|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
By Gabs Mia
Beni, DRC: In the muddy fields outside Beni, thousands of families who fled the fighting and the capture of Goma by the M23 rebel group in January 2025 have now been living in limbo for more than eight months. Their shelters, patched together with plastic sheeting, offer little protection from heavy rains. Children queue for meagre rations while their parents speak of homes they may never see again. For them, peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo remains a distant promise, even as leaders in Kinshasa and Kigali exchange commitments on paper.
A joint security mechanism, once slated to begin in mid-June with a clear timetable for disarmament, is already faltering. September’s negotiations exposed unresolved disputes, not least the question of the M23 rebels, Kigali’s alleged support for them, and who bears responsibility for dismantling the FDLR militia. Though 1 October was marked as the start of a “Concept of Operations”, scepticism dominates, with both capitals entrenched in mistrust and the calendar slipping.
On the ground, humanitarian needs eclipse diplomatic milestones. The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) describes the situation as “catastrophic”, citing a lack of funding and mounting pressure on host communities. “Basic needs are not being met,” said Pepe Sakouvogui, the UNHCR’s field chief in Beni. In North Kivu’s “Petit Nord” and “Grand Nord” zones, conditions are dire; in South Kivu, Burundian refugees face dwindling resources.
Meanwhile, UNHCR has begun facilitating the repatriation of Rwandan refugees from Congo back to Rwanda. But the return journey for Congolese living across the border has yet to start. Burundi, too, is receiving refugees from South Kivu, though the process remains fragile.
“The gap between decisions in New York and realities in Congo is persistent,” Bintou Keita, the UN Secretary-General’s representative in Kinshasa, told the Security Council on Tuesday. She urged the body to push for a lasting ceasefire, the only condition under which the agreements could transform into tangible relief for Congolese citizens.
Yet even that prospect is threatened by money. The 2025 Humanitarian Response Plan, pegged at $2.54 billion for 11 million people, is barely 15 percent funded, a deficit 60 percent greater than last year. The scaled-down “priority” budget of $1.25 billion, targeting 6.8 million of the most vulnerable, is equally starved of support.
For families displaced to camps in Beni, Burundi, or Rwanda since the fall of Goma, statistics matter little compared with the daily struggle to feed themselves. Many have now waited months for peace agreements to translate into real change on the ground.
