“While these African and international peace efforts are commendable and promising, they have not yet fulfilled their promises: the agreed ceasefire is not respected,” he said.
For decades, armed groups have ravaged eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. However, the situation has deteriorated dramatically since January 2025, when Rwanda-backed M23 rebels captured key towns in the Kivu provinces. Rwanda has denied providing military support to the rebels.
Since the beginning of the year, more than 1.6 million people have been recently displaced, with more than 68% of these displacements attributed to ongoing conflicts, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
The UN calls for an immediate ceasefire
Mr. Xia praised the United States and Qatar for their tireless efforts to facilitate peace negotiations and expressed hope that talks would resume soon, leading to the adoption of a lasting peace agreement.
“The humanitarian issue remains catastrophic,” he stressed, urging all parties to work hand in hand to prioritize an “immediate and unconditional ceasefire.”
In the same vein, France urged the adoption of Security Council resolution 2773 (2025), which reaffirms the sovereignty of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and calls for an immediate end to hostilities by the M23 rebel group.
“Resolution 2773 must be fully implemented, in particular with regard to the withdrawal of Rwandan forces from Congolese territory and the cessation of their support for the M23,” urged French ambassador Jérôme Bonnafont.
Lasting peace, Mr. Xia emphasized, requires addressing both the root and structural causes of the conflict.
In this effort, the 2013 Addis Ababa Framework Agreement, designed to address chronic instability in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, continues to serve as a key instrument to guide dialogue, reconciliation and reform processes.