France to Host Emergency Conference on DRC Humanitarian Crisis

France will convene an emergency conference in October to address the severe humanitarian situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), President Emmanuel Macron announced during the UN General Assembly on Tuesday.

“In the Great Lakes region, the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the DRC must be respected,” Macron said.
“We must restore hope to the population of Kivu and to the hundreds of thousands of people who have been displaced there.”

The Paris meeting aims to bring together all parties capable of addressing the humanitarian emergency and coordinate their efforts with ongoing peace initiatives, Macron added.

Eastern DRC, rich in mineral resources, has been plagued by conflict for over three decades. Violence has surged since 2021 following the resurgence of the anti-government M23 group, which the UN reports receives support from neighbouring Rwanda.

Key recent events include:

Clashes since January have caused thousands of deaths and displaced hundreds of thousands of people, according to UN reports.

Despite the ceasefire, recent days have seen renewed tensions between M23 and the Congolese army.

Observers express concern over a potential M23 offensive on Uvira, a city of 500,000 residents in South Kivu near Bujumbura, Burundi’s economic capital. The city remains under the control of the Congolese army and pro-Kinshasa militias.

Macron emphasised that the Paris conference would:

• Coordinate humanitarian responses for displaced populations.
• Support ongoing peace initiatives in the Kivu region.
• Engage regional and international actors to ensure stability and respect for DRC sovereignty.

This conference represents a major international effort to address both the immediate humanitarian crisis and the underlying security challenges in the DRC.