African politics

Politics & Policy

Focusing on M23 allows ADF insurgents to expand in eastern DRC

The capture of Goma and Bukavu by the M23 early this year has put further strain on the DRC's already weak national army, creating a security vacuum that the ADF has exploited to expand its operations
UPDF combat vehicles and soldiers cross to Burasi in the Democratic Republic of Congo using the newly installed ferry at the Haibale landing point on the Semliki River in February 2022. Presiding over the opening ceremony at the Burasi landing site in DRC, the Operation Shujja commander, Major General Kayanja Muhanga, noted that the crossing into Congo using this access route marks the beginning of the second phase of the operation. Maj. Gen. Kayanja revealed that the road from Burasi to Boga, a stretch of about 50km that was previously impassable, is being worked on jointly by both the UPDF and the FARDC (Congolese national army)."
Politics & Policy

Uganda’s deal with the US to take asylum seekers: what is behind it, and what is at stake?

Uganda has agreed to accept an unspecified number of third-country nationals who have applied for asylum in the US, but who cannot return home due to safety concerns
A group of people, mostly women, watch a woman place a steaming saucepan on a stove.
Politics & Policy

Despite dwindling funds, Uganda continues to offer sanctuary to refugees

The UNHCR recently reported that, by the end of July, it only had sufficient resources to support fewer than 18,000 individuals with cash and essential relief items for just two months, at the current rate of new arrivals
Children attending school in a refugee settlement in northwestern Uganda in 2019. Some children are sitting on a mat at the front of the class, while others are seated at wooden desks. A female teacher is leading the crowded class.
East African CommunityPolitics & Policy

DRC’s latest peace deal is unravelling, and it isn’t the first. What is going wrong?

Despite almost three decades of peace efforts and interventions at local, regional and international levels, the mineral-rich east of the country remains unstable
Rwanda's President Paul Kagame meets with President Félix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo Ahead of the 74th UN General Assembly, 24 September 2019
Food dietHealth

Experts say new UN declaration must protect rights of world’s poorest to nutritional benefits of milk and meat

Experts have warned that a draft UN declaration aimed at eliminating trans-fatty acids from global diets could inadvertently deny the world’s poorest people the nutritional benefits of milk and meat
A group of cows grazing in a green field during the day
CommoditiesPolitics & Policy

Why bartering Africa’s minerals for security is a bad idea

A US-brokered peace deal between the DRC and Rwanda binds the two nations in a worrying arrangement: one where a country signs away its mineral resources to a superpower in return for vague promises of security
Four men working in an open-pit mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo
CommoditiesPolitics & Policy

Trump’s Africa summit: offshoring the US’s immigration problem?

Last week, US President Donald Trump hosted a mini-summit with five African leaders at the White House, which was surprising given his stance towards the continent
President Donald Trump speaks with President Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema of Gabon in the Oval Office, Wednesday, July 9, 2025, before a multilateral luncheon with African leaders
Politics & Policy

Four things every peace treaty needs, and how the DRC–Rwanda deal measures up

One agreement is rarely enough to resolve a complex conflict; deals are often part of a series, sometimes between different actors. They often refer to previously concluded ones, and will be referred to by subsequent ones
Four officers from a joint police force comprising elements of the United Nations Police and the Congolese National Police, armed with guns and batons, patrol a busy area of Goma, a city in the North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in December 2011.
East African CommunityPolitics & Policy

Will the US-brokered deal between Rwanda and DRC will pave the way for peace?

Any peace efforts must acknowledge the political nature of the crisis in eastern DRC, including the consequences of the failed power-sharing agreement between Kabila and Tshisekedi
Five men wearing combat fatigues and carrying guns
East African CommunityPolitics & Policy

What are the chances of success for the US-brokered peace deal signed by DRC and Rwanda?

On 27 June 2025, the foreign ministers of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) signed a new peace agreement under the auspices of the United States
Trump Rwanda Democratic Republic of Congo ministers
Previous 12345 Next