On 7 and 8 June 2026, the Togolese capital hosted a strategic meeting focused on the crisis in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Around the table were representatives from the main regional bodies involved in mediation: the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the East African Community (EAC), the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), alongside envoys from the African Union (AU) and the United Nations (UN). The stated objective was to assess the coherence of diplomatic approaches and gauge how far the warring parties remain from a sustainable settlement.
Lomé as a hub for fragmented mediation efforts
The choice of Togo as a rallying point was no coincidence. Faure Gnassingbé, appointed AU facilitator for the Congolese dossier, has spent months trying to unite parallel initiatives that have multiplied without always converging. The Nairobi process, led by the EAC, and the Luanda process, overseen by the AU and long driven by Angola’s João Lourenço, advanced in a disjointed manner. The gradual merger of these tracks, initiated in 2024, has yet to deliver 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 groups, most notably the March 23 Movement (M23), whose military advances in North Kivu and South Kivu have redrawn the region’s security map.
A tense timeline between Kinshasa, Kigali, and the M23
The diplomatic progress reported during the Togolese meeting remains modest compared to expectations. Direct talks between Kinshasa and the M23, long rejected by Congolese authorities, have finally begun under combined pressure from regional mediators and international partners. At the same time, the bilateral track between the DRC and Rwanda — accused by the UN and several Western chancelleries of backing the rebel movement — remains the most delicate political knot to untie.
Mediators reminded participants that implementation of previous commitments, notably the withdrawal of foreign forces from Congolese territory and the confinement 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, highlighted the limits of regional military responses to a conflict whose economic, land, and identity-related drivers extend far beyond the security realm.
A war economy that complicates the path to peace
Beyond the political dimension, participants stressed the urgency of tackling illicit mining circuits in the Kivu region. Coltan, tin, gold, and tungsten fuel a war economy whose tentacles reach international supply chains. Several mediators advocate a regional traceability mechanism, seen as essential for any lasting de-escalation.
The Lomé meeting did not produce spectacular announcements, but it reaffirmed the principle of an integrated approach. Next steps are expected to involve more closely the Congolese civil society actors, long sidelined in processes dominated by heads of state and chancelleries. Civil society groups from North Kivu and South Kivu, along with customary authorities, are now identified as indispensable relays to anchor any eventual agreement in the reality of the devastated territories.
Still, mediators left the Togolese capital without a firm timeline for signing a comprehensive deal. The weeks ahead will show whether the diplomatic momentum generated in Lomé is enough to shift the trajectory of a conflict that, for over three decades, has defied every peace framework built around the Great Lakes region.
