DRC-Rwanda 7th JSCM Session Ends in Geneva Without a Joint Communiqué

September 17, 2026 — The two-day seventh session of the DRC-Rwanda Joint Security Coordination Mechanism (JSCM) concluded in Geneva with US, Qatari, Togolese and African Union Commission mediators present, but — unlike the detailed joint statement issued after the sixth JSCM meeting in mid-August — the parties did not release a joint communiqué setting out new agreements or implementation deadlines. Discussions covered FDLR neutralization commitments, Rwanda's defensive-measure disengagement, monitoring and verification of the June 2025 Washington Accords, and the DRC's disarmament-demobilization-reintegration (DDR) plan for FDLR forces, including consultations with MONUSCO on prior DDR experience. The two sides remain divided over how 'neutralization' is defined. An October 2026 trilateral planning conference is scheduled to produce a revised Operations Order for coordinated implementation.