Rep. Sara Jacobs Urges President Trump to Keep Promises to Punish Spoilers to Peace in Eastern DRC
Rep. Sara Jacobs, Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, today called on the Trump Administration to fulfill its promises to hold Rwanda and the M23 accountable for their recent offensive in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, and renew peace efforts to end the conflict between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda.
Watch Rep. Sara Jacobs’ Opening Remarks Here
Rep. Sara Jacobs said:
“Thank you, Chairman Smith, for holding this very timely hearing, and Deputy Assistant Secretary Troutman for testifying before our committee today. The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is facing an unprecedented humanitarian crisis with 7.3 million internally displaced persons and over 7,000 killed in 2025 alone. More than 26 million people are experiencing life-threatening levels of acute food insecurity. It is one of the most complex and longstanding humanitarian crises in the world - while the latest escalation between DRC and Rwanda started in 2022, the conflict in eastern DRC has been ongoing for the last three decades.
“Civilians have suffered the most under this conflict - either being caught in the crossfire or being targeted by armed groups. Conflict-related sexual violence has reached epidemic levels in eastern DRC. Cases have only escalated this year while impunity for its perpetrators - including the M23 and other armed groups and military forces - prevails.
“So I appreciate President Trump’s high-level attention to this conflict that is too often ignored and put on the backburner. But this conflict and the people of the DRC deserve sustained high-level attention and care — and not be a fleeting concern that gets easily forgotten. And I would argue that the President’s promises and statements that he has already ended the war between the DRC and Rwanda ring hollow when we are in fact not seeing peace or stability on the ground at all. And I am also concerned that the lack of consultation and inclusion of civil society and local communities is setting up the peace process to fail before it even gets off the ground.
“Only five days after the signing of the Washington Accords between President Tshisekedi and President Kagame, hosted by President Trump, the M23 - collocated with the Rwandans along the front lines - took over the strategic city of Uvira in South Kivu. And while M23 has reportedly retreated partially from Uvira, we still have not seen the full retreat to 75km outside of Uvira (back to Kamanyola) as the United States called for in December. And we are now receiving reports of reprisal attacks against the Banyamulenge, a Congolese Tutsi community, and other civilians accused of supporting the M23 by the Wazalendo and other armed bandits.
“This is all on top of nearly a year of M23’s occupation of Goma and Bukavu - two other extremely important cities in the Kivus - where civilians have faced atrocities, executions, and other abuses. Both parties have made commitments that they have failed to maintain. Rwanda clearly continues to support the M23 and deploy its own forces - the latest numbers ranging from 5,000-7,000 troops in eastern Congo, not including the latest Uvira offensive - in violation of the DRC’s sovereignty. The DRC military, for its part, has reportedly continued collaboration with the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) - a militia founded by the leaders of the 1994 Rwandan genocide – in contravention of the Accords.
“And despite Secretary Rubio’s and Ambassador Waltz’s promises a month ago that they would use the tools at our disposal to hold Rwanda accountable and “ensure promises made [by Rwanda] to the President are kept”, the Administration has still not announced any new sanctions or accountability measures against Rwanda or the M23. To me, it’s very clear: Rwanda needs to stop supporting the M23 and stop its own occupation of the DRC so that the Congolese people can finally be on the path to peace, not more war.
“So I urge the Trump Administration to make good on its promises to hold Rwanda and other spoilers to peace accountable – and I look forward to hearing from Ms. Troutman on how the Department plans to take these actions. I also urge the Administration to actually include civil society in the peace process so that it has real buy-in with local populations and actually sticks. We also need to better consult local populations on the various commercial deals in progress with the government of DRC to ensure any investments actually benefit the Congolese people, not just foreign companies and elites.
“And once again, I urge President Trump to finally name senior positions to lead Africa policy. A year into his term, the President has neglected to nominate an Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of African Affairs at the State Department. We are now on our third Senior Bureau Official. And he has not only failed to appoint an NSC Senior Director for Africa, but has actually combined the Africa and Middle East directorate. I understand Senior Advisor Boulos is taking the lead on this portfolio - but he is not Senate-confirmed and he is also apparently in charge of the U.S. response in Sudan, Libya, and Yemen too, so I’m concerned that he is unable to dedicate the necessary time that the Congolese people deserve.
“I also urge the Trump Administration to reverse its devastating cuts to foreign assistance in the country. Earlier this year, Secretary Rubio cut hundreds of millions of dollars in assistance to the DRC as part of President Trump’s sham “Foreign Assistance Review” and illegal dismantling of USAID. Since the cuts to USAID, more than 8,200 people living in the DRC with HIV have lost access to lifesaving treatment. Last year, there was a 62% increase in deaths due to cholera. And while there has been a surge in conflict-related sexual violence in eastern Congo, foreign assistance cuts have reduced the services available to survivors, including post-rape kits. And just in November, the World Food Program was forced to cut the number of people it assisted in DRC in half – from 1 million to 600,000 people.
“These cuts didn’t make sense then, and they don’t make sense now while the President speaks about the need for peace and saving lives in DRC. I, for one, would like to believe that the President’s peace agenda is real and will result in real peace – but it’s hard to believe when he has gutted our foreign policy tools and neglected to dedicate the necessary senior staff and resources to make peace not just possible but enduring.
“Meanwhile, the Congolese haven’t seen peace, only escalation over the past year. And they don’t have time to wait. We need immediate action to hold the M23 and Rwanda accountable for their occupation in the DRC and latest offensive in Uvira. We need immediate action to get the peace process back on track. And we need the Administration to invest in its own institutions and tools so this process is successful.
“The Congolese people have endured violence, exploitation, and promises of peace for long enough. It is cruel to call the war in the DRC over while the M23 was executing people over the holidays. It is time for the United States, along with the international community, to recommit to this peace process and demonstrate seriousness about holding spoilers to peace accountable.
“So I look forward to hearing from Deputy Assistant Secretary Troutman on the State Department’s plan to fulfill the President’s goal to find peace in the DRC. Thank you, Chairman Smith, and with that, I yield back.”
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