The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) has reaffirmed its readiness to support peace processes in eastern DRC, including the Washington Agreement and the African Union-backed Doha process. This announcement comes amid ongoing hostilities between government forces and the M23 rebel group, reportedly backed by Rwanda, which controls significant portions of North Kivu and South Kivu provinces.

James Swan, the UN Special Representative and Head of MONUSCO, made this commitment following a working meeting with Guy Kabombo, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defense and Veterans Affairs, held at the Defense Ministry headquarters in Kinshasa on July 2. The discussions focused on strengthening collaboration between MONUSCO and Congolese defense authorities to implement the new mandate outlined in UN Security Council Resolution 2808 (2025).

Key among the new responsibilities is supporting the Joint Verification Mechanism Plus (MCVR+), which aims to monitor and verify the ceasefire in eastern DRC. “Since December 2025, we have received a new mandate to support the ceasefire monitoring and verification mechanism,” Swan explained. “We discussed our ongoing efforts to implement this mandate and how we plan to coordinate with the Ministry of National Defense to achieve MONUSCO’s objectives.”

“MONUSCO has already enhanced the operational and logistical capabilities of the Joint Enhanced Verification Mechanism (MCVR+). We have provided logistical support as requested and are actively planning to support verification missions on identified sites. We are ready to deploy as soon as the mechanism finalizes the site selection,” Swan assured.

The meeting also addressed broader aspects of MONUSCO’s mandate, including civilian protection, disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of armed groups, and support for security sector reform. With over 8,000 military personnel, MONUSCO continues to work closely with the Forces Armées de la République Démocratique du Congo (FARDC), particularly in northern Grand Nord and Ituri regions.

“MONUSCO maintains close collaboration with the Ministry of National Defense and Veterans Affairs and Congolese authorities. Given our substantial military presence and partnership with FARDC, we emphasized the importance of our shared mandates, including civilian protection and efforts to stabilize the region,” Swan noted.

This high-level engagement follows urgent calls from international partners, including during the recent Washington Agreement evaluation meeting in London and subsequent UN Security Council discussions, for the rapid deployment of the first ceasefire verification mission in eastern DRC. Both DRC and Rwanda have since reaffirmed their commitment to accelerating the implementation of agreements reached between the two countries.

According to the final communiqué from the U.S. State Department, both nations have agreed to “request an adjustment to the EJVM+ mandate to include verification of commitments made under the Washington Agreements.” They also committed to “support the rapid deployment of the EJVM+ to undertake its first verification mission” and “urge all actors on the ground to support this initiative.”

Under UN Security Council Resolution 2808 (2025), MONUSCO is authorized to support the implementation of a permanent ceasefire. This includes technical and logistical assistance to the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) through the Joint Enhanced Verification Mechanism Plus (EJVM+).