The African Union is preparing a new diplomatic push on the crisis in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, with a panel of former African leaders set to visit Kinshasa, Kigali and Goma by mid-October. The planned regional tour is part of the AU’s effort to strengthen its mediation role and improve coordination between the different diplomatic processes seeking to address the conflict.
The five-member Panel of Facilitators is chaired by former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo and includes former Ethiopian President Sahle-Work Zewde, former Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi, former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and former Central African Republic President Catherine Samba-Panza. According to Africa Intelligence, the panel is expected to travel to Kinshasa, Rwanda’s capital Kigali and Goma, the provincial capital of North Kivu, by the middle of October.
Coordinating the Peace Tracks
The AU is seeking to bring greater coherence to several diplomatic efforts surrounding the DRC crisis. Its mediation structure is working alongside the Washington process between the DRC and Rwanda and the Doha process involving the DRC government and the AFC/M23. The AU’s six-month roadmap, adopted in July, calls for stronger coordination with both processes and covers political analysis, military and security issues, humanitarian access, dialogue with armed groups, regional economic cooperation and natural resources, as well as civil society, reconciliation, women and youth.
The roadmap also calls for political, technical and field-level engagement, regular reporting and coordination with regional and international partners. In January, the AU Commission said the Panel of Facilitators would work closely with Togo’s President Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé, the AU-designated mediator for the eastern DRC crisis, to engage stakeholders and support a durable and inclusive resolution.
The planned visits would give the facilitators an opportunity to engage directly with stakeholders in the countries and communities at the center of the peace process. Kinshasa is the seat of the DRC government, Kigali is central to the DRC-Rwanda track, while Goma remains an important location for engagement on the conflict in eastern DRC.
The AU’s mediation effort is also linked to implementation of existing commitments. In June, the DRC, Rwanda, the United States, Qatar, Togo and the AU Commission reaffirmed the need to implement the Washington peace agreement, de-escalate tensions and support the Doha negotiations between Kinshasa and AFC/M23.
The regional tour comes as the AU seeks to turn its six-month roadmap into practical engagement on the ground. For the Panel of Facilitators, that means maintaining contact with the parties, supporting coordination among the different diplomatic tracks and helping advance implementation of existing agreements. The visits to Kinshasa, Kigali and Goma will put that approach into practice as the AU seeks to reinforce its role in the search for a political settlement in eastern DRC.
