The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) has formally welcomed the progress achieved during the Montreux talks held from April 13 to 18, 2026.
These discussions, involving the government of the DRC and representatives of the Congo River Alliance/M23 (AFC/M23), were facilitated by Qatar, the United States, and the African Union as part of the ongoing Doha process. The mission specifically highlighted significant advances toward a protocol on humanitarian access and judicial protection, urging both parties to finalize the agreement swiftly to alleviate the severe suffering of civilians in the eastern DRC.
A central outcome of the negotiations was the commitment to ensure rapid and unhindered humanitarian access in accordance with international law, with a particular emphasis on protecting women, children, and vital infrastructure. MONUSCO also encouraged the completion of confidence-building measures, such as the release and exchange of detainees, supported by the International Committee of the Red Cross. To ensure these promises translate into stability, a memorandum of understanding was signed with the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region to operationalize the Expanded Joint Verification Mechanism Plus (EJVM+), which is designed to provide a credible and transparent framework for monitoring the ceasefire.
While reaffirming its readiness to provide logistical and technical support for these verification missions, MONUSCO underscored that several critical conditions must be met for the mechanism to be effective. These include the immediate cessation of offensive drone use, an end to GPS signal jamming, and the guaranteed freedom of movement for UN personnel within a secured airspace. The mission concluded by urging all parties to maintain the current diplomatic momentum and turn these preliminary agreements into tangible security improvements for the civilian population.
TE/Sf/lb/abj/APA