UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on July 9 called on the Democratic Republic of Congo's armed forces, the M23 rebel movement and all other armed groups in eastern Congo to immediately stop using explosive weapons in populated areas, citing mounting civilian casualties in North and South Kivu

Kinshasa's application, the third attempt in 25 years, accuses Kigali of genocide, torture and sexual violence from 1996 to the present; Rwanda dismisses evidence of M23 support

Tin, tantalum, tungsten, and gold mined in the Democratic Republic of Congo fund armed groups; US and EU law require importers to trace and disclose their supply chains.

Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo's three-decade insurgency, now centered on Rwanda-backed M23 rebels holding North and South Kivu, is Africa's largest displacement crisis.

A 10 June 2026 investigation says Rubaya coltan, taxed by M23 at $4/kg, is relabelled Rwandan and sold into the world's biggest tech brands

FARDC drones hit an M23 position five miles north of Goma; M23 and Wazalendo militias clash along the Masisi-Walikale border, both sides building up troops in the Kivus despite the US-brokered truce

A fifth Joint Oversight Committee met in April; the DRC-M23 Doha framework's key provisions remain unimplemented, Qatar, Togo, the US and the AU keep the process alive as fighting continues