Regional mediators gather in Lomé to assess DRC peace efforts

On june 7 and 8, 2026, the Togolese capital hosted a strategic meeting focused on the crisis in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Around the table sat representatives of the main regional frameworks involved in mediation: the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the East African Community (EAC), the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), joined by envoys from the African Union (AU) and the United Nations (UN). The stated goal was to evaluate the coherence of diplomatic tracks and measure the distance still separating the warring parties from a lasting settlement.

Lomé, hub for fragmented mediation

The choice of Togo as a rallying point is no coincidence. Faure Gnassingbé, designated AU facilitator for the DRC dossier, has for months been striving to unite parallel initiatives that have multiplied without always converging. The Nairobi process, led by the EAC, and the Luanda process, conducted under the auspices of the AU and long embodied by Angola’s João Lourenço, have advanced in disjointed fashion. The gradual merging of these tracks, begun in 2024, has yet to produce the expected results on the ground.

Diplomats in Lomé acknowledged that coordination remains the Achilles’ heel of the peace effort. Several speakers stressed the need to streamline dialogue channels to prevent the protagonists from playing one mediation off against another. This fragmentation has long benefited armed actors, foremost among them the March 23 Movement (M23), whose military advances in North Kivu and South Kivu have redrawn the region’s security map.

Timeline under tension among Kinshasa, Kigali and the M23

The diplomatic progress mentioned during the Togolese meeting remains modest compared to expectations. Direct talks between Kinshasa and the M23, long refused by Congolese authorities, eventually began under combined pressure from regional mediators and international partners. Meanwhile, the bilateral track between the DRC and Rwanda — accused by the UN and several Western chancelleries of backing the rebel group — remains the most delicate political knot to untie.

Mediators noted that implementation of previous commitments, particularly the withdrawal of foreign forces from Congolese territory and the cantonment of armed groups, is worryingly behind schedule. The deployment of the SADC Mission in the DRC (SAMIDRC), which suffered heavy human losses in early 2025, illustrated the limits of regional military responses to a conflict whose economic, land and identity triggers far exceed the security framework.

War economy complicates exit from crisis

Beyond the political dimension, participants stressed the urgency of tackling the illicit exploitation circuits for Kivu’s mineral resources. Coltan, tin, gold and tungsten fuel a war economy whose ramifications stretch to international supply chains. Several mediators advocate a regional traceability mechanism, deemed an indispensable condition for any sustainable de-escalation.

The Lomé meeting did not yield spectacular announcements, but it reaffirmed the principle of an integrated approach. Next steps are expected to more closely involve Congolese civil society actors, long sidelined in processes dominated by heads of state and chancelleries. Civil society from North Kivu and South Kivu, along with customary authorities, are now identified as essential relays to anchor any eventual agreement in the reality of wounded territories.

Yet mediators left the Togolese capital without a firm timeline for signing a comprehensive agreement. The coming weeks will tell whether the diplomatic momentum sparked in Lomé will be enough to alter the trajectory of a conflict that, for more than three decades, has defied all peace architectures built around the Great Lakes.