Latest news with #Nduhungirehe
Mint
9 hours ago
- Business
- Mint
Congo, Rwanda Sign US-Backed Peace Deal to End Years of War
(Bloomberg) -- The Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda agreed to a US-backed peace deal meant to end years of deadly conflict and promote development in Congo's volatile eastern region. Foreign ministers from the two countries signed the accord Friday in the presence of Secretary of State Marco Rubio and met with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office later in the day. 'Today the violence and destruction comes to an end and the entire region begins a new chapter of hope and opportunity, harmony, prosperity and peace,' Trump told reporters with Rubio, Vice President JD Vance, and Congo's Foreign Minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner and her Rwandan counterpart, Olivier Nduhungirehe, at his side. The peace deal commits the two countries to cease hostilities and halt support for armed groups. It also envisions allowing refugees and displaced people to return home as well as increased economic integration between the countries, with the potential for US investment. 'My administration will continue to work with all of the parties in this deal and ensure the agreements are fully taken care of and you're gonna do what's in the agreement,' Trump said. 'Because if somebody fails to do that, bad things happen,' he added, and later mentioned the possibility of 'very severe penalties, financial and otherwise.' The accord may bring an end to the occupation of a large swath of mineral-rich eastern Congo by the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group. The M23 says it's protecting the rights of ethnic Tutsis and other speakers of the Rwandan language in Congo. Officials there say the M23 and its Rwandan supporters are mainly interested in the region's minerals, including gold, tin and tantalum, which is used in most portable electronics. Trump said Rwandan President Paul Kagame and Congo's president, Felix Tshisekedi, have been invited to Washington in July. Separate peace talks between Congo and the M23 are continuing, overseen by the government of Qatar. 'We will lend our full support in the weeks ahead to Qatar's efforts' for the two parties to come to an agreement, Rwanda's Nduhungirehe said. 'The first order of business' will be for Congo to 'neutralize' a Hutu rebel group in eastern Congo, known as the FDLR, with links to the perpetrators of the 1994 Rwandan genocide, 'accompanied by the lifting of Rwanda's defensive measures,' Nduhungirehe said. More than 800,000 people were killed in the genocide that targeted the country's Tutsi minority in the span of about 100 days. Why Congo, Rwanda Agreed to End Three Decades of War: QuickTake Around six million people are currently displaced by conflict in eastern Congo, making it one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world. 'This moment has been long in coming,' Kayikwamba said. 'It will not erase the pain, but it can begin to restore what conflict has robbed many women men and children of: safety, dignity and a sense of future.' The two countries are also working on an economic pact as part of the agreement that could be signed next month, according to Trump's senior adviser for Africa, Massad Boulos. There are also ongoing bilateral investment talks with both countries to invest in their mineral supply chains, he said. 'Many American companies have shown interest,' Boulos said, adding that the US was already negotiating a critical minerals deal with Congo. Sign up here for the twice-weekly Next Africa newsletter, and subscribe to the Next Africa podcast on Apple, Spotify or anywhere you listen. (Updates with Trump's comments throughout.) More stories like this are available on
The Guardian
06-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Rwanda says talks underway with US to host deported migrants
Rwanda confirmed on Monday that discussions were 'underway' with the United States regarding a potential agreement to host deported migrants. Rwanda's foreign minister, Olivier Nduhungirehe, told state media on Sunday that the talks were in the 'early stage.' When asked by the Associated Press on Monday, he confirmed the talks. Nduhungirehe did not disclose the specifics of the potential deal for Rwanda, but previous local media reports suggest that the US would likely fund a program to have migrants integrated into the society through stipends and job assistance initiatives. The minister said a migrant deal between Rwanda and the US would be consistent with Rwanda's longstanding commitment to humanitarian cooperation and the pursuit of migration solutions. The US state department declined to comment on a potential deal with Rwanda, but said engagement with foreign governments was an important part of the US government's policy to deter illegal migration. This wouldn't be Rwanda's first time hosting deported migrants. The east African nation previously had an agreement with the UK to host migrants. Plans for the initiative, including prepared accommodations, were in the final stages but the deal collapsed after the Labour party took office in 2024. A similar plan in Australia also failed. Rwanda has faced allegations of human rights abuses and is in the process of brokering a peace deal with the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo where Rwanda-backed M23 rebels have been behind attacks in the mineral rich eastern Congo region. Nduhungirehe told state media on Sunday that Rwanda and Congo had already submitted their respective draft proposals, which will form the basis of a final peace agreement document expected to be signed in the US next month.
