What is said about the Congo in Davos has almost nothing to do with what is lived in the country itself. The annual ritual of lofty statements, humanitarian buzzwords, and self-congratulation is not merely disconnected from reality, it actively helps sustain violence.
Consider Maxime Prévot’s reaffirmation of Belgium’s “strategic alliance” with Kinshasa.
But “alliance” with whom, exactly? With a regime whose army spokesperson openly engages in hate speech against Tutsi communities? With a state broadcaster that normalizes genocide ideology? With authorities that arm, legitimize, and fight alongside Wazalendo militias responsible for mass atrocities?
Prevot is not ignorant. He knows these facts. To reaffirm alliance in their full light is not just moral abdication, it is complicity.
Emmanuel Macron’s contribution is equally revealing. By resurrecting discussions about reopening Goma airport and restarting humanitarian operations, France pretends to act while carefully avoiding the core issue: there is no ceasefire. Humanitarian corridors do not exist in a vacuum. Aid planes do not land on good intentions. Talking logistics without addressing the ongoing war between Kinshasa and AFC/M23 is political cowardice dressed up as pragmatism. It signals that managing suffering is acceptable, so long as its causes remain untouched.
Then comes Félix Tshisekedi, performing for the Davos elite as if his regime were a solution to global economic instability. This would be laughable if it were not obscene. A regime incapable of protecting its own citizens, feeding them, or uniting them has nothing to teach the world about stability or growth. Tshisekedi is not resolving Congo’s crises; he is multiplying them, escalating militarization, empowering militias, and dragging the country toward a wider regional war. How can he position his country as a solution to anything?
Most damning is what none of these leaders mention. Not one speaks about completing the Doha process. Not one insists on it as the foundation of peace. This silence is the clearest proof that their statements are not about ending the war in Congo.
Doha would force uncomfortable truths: political inclusion, recognition of AFC/M23 freedom fighters as negotiating partners, accountability for state violence, and an end to genocidal rhetoric. Optics are easier. Alliances are safer. Silence is cheaper.
The result is a grotesque theater: Davos talks peace while Congo burns; elites posture while civilians die. Until this hypocrisy is named and rejected, the international community will remain not a bystander to Congo’s tragedy, but one of its enabling actors.