DR Congo M23 Conflict and Eastern DRC Crisis
Recent Developments
01July 2026: The UN said fighting in eastern DRC, especially South Kivu, continued despite peace efforts, with drones and heavy artillery used in civilian-populated areas.
02February 2026: Reuters reported Angola announced a ceasefire to begin on February 18 within the Doha mediation framework, but both the Congolese government and M23 accused each other of violations.
03Late February 2026: Reuters reported renewed fighting around Minembwe in South Kivu involving Congolese forces, local militias, Burundian soldiers, and M23-linked fighters.
042025-2026: UN and human rights bodies reported mass displacement, attacks on IDP sites, killings, and sexual violence as the conflict expanded from North Kivu into South Kivu.
Interventions
- Doha-mediated peace process and ceasefire efforts involving regional mediators and the Congolese government.
- UN human rights fact-finding mission launched in February to investigate serious abuses in eastern DRC.
- Humanitarian assistance by UN agencies and NGOs responding to displacement, food insecurity, and medical needs in eastern DRC.
What Works
- Verified ceasefires backed by monitoring and enforcement can reduce short-term civilian harm when parties comply; current reports show noncompliance remains a major obstacle.
- Protected humanitarian access and support for IDP sites, health services, and displacement-response programming help reduce disease, hunger, and secondary mortality in overcrowded conflict settings.
- Targeted documentation of abuses by UN human rights mechanisms can support accountability and deter some violations when paired with diplomatic pressure.
How to Help
- Donate to reputable humanitarian organizations working in eastern DRC, especially those providing food, shelter, medical care, and protection services.
- Support organizations assisting displaced people and survivors of sexual violence in North Kivu and South Kivu.
- Advocate for diplomatic pressure, ceasefire monitoring, and sustained humanitarian funding for the DRC response.
Make an Impact
Donate directly to 11 verified organizations working on this crisis. Every contribution makes a difference.
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Verified Organizations
Organizations Helping(23)
IOM is directly involved in Haiti’s displacement crisis by tracking population movements, supporting internally displaced people, and coordinating emergency response for people forced from their homes by gang violence. UN reporting notes that displacement has reached about 1.47 million people and that IOM’s Haiti mission has warned the crisis is reaching an increasingly alarming stage, indicating the agency is actively managing displacement data and response operations in Haiti.
MONUSCO's mandate, extended to December 2025, includes protecting civilians from M23 and RDF advances in North and South Kivu, monitoring ceasefire violations like the December 6 artillery attacks, and escorting humanitarian convoys in volatile areas such as Goma and Uvira. Peacekeepers conduct patrols, support displaced populations in camps, and report on abuses to enable UN responses amid the 2025 crisis escalation.
In Yemen, Norwegian Church Aid focuses on water, sanitation, hygiene, and protection-related humanitarian support for conflict-affected communities. Its work helps reduce disease risks linked to poor water infrastructure and displacement, while also supporting vulnerable households through locally implemented aid projects and coordination with partners on the ground.
UNICEF’s strategy is to combine direct service delivery with system strengthening, using child-focused interventions that can work at scale and in crises. Its public materials emphasize low-cost, high-impact, and sustainable solutions across health, nutrition, education, WASH, and protection, rather than isolated one-off projects.[6][2] A distinctive part of UNICEF’s approach is that it works through governments and local, national, and global partners to build or improve public systems while also reaching children immediately in emergencies. In education, for example, UNICEF both creates temporary learning centers for displaced children and helps strengthen formal education systems; in health, it pairs vaccine procurement and immunization support with disease prevention and primary care.[8][2] UNICEF also uses an equity-centered model, prioritizing children who are out of school, living in conflict zones, affected by poverty, or excluded because of gender or disability. Its programs are designed to protect children’s rights while delivering measurable outcomes such as improved survival, learning, sanitation, and protection in both stable and emergency settings.[8][6]
