Six months after the signing of the Washington Accords for Peace and Prosperity, the optimism that surrounded the agreement has given way to a more sobering reality. Fighting, displacement and insecurity continue to define life for many communities in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, while Kinshasa's decision to institute proceedings against Rwanda at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) underscores how fragile the diplomatic breakthrough remains.
The latest legal move highlights a broader truth: signing an agreement is not the same as securing peace.
For the people of North Kivu and other conflict-affected regions, the measure of any peace initiative is not the number of diplomatic ceremonies it produces but whether it reduces violence, allows displaced families to return home and restores normal economic life.
Supporters of the Washington process argue that sustained international engagement is essential to preventing a wider regional conflict. Critics, however, contend that externally brokered agreements often struggle because they are shaped as much by geopolitical and economic interests as by the lived realities of the communities they are intended to help.
One recurring criticism is that international attention to eastern Congo tends to intensify when the region's vast reserves of strategic minerals become central to global supply chains. The Democratic Republic of Congo is home to significant deposits of cobalt, coltan, copper and other critical minerals that are indispensable to modern technologies. As global competition for these resources grows, some observers question whether peace initiatives adequately prioritize the security and political aspirations of local populations alongside broader economic interests.
Whether that criticism is entirely fair is open to debate. International actors frequently maintain that their objectives include regional stability, humanitarian relief and economic development. Yet the persistence of conflict despite repeated diplomatic interventions has fuelled skepticism among many Africans about the effectiveness of externally led peace processes.
The decision by the DRC to seek legal recourse at the ICJ reflects another dimension of the crisis: unresolved political and security disputes are increasingly being fought not only on the battlefield but also in international legal forums. Whatever the eventual outcome, litigation is unlikely on its own to address the root causes of instability, including armed group activity, governance challenges, regional mistrust and competition over resources.
The lesson of the past six months may therefore be less about the failure of one agreement than about the limits of diplomacy that is not matched by sustained political commitment on the ground.
Lasting peace in eastern Congo will require more than signatures on official documents. It will demand credible security arrangements, accountability for armed violence, economic opportunities for affected communities and sustained cooperation among the countries of the Great Lakes region.
Many African policymakers and analysts have argued that regional institutions, neighbouring states and African-led mediation should play a central role in that process. The principle behind this argument is not that external partners have no role to play, but that durable peace is more likely when those most directly affected exercise meaningful ownership over negotiations and implementation.
The people of Goma, Bukavu and countless smaller communities have lived through decades of promises that failed to end the cycle of violence.
Their expectations are understandably modest.
They are not asking for another declaration of peace.
They are asking for peace itself.
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