Peace at last? Appraisal of the Addis Ababa Peace and Security Cooperation Framework and the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2098 for the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Abstract

The seizure of Goma by the Mouvement du 23 Mars rebellion in November 2012 has precipitated a review of the peace strategy implemented in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the Great Lakes region thus far. As a result, the Congolese government and other peace stakeholders in the Great Lakes region and beyond signed the Addis Ababa Peace and Security Cooperation (PSC) Framework in February 2013, paving the way to the adoption, a month later, of Resolution 2098 by the United Nations (UN) Security Council. Notwithstanding the constructive criticisms these two policy documents have received due to, amongst other things, the shortcomings they may harbour, this article argues that the Addis Ababa PSC Framework and Resolution 2098 have the potential of instilling a new dynamics into the search for peace and stability in the DRC and the Great Lakes region. Rather than dismissing them for their possible inadequacies, these two policy documents ought to be embraced as important stepping stones in the much needed overhaul of the peace strategy that has dominated peacemaking and peacebuilding initiatives in the DRC and the Great Lakes region in the past two decades.