The international community convened in Luanda, Angola, for the third edition of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations Global Summit under a noble banner, calling for global peace, the cessation of hostilities, and respect for international law.
Yet, the presence of Democratic Republic of Congo President Félix Tshisekedi at this summit exposed a glaring and deeply troubling diplomatic contradiction. A leader whose administration actively executes targeted military campaigns against its own citizens cannot legitimately champion the ideals of peaceful coexistence, tolerance, and human rights. Tshisekedi’s participation is not just a diplomatic paradox; it is a profound insult to the core principles of conflict resolution and global peace.
While the Congolese government projects an image of a victim seeking international solidarity on the global stage, its domestic military strategies tell a far darker story. In eastern DRC, particularly across South Kivu and North Kivu, the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo allied with the United Nations and Unites States-sanctioned genocidal armed group, FDLR and the Burundian forces have deliberately sabotaged global peace efforts by launching incessant attacks on innocent civilians of ethnic Tutsi. Indiscriminate airstrikes are carried out on civilian-populated territories in Minembwe, Fizi, Walikale and other territories living thousands dead and homes destroyed.
The high-altitude deployment of combat drones and heavy artillery has devastated local communities, deliberately targeting areas inhabited by the Banyamulenge and other Tutsi minority populations who have long faced systemic persecution. The human cost of Kinshasa’s military strategy is documented through devastating blockades and direct strikes on civilian sanctuaries.
As Tshisekedi addressed the peace summit in Luanda, the pattern of violence continues in his country where the civilian population has been subjected to a dual campaign of recurring drone attacks. In the mining and agricultural hubs of Walikale, the escalation of drone warfare and joint military-militia operations continues to put innocent civilians in the crosshairs, turning ancestral villages into active, scorched-earth battlegrounds.
The Congolese leader has consistently undermined regional and international peace efforts, from the Nairobi Process and the Luanda Roadmap to the Washington Peace Agreement and the Doha talks. Despite repeated calls to implement the commitments made under these initiatives, President Tshisekedi continues to prioritize a military approach over dialogue. Meanwhile, the Congolese government maintains collaboration with and provides support to the FDLR as documented in recent UN Group of Experts reports.
It is evident that a leader genuinely committed to peace would not cooperate with armed militias or rely on them to pursue political or military objectives. This unholy alliance of convenience strips the Kinshasa regime of any lingering moral credibility.
True leadership in conflict resolution requires a fundamental commitment to the safety of all citizens, regardless of their ethnic background. By utilizing state resources to bomb local populations, tolerating rampant hate speech, and partnering with genocidal militias, the current administration in Kinshasa has forfeited any claim to moral leadership.
For international bodies to provide President Tshisekedi with a platform to speak on global peace is a form of political enablement. Until Kinshasa stops targeting its own people and halts its airstrikes on civilian territories, its leadership remains an active obstacle to regional stability and a disgrace to the global pursuit of peace.