Calling the International Community to Officially Recognize the Genocost

Statement by the Rwandan Movement for the Republic and Democracy (MRD) on the GENOCOST and Solidarity with the Congolese People
_________________________

Washington,
August 6, 2025

The Movement for the Republic and Democracy (MRD), an opposition movement bringing together democratic republicans from all ethnic groups in Rwanda, from various opposition parties and civil society, committed to a future of justice, unity, and peace, speaks on behalf of its members and political allies and declares the following:

1. We express our deep sympathy and solidarity with the Congolese people, who