Welcoming the Ceasefire in Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo

The United States welcomes the open-ended ceasefire in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) announced by Angola on July 30.  We applaud the Government of Angola, and in particular Angolan President and AU Champion for Peace and Reconciliation João Lourenço, for his mediation efforts.  We welcome the Angola-led Ad Hoc Verification Mechanism’s important role in monitoring the ceasefire.  We commend the governments of the DRC and Rwanda for their commitment to pursue negotiations to end this conflict. 

The United States stands ready to support the implementation and monitoring of the ceasefire, in particular through the Angolan Ad Hoc Verification Mechanism’s efforts.  As the ceasefire is implemented, we call on all actors to respect human rights, adhere to applicable obligations under international humanitarian law, and hold accountable all actors for human rights.