to conduct a single verification mission.
Following a five-day meeting in Switzerland, the Congolese government and the Rwanda-backed armed group AFC/M23 agreed to establish a mechanism for reviewing progress and addressing challenges in implementing the ceasefire. However, only two out of the eight protocols outlined in the Doha Framework have been addressed so far. The monitoring body's creation in April and subsequent delays, including the expulsion of an officer by M23 in July, have hindered its progress.
The first inspection will take place in Minembwe, a town in South Kivu province that has been under mortar and drone fire during recent talks. The joint statement issued by the parties has several procedural elements, but lacks a substantive peace agreement. One notable point is that the order in which protocols are negotiated does not determine the order in which they are implemented, allowing easier commitments to move forward while more contentious ones are still being negotiated.
However, no new protocol has been agreed upon, and only two of the eight envisaged protocols have been completed. The first formal inspection, a crucial step in ensuring compliance with the ceasefire, is set to commence at Minembwe on Monday, 24 August.
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