UN official says ‘window of opportunity’ for peace in DR Congo

A senior UN official told the Security Council there is a 'window of opportunity' for peace in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, a mineral-rich region suffering from decades of conflict. Huang Xia, the UN special envoy for the Great Lakes region, noted that US- and Qatar-led peace efforts have made notable progress, despite worsening security and humanitarian conditions. Although ceasefire agreements were signed in Doha in July 2025 and in Washington in December, fighting continues, and new talks are scheduled for October in Lusaka involving defense ministers from Burundi, DRC, Uganda, Rwanda, and Tanzania. Huang urged all parties to turn commitments into verifiable actions, warning that the window of opportunity is limited.