African Union Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf has urged all political and armed actors in Democratic Republic of the Congo to reject force, respect state institutions and keep the country’s fragile peace efforts on track.
In a communiqué issued on Tuesday, Youssouf welcomed President Félix- Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo’s call for an inclusive national political dialogue involving political and social actors.
He also invoked the AU’s constitutional and democratic norms, including the 2000 Lomé Declaration and the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and
Governance, which condemn coups and the overthrow of democratically established governments.
The statement did not name a particular alleged coup plot. Its warning came, however, as political crisis in Kinshasa and the armed conflict in eastern Congo have become increasingly intertwined.
The Commission called for restraint, peaceful means and reconciliation, while reaffirming the DRC’s sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity.
Political dialogue under dispute
Tshisekedi announced a national dialogue on 27 August, describing it as a process to address insecurity, inequality, governance and the possible “refoundation” of the state.
His plan envisages consultations in all 26 provinces before a national convention in Kinshasa.
The president has argued that earlier negotiations were elite-driven and sometimes legitimised armed insurrection.
The initiative has not produced a consensus on who should participate or who should control the process.
The C64 opposition coalition, which includes figures such as Moïse Katumbi, Martin Fayulu and Delly Sesanga, has rejected Tshisekedi’s proposal.
Opposition leaders and some civil-society actors have questioned whether the dialogue could be used to consolidate presidential power rather than resolve the country’s political crisis.
Those concerns intensified after police dispersed opposition demonstrations on 15 September against proposed constitutional changes.
Reuters reported tear gas and warning shots in Kinshasa, while protests in Lubumbashi and Uvira were also broken up.
The opposition says the proposed reforms could enable Tshisekedi to seek a third term; the constitution currently limits presidents to two five-year terms.
Parliament adopted a bill in June allowing constitutional changes to be put to a referendum. The Catholic Church, an influential political actor in the DRC, has taken a more conditional position than the opposition’s outright rejection.
The National Episcopal Conference of Congo has said it remains open to participating, but insists that the dialogue must be inclusive and credible.
Church leaders have been involved in earlier efforts to facilitate political talks and have warned that constitutional changes could deepen instability.
The central unresolved question is whether the dialogue will be a genuinely broad national process or a government- managed consultation.
The opposition wants stronger guarantees on representation and neutrality, while Tshisekedi has ruled out treating the armed AFC/M23 movement as an ordinary political participant in the national dialogue, maintaining that its issues belong in the separate Doha process.
Kabila’s return raises the stakes
The political dispute has been complicated by the return of former president Joseph Kabila to the centre of the conflict.
On 12 October, Kabila launched the Front pour la Refondation de la Nation, a new political-military coalition intended to replace or reorganise the AFCM23 alliance fighting government forces in eastern Congo, according to Reuters.
The group is headed by Kabila, with AFC/M23 figures including Corneille Nangaa, Bertrand Bisimwa, Freddy Kaniki and Sultani Makenga named as deputies.
Kabila has accused Tshisekedi’s government of corruption, poor governance and military failures, and has criticised Kinshasa’s minerals agreement with the United States.
Congolese authorities have long accused him of supporting AFC/M23; Kabila has denied previous allegations of involvement and says the legal case against him is politically motivated.
The development gives the AU’s warning about unconstitutional seizures of power a particularly sensitive political context.
It also risks narrowing the space for a civilian dialogue by adding a former head of state and a rebel-linked political- military structure to an already crowded field of actors.
The government has since accused Kabila of preparing a broader attack, an allegation that should be treated as a claim by Kinshasa unless independently substantiated.
Peace agreements still face an implementation test
Youssouf also urged the parties to preserve the gains of the Doha and Washington processes, implement their commitments, respect the ceasefire and protect civilians.
The two tracks address related but distinct parts of the conflict: the Washington agreement concerns relations and security commitments between Kinshasa and Kigali, while the Doha process covers negotiations between the Congolese government and AFC/M23.
The AU’s mediation architecture has recently tried to connect those tracks. A panel led by former Ethiopian President Sahle-Work Zewde, alongside former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and former Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi, held consultations in Goma
on 5 Oct with MONUSCO, humanitarian agencies, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Expanded Joint Verification Mechanism and AFC/M23 representatives.
The panel called for strict respect for the ceasefire, cooperation with verification mechanisms, safe humanitarian access and accountability for violations, including sexual and genderbased violence.
The panel then consulted Rwandan officials in Kigali on implementation of the Washington agreement, disarmament and reintegration, refugee and returnee protection, and regional
economic cooperation.
It said it would continue engagements in Kinshasa under the mediation of Togo’s President Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé.
The diplomatic activity has not yet translated into a durable halt in fighting. UN reporting in late September said clashes between government forces and M23 continued despite the Washington and Doha agreements.
The DRC alleged that more than 300 people were killed in June and July in areas held by Rwandan forces and M23; Rwanda rejected the allegations.
The UN also reported continuing tensions between Kinshasa and Kigali and said MONUSCO’s mandate would come up for renewal in December.
A Security Council briefing paper published before the 13 October meeting described a wider security picture than the M23 conflict alone.
It cited attacks by the Allied Democratic
Forces in North Kivu and Ituri, attributing 211 security incidents and 468 civilian deaths to the group during the reporting period.
It also noted disputes over the disarmament and repatriation of FDLR combatants, as well as accusations between Rwanda and Burundi over
support for armed groups.
A narrow path to de-escalation
The AU’s message is therefore both political and security-focused. It backs Tshisekedi’s stated aim of an inclusive national dialogue, but it also insists that no actor should use force to alter the constitutional order.
At the same time, it is supporting mediation that includes contacts with AFC/M23 and Rwanda, reflecting the reality that a settlement in eastern Congo cannot be achieved through Kinshasa’s political process alone.
The immediate test will be whether the parties can separate legitimate political grievances from armed coercion.
A credible dialogue would need broad participation, clear rules, safeguards against manipulation of constitutional arrangements and a role for trusted
national mediators.
In parallel, the Doha and Washington mechanisms will need verifiable ceasefire compliance, civilian protection and concrete implementation of security commitments.
Without progress on both tracks, the risk is that national dialogue becomes another contest for political advantage while the eastern war continues to generate new alliances, displacement and regional tension.
The AU’s call for peace has broad diplomatic support; its credibility will depend on whether the actors it is addressing accept restraint in practice.