On Tuesday, September 20, 2022, the 77th General Assembly of the United Nations was held in New York after the 2020 and 2021 editions which took place by videoconference due to the Covid 19 pandemic. It was therefore a highly anticipated meeting. by all leaders to discuss geopolitical issues in certain regions, including the Russo-Ukrainian war, or instability in the Sahel.
With regard to Africa, if this was an opportunity for some to reiterate the need to see the continent participate more in the decision-making bodies of the United Nations organization like the President of Nigeria Muhammadu Buhari, for the others on the other hand, it was an emergency. And this is the case of the head of state of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), President Félix Tshisekedi.
In a 40-minute speech from the rostrum of the United Nations, President Tshisekedi harshly condemned Rwanda, which he accused of direct military aggression against his country, alluding to the occupation of eastern Congo by the M23.
“Despite my goodwill and the outstretched hand of the Congolese people for peace, some of our neighbors have found nothing better than to thank us with aggression and support for the armed terrorist groups that are ravaging the east. of the Democratic Republic of Congo […] This is currently the case with Rwanda, which, in defiance of international law, of the UN charter […] once again attacked the Democratic Republic of Congo last March by direct incursions by its armed forces. said President Tshisekedi.
For thirty years, several armed groups have been raging in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, including the M23, essentially made up of former Congolese army soldiers who rebelled, accusing the government of marginalizing their minority. Tutsi ethnicity. “Most come from Congolese Rwandophone communities in the north”, explains Pierre Boisselet, researcher in the Congo study group in the Journal Afrique of April 4, 2022 on TV5MONDE. According to him, the M23 rebels “want to take back the land that they believe belongs to them.”
The Congolese head of state has therefore denounced the Kigali forces, basing his recent accusations on an expert report sent by the UN in which it is established that the Rwandan army has “launched military interventions against Congolese armed groups and positions of the Congolese armed forces” in the east of the country from November 2021.
He also wants this report to be made available to all members of the Security Council so that the United Nations can take appropriate measures to stop all supplies from Rwanda to the M23.
He also reaffirmed the determination of the Congolese people to take responsibility for their destiny, “We, the Congolese people, are now determined to put an end once and for all to insecurity in the east of our country, whatever The time has come to break once and for all the infernal cycle of violence in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to stabilize the Great Lakes region, in order to benefit to the maximum from its economic potential , as well as its rich biodiversity to save humanity in the face of climate change.”
France, which currently chairs the Security Council, has, through its President Emmanuel Macron, tried to calm things down by bringing together the Congolese and Rwandan presidents.
Not sure that the attempt worked, to see the mines displayed at the end of the meeting.
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