“Do you lack evidence even within your own reports that the Kinshasa government backs FDLR?” Amb. Ngoga asks UN Security Council

The Permanent Representative of Rwanda to the United Nations, Martin Ngoga, criticized the UN Security Council for failing to denounce the violence committed by the coalition of the DRC government and the genocidal militia, FDLR. He delivered this message during the UN Security Council meeting on August 22, 2025, which focused on the security situation in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Ambassador Ngoga reaffirmed Rwanda’s full support for ongoing peace efforts, particularly the Washington and Doha tracks. “In a tangible demonstration of political will, the Rwandan Parliament unanimou

The Permanent Representative of Rwanda to the United Nations, Martin Ngoga, criticized the UN Security Council for failing to denounce the violence committed by the coalition of the DRC government and the genocidal militia, FDLR. He delivered this message during the UN Security Council meeting on August 22, 2025, which focused on the security situation in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Ambassador Ngoga reaffirmed Rwanda’s full support for ongoing peace efforts, particularly the Washington and Doha tracks. “In a tangible demonstration of political will, the Rwandan Parliament unanimously ratified the Washington peace agreement on 29th July 2025,” he said. He emphasized that conflicts in the DRC directly threaten Rwanda’s security, highlighting that violence and discrimination have forced than 100,000 refugees into Rwanda. “Unfortunately, these are not spoken about as they should be,” he remarked. Ngoga recalled that over the past three decades, Rwanda has defended its citizens against attacks by the Kinshasa-backed FDLR and their affiliates. He stressed that it is in Rwanda’s vital interest to see the DRC peaceful, well-governed, and with the root causes of conflict resolved to ensure durable peace and prosperity. “I did not hear a single delegation talk about Kinshasa-backed FDLR. Is it for lack of evidence? I know you have a working methodology in the Council where you adopt a language, but is there no objective criteria to adopt a language? Do you lack evidence?” he asked. “Allow me to remind you who FDLR is: They are the remnants of the people that were killing around 10,000 people every day during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi when you passed a resolution to withdraw UN forces from Rwanda. They continued to kill over 10,000 people on average every day when you passed the resolution to provide them safe passage to flee to the DRC.” Ambassador Ngoga also expressed Rwanda’s disappointment that the DRC refused to launch the Concept of Operations for neutralizing the Kinshasa-backed FDLR during the first meeting of the Joint Security Coordination Mechanism on August 7. However, he reaffirmed Rwanda’s commitment under the Washington agreement to ensure lasting peace in the region, particularly in eastern DRC.