Speaking at the United Nations Security Council, Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Olivier Nduhungirehe, criticized the misuse of the term “terrorism” in the Great Lakes region and questioned the legitimacy of how the term is applied to armed groups in Eastern DRC.
Minister Nduhungirehe highlighted the ongoing threat posed by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a group responsible for significant violence in the region. “The ADF, identified as one of the groups responsible for the most egregious human rights violations in the DRC, has claimed the lives of over 650 civilians since June 2024, including more than 200 in the Beni region alone,” he stated.
He expressed dismay over the DRC government’s decision to focus on labeling the M23 rebel group as a terrorist organization, despite the immediate threat posed by the ADF. “Despite this clear and present danger, it is appalling to see that the Government of the DRC has chosen to divert attention from this real terrorist threat by labelling another movement, the M23 – which is a group fighting to protect a persecuted Congolese community – as a terrorist organization,” he said.
The minister clarified that his rhetorical question regarding the legitimacy of defining terrorism was not a call for clarity. “We all know its definition,” he said, emphasizing that the real issue lies in the abuse of the term for political and diplomatic gains. “Can a UN Member State allow itself the right to misuse this notion of terrorism for political advantage, including vis-à-vis the UN Security Council?”
Minister Nduhungirehe’s remarks underline Rwanda’s stance on addressing real security threats in the region while calling out the politicization of the fight against terrorism.