Qatar has presented a draft peace agreement to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the M23 rebel group, Congolese media reported Sunday. The proposal, part of the Doha peace process, was confirmed by a Qatari official who emphasised the “positive response” from both sides. “Although the timeline in the Doha Declaration of Principles was missed, the parties expressed willingness to continue negotiations,” the official said.
The statement carried cautious optimism, underscoring the hope that dialogue and “sincere engagement” might resolve pressing challenges on the ground. On July 19, the Congolese government and M23 signed a declaration of principles in Doha, following a US-brokered Congo-Rwanda peace deal in Washington.
The document committed both sides to a permanent ceasefire, marking a rare alignment between Kinshasa and the rebels who dominate eastern provinces. M23, accused of destabilising the region, controls key territory, including the provincial capitals of Goma and Bukavu, captured earlier this year.
The Doha Declaration urged prisoner releases, yet disputes soon emerged as Kinshasa rejected the group’s demand for mass amnesty of over 700 detainees. Instead, the government insisted on a “case-by-case” review, while M23 pressed for all prisoners’ transfer to Goma before renewed dialogue.
The declaration originally set August 8 for negotiations and August 18 for signing a final deal, conditional on “confidence-building measures.” However, both parties missed the deadline after failing to attend scheduled talks, leaving the process suspended in uncertainty.
Qatar’s intervention now seeks to rescue momentum, offering a new draft to bridge differences and revive hopes of ending years of bloodshed. Whether dialogue triumphs over distrust remains uncertain, but the stakes are stark: peace for millions or a deepening cycle of war.