Barometer of Peace Agreements in Africa
Doha Peace Process
The launch of the Doha Peace Process in July 2025, facilitated by Qatar, generated renewed hope for ending the armed conflict between the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the Rwanda-supported Alliance Fleuve Congo/M23 (AFC/M23). The process constitutes a significant mechanism for addressing the internal political and military dimensions of the conflict. It is interdependent with the Washington process while remaining legally distinct from it.
The latter culminated in the signing, on June 27, 2025, of the Washington Peace Agreement, which addresses the interstate dimension of the crisis between the DRC and Rwanda. Both the Doha and Washington initiatives respond to complementary dimensions of the broader conflict in eastern DRC.
The Doha Peace Process is a multi-layered negotiated framework comprising several legal and operational instruments, including the Declaration of Principles of July 19, 2025, which established the political foundation for direct negotiations between the DRC Government and the AFC/M23 and provided the basis for subsequent confidence-building and implementation arrangements.
The Detainee Release Mechanism of September 14, 2025, outlined procedures for identifying, verifying, and releasing detainees held by the parties. The Ceasefire Oversight and Verification Mechanism (COVM) of October 14, 2025, set out arrangements to monitor and verify compliance with the permanent ceasefire and to help prevent renewed hostilities.
The Doha Framework for a Comprehensive Peace Agreement (“Framework Agreement”) of November 15, 2025, providing the overarching framework guiding negotiations toward a broader political and security settlement through eight protocols, of which the first two had already been concluded separately and were subsequently incorporated into the broader Framework Agreement, namely:
1. The Protocol on Detainee Release Mechanism;
2. The Protocol on Ceasefire Oversight and Verification Mechanism;
3. The Protocol on Humanitarian Access and Judicial Protection;
4. The Protocol on Restoration of State Authority, Reforms, and National Participatory Governance Arrangements;
5. The Protocol on Interim Security Arrangements, Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) of Local Armed Groups, and Neutralization of Foreign Armed Groups;
6. The Protocol on Identity and Citizenship, and Return and Reinstallation of IDPs and Refugees;
7. The Protocol on Economic and Social Recovery; and
8. The Protocol on Justice, Truth, and Reconciliation.
The DRC Government and AFC/M23 signed the Declaration of Principles for permanent ceasefire
This process was subsequently complemented by the Memorandum of Understanding of April 14, 2026, on the operationalization of the Expanded Joint Verification Mechanism Plus (EJVM+), involving the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), the DRC Government, and AFC/M23.
For analytical purposes, the assessment of the implementation of the Doha Peace Process focuses on the execution of commitments under the Detainee Release Mechanism, the Ceasefire Oversight and Verification Mechanism, and the Doha Framework for a Comprehensive Peace Agreement.
