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The Democratic Republic of Congo government and the M23 rebel group announced an agreement on a roadmap for comprehensive peace negotiations after five days of talks in Switzerland, according to a joint statement issued at the conclusion of the meetings. The two sides committed to sequenced steps and timelines for advancing toward full conflict resolution while maintaining flexibility in their approach. They also established a mechanism to monitor ceasefire violations, with its secretariat now in place and the first verification mission scheduled for Monday in Minembwe in South Kivu province.
A joint statement from the parties said they had agreed to establish a mechanism tasked with reviewing progress and addressing challenges in implementation of obligations and commitments under the Doha Framework Agreement. The framework itself was signed in Qatar in November 2025 with Qatari and United States mediation, setting the stage for subsequent talks that have continued into 2026. Anadolu Agency reporting on the latest development noted that the Swiss-hosted round included representatives from Qatar, the United States, Togo, the African Union Commission and Switzerland as host.
The conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has persisted for decades, with a surge in violence after M23 forces seized the city of Goma and two airports in January 2025. Tensions between Kinshasa and Kigali have fueled much of the fighting, as the Congolese government accuses Rwanda of backing the rebels while Kigali maintains its forces act in self-defense against the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda. Reuters coverage of earlier phases of the Doha process documented multiple missed deadlines and partial agreements on issues such as prisoner exchanges and ceasefire verification before the current roadmap emerged.
UNHCR figures show that by September 2025 some 8.2 million people had been displaced by the wider crisis, with projections indicating the total could reach 9 million by the end of 2026. The agency has recorded more than 5 million internally displaced people concentrated in the eastern provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri, where clashes between government forces, M23 and other armed groups continue. A separate UNHCR global trends assessment placed the number of newly displaced Congolese in 2025 at 3.9 million, underscoring the scale of the humanitarian emergency even as peace efforts advance on paper.
Disagreements persist on several key points, including the lifting of sanctions against M23, the release of detainees and the sequencing of political reforms, the joint statement acknowledged. Both sides have repeatedly accused each other of ceasefire violations in North and South Kivu despite earlier pledges to halt hostilities. The Critical Threats Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies noted in its analysis of the 2025 Doha Framework that six of eight planned pillars for a comprehensive deal remained unresolved at that time, setting the stage for the extended negotiations now underway in Switzerland.
The latest round builds on partial agreements reached earlier in the Doha process, including a ceasefire monitoring pact signed in October 2025 that expanded verification roles for regional and international observers. Mediators from the United States and Qatar have maintained pressure on both parties to implement existing commitments while addressing humanitarian access and the return of state authority to rebel-held areas. Fighting has continued in parallel with the diplomatic track, with local reports frequently citing civilian casualties and further population movements in contested territories.
