The U.S.-led Peace Deal Won’t End the War Without New Pressure

December 2025

The presidential signings of peace and economic deals between the DR Congo and Rwanda in Washington, DC come amid active fighting and little incentive to reverse Rwanda’s invasion.

President Donald Trump received the Presidents of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwanda for the signing of a peace agreement aimed at ending the deadliest conflict in the world since the Second World War: the war in eastern DRC.

However, this agreement does nothing to change the situation on the ground in the region, where Rwanda continues its offensive through the proxy force M23 and where fighting is raging.

The Trump administration launched, in collaboration with Qatar, a peace process for eastern DRC in 2025, following the Rwanda-backed intervention that intensified in January. More than 5 million people are currently displaced in eastern DRC, making it the fourth largest displacement crisis in the world.

At first glance, the peace process resulted in three peace agreements, including framework agreements between the governments of the DRC and Rwanda and between the DRC and the M23, as well as an economic agreement for peace.

But on the ground, the M23 has expanded its territory and committed serious human rights violations, including ethnically targeted massacres and acts of torture that likely constitute war crimes, and more than 2 million people have been newly displaced in 2025.

Sasha Lezhnev, Senior Policy Advisor at The Sentry, stated: “The U.S.-led economic-for-peace deal offers a useful vision for the future, but ending the war in eastern DRC will require a much bolder approach right now. The United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union must intensify pressure and sanctions against Rwandan and Congolese officials, as well as their networks, who continue to support the M23 and other armed groups. Without this, eastern DRC risks being divided into a Rwanda-backed enclave, and the conflict will intensify.”

Rwanda and the M23 benefit from conflict gold and other minerals. The M23 controls significant gold and tantalum mines yet legally declared “Red Zone” by the Kinshasa government as required by OECD due diligence guidelines on supply chains, having looted $70 million in gold since May and smuggled it to Rwanda. A scandal tolerated by end users.

Rwanda is expected to export a record $2 billion in gold in 2025, five times more than in 2021. Conflict gold from Rwanda and Uganda transits through the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where it is refined and laundered into the global gold circuit.

John Prendergast, co-founder of The Sentry, stated: “Conflict gold represents a major financial incentive for Rwanda, which continues its invasion through its ally, the M23, by laundering this conflict gold smuggled into Dubai. The United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union must disrupt this incentive by strengthening sanctions against conflict gold smuggling networks in the region. Banks and gold refiners should also apply heightened due diligence on gold from Rwanda, Uganda and the United Arab Emirates.”

By John Msafiri with The Sentry