Boston Globe
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Rwanda in early talks with US to take expelled migrants
'It is true that we are in discussions with the United States,' Nduhungirehe said in an interview with Rwanda TV, the state broadcaster. 'These talks are still ongoing, and it would be premature to conclude how they will unfold,' he added. Advertisement Rwanda's government did not respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for the State Department declined to discuss details of the talks, but said, 'Ongoing engagement with foreign governments is vital to deterring illegal and mass migration and securing our borders.' Rwanda has long positioned itself as a partner to Western nations seeking to curb migration, offering to provide asylum to migrants or house them as they await resettlement elsewhere, sometimes in return for payment. Nduhungirehe did not say whether Rwanda would be paid for the agreement. Critics say that sending asylum-seekers to Rwanda is unsafe, citing the country's poor record on human rights, its limited resources, and the authorities' previous intimidation and surveillance of migrants and refugees. The Trump administration has deployed a number of hard-line tactics to curb migration, including deporting individuals on well-publicized flights. Trump invoked a centuries-old law in March to deport scores of alleged gang members from Venezuela to El Salvador, even as a federal judge sought to halt the flights. Washington has been looking for more countries willing to take in people expelled from the United States. Advertisement The Trump administration has also been asking countries to take back their own citizens who have been deported from the United States, and taking punitive measures against those nations that refuse to do so. In early April, Secretary of State Marco Rubio revoked visas for all South Sudanese nationals amid a dispute over the East African country's failure to accept a deported migrant. If Rwanda agrees to a deal with the Trump administration, it would be the African country's latest agreement to take in migrants. The small, landlocked nation hosts hundreds of African refugees from Libya awaiting resettlement in a joint partnership with the United Nations refugee agency. It has also signed a deal with Denmark to improve cooperation on asylum and migration, and it entered into a secretive partnership with Israel to receive deported African migrants. Rwanda agreed to a deal with Britain to receive third-country asylum-seekers in 2022 in a contentious plan that was later deemed unlawful by the British Supreme Court. Last year, the British government passed legislation to override the court's decision and declare Rwanda a 'safe country.' Only four people voluntarily left for Rwanda under the plan, and when the Conservatives lost the general election last July, the new Labour government of Prime Minister Keir Starmer scrapped the deal. The program cost British taxpayers 715 million pounds (about $949 million), with some 290 million pounds going to Rwanda. Rwanda's government has said it will not repay the money. Advertisement The discussions between Rwanda and the United States were first reported by The Handbasket and coincide with a US effort to mediate a peace deal in the war between Rwanda and neighboring Congo. The Handbasket and Reuters news agency also reported that the United States deported an Iraqi refugee, Omar Abdulsattar Ameen, to Rwanda. Nduhungirehe did not refer to that case during his interview on Rwanda TV. This article originally appeared in
Winnipeg Free Press
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Rwanda confirms early talks to host deported US migrants
KIGALI, Rwanda (AP) — Rwanda confirmed on Monday that discussions were 'underway' with the United States regarding a potential agreement to host deported migrants. Rwanda's Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe on Sunday told state media that the talks were in the 'early stage.' When asked by The Associated Press on Monday, he confirmed the talks. Nduhungirehe did not disclose the specifics of the potential deal for Rwanda, but previous local media reports suggest that the U.S would likely fund a program to have migrants integrated into the society through stipends and job assistance initiatives. The U.S. State Department declined to comment on a potential deal with Rwanda, but said that engagement with foreign governments is an important part of the U.S. government's policy to deter illegal migration. This wouldn't be Rwanda's first time hosting deported migrants. The East African nation previously had an agreement with the U.K. to host migrants. Plans for the initiative, including prepared accommodations, were in the final stages but the deal collapsed after the Labour Party took office in 2024. Rwanda has faced allegations of human rights abuses and is currently in the process of brokering a peace deal with the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo where Rwanda-backed M23 rebels have been behind attacks in the mineral rich eastern Congo region. Nduhungirehe told state media on Sunday that Rwanda and Congo had already submitted their respective draft proposals, which will form the basis of a final peace agreement document expected to be signed in the U.S next month. The minister said the migrant deal between Rwanda and the U.S was consistent with Rwanda's long-standing commitment to humanitarian cooperation and the pursuit of migration solutions. ____ Follow AP's Africa coverage at:
The Hill
05-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
The U.S. says Congo and Rwanda submit a draft peace proposal
GOMA, Congo (AP) — Congo and Rwanda have submitted a draft peace proposal as part of a U.S.-led process that could end fighting in resource-rich eastern Congo, a U.S. official said Monday. President Donald Trump's senior adviser for Africa and the Middle East, Massad Boulos, said on social media he welcomed the draft text 'received from both (Congo) and Rwanda,' calling it 'an important step.' Details of the draft were not immediately clear, including whether it offers to ease U.S. access to the region's critical minerals — something Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi has mentioned in return for U.S. help in calming the hostilities. The decades-long conflict in eastern Congo escalated in January, when the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels seized the strategic city of Goma, followed by the city of Bukavu in February. The fighting has killed some 3,000 people and raised the fears of a wider regional war. Eastern Congo has been in and out of crisis for decades. Dozens of armed groups are vying for territory in the mining region near the border with Rwanda. The conflict has created one of the world's largest humanitarian crises with more than 7 million people displaced, including 100,000 who fled homes this year. Congo is the world's largest producer of cobalt, a mineral used to make lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and smartphones. The country also has substantial gold, diamond and copper reserves. Monday's draft peace proposal comes after Secretary of State Marco Rubio last month oversaw the signing by Congo and Rwanda of a pledge to work toward a peace deal. Rwanda's foreign minister, Olivier J.P. Nduhungirehe, told the Rwanda Broadcasting Agency on Monday that he would meet Congo's foreign minister in the third week of May to negotiate a final peace agreement. He said he hoped the presidents of Rwanda and Congo would sign the agreement by mid-June at the White House in the presence of Trump and heads of state from the region. 'We hope that if all goes well, we are going to have a peace agreement which will allow us to achieve lasting peace in the region,' Nduhungirehe said. There was no immediate comment from Congo's authorities. The M23 rebels are supported by about 4,000 troops from neighboring Rwanda, according to U.N. experts, and at times have vowed to march as far as Congo's capital, Kinshasa, about 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) to the west. Congo and Rwanda hope the involvement of the U.S. — and the incentive of major investment if there's enough security for U.S. companies to work safely in eastern Congo — will calm the violence that has defied international peacekeeping and negotiation since the mid-1990s. 'A durable peace … will open the door for greater U.S. and broader Western investment, which will bring about economic opportunities and prosperity,' Rubio said, adding that it would 'advance President Trump's prosperity agenda for the world.' Some analysts have warned that the U.S. could become involved in, or worsen, the militia violence, corruption, exploitation and rights abuses surrounding the mining of eastern Congo's riches. Separately on Monday, Rwandan authorities confirmed that discussions were 'underway' with the United States regarding a potential agreement for Rwanda to host deported migrants.
