Description: Bintou Keita, Head of the UN peacekeeping mission in the DR Congo (MONUSCO), visited the war – thorn city of Goma in eastern DRC, where she met with Corneille Nangaa, the leader of the rebel Congo River Alliance. According to press releases from social media platforms, Keita and Nangaa discussed the involvement of UN peacekeeping troops in ensuring a smooth transition of the peace agreement between the rebel alliance supported by Rwanda and the DRC government. MONUSCO forces withdrew last year from the city of Goma in the midst of a raging offensive led by the rebel coalition which led to a widespread humanitarian and refugee crisis, displacing over 7 million people and left countless deceased. Rwanda and DRC under US mediation agreed to conceptualize a draft peace agreement in April which is expected to be concluded in the upcoming period.
Impact: Keita’s visit could be perceived as purely political, as the United Nations in line with aid programs shortages and recent failures in humanitarian and warfare hotspots is attempting to remain relevant. The peace agreement between the rebel forces and the DRC government remains on a shaky ground as numerous previous initiatives have failed due to the volatility of the leaders on both sides. The US was recently reported to have diplomatically enforced pressure on both sides, as the peace agreement is bound to US national interests in the region through the extraction of rare earth minerals. Considering the raging crisis in the Middle East, global peace indexes have fallen at their lowest point which impacts large – scale conflicts such as the one in the DRC, which in turn fuels insecurity in both sides staying committed towards peace.