The Doha-Washington peace machinery grinds on while the front rearms
A fifth Joint Oversight Committee met in April; the DRC-M23 Doha framework's key provisions remain unimplemented — Qatar, Togo, the US and the AU keep the process alive as fighting continues
Summary
The peace architecture over eastern Congo runs on two tracks. State-to-state: Drc and Rwanda signed a US-brokered agreement in Washington (June 2025, formalised by Tshisekedi and Kagame in December 2025); a fifth Joint Oversight Committee met on 23 April 2026 with the US, Qatar, Togo and the African Union. Rebel track: the M23-Congo Doha framework signed 15 November 2025, advanced at Montreux (April 2026) on humanitarian access. But analysts say most Doha provisions remain unimplemented, and the June fighting shows the front rearming. Critics note US firms moving into Congo's cobalt and coltan, framing the deal as minerals-first. The machinery persists; the war it is meant to end has not.
By the numbers
- 27 June 2025 — DRC-Rwanda agreement signed in Washington.
- 4 Dec 2025 — Tshisekedi and Kagame formalise it under Trump.
- 15 Nov 2025 — DRC-M23 Doha framework agreement.
- 23 April 2026 — fifth Joint Oversight Committee meeting.
- 5 — parties to the oversight process (DRC, Rwanda, US, Qatar/Togo, AU).
Why it matters
The deal is the centrepiece of a US-Qatari diplomatic push and a template for resource-linked peacemaking in Africa. But a framework whose provisions go unimplemented while both armies rebuild risks legitimising a pause, not a peace — and the cobalt rush gives Washington an interest in declaring success regardless.
What to watch
- Whether the Doha provisions (M23 withdrawal, state authority, FDLR) move from paper to ground.
- The next Joint Oversight Committee and any enforcement mechanism.
- US mineral deals as a measure of where Washington's priorities sit.
- Rwanda's posture on M23 and any troop withdrawal verification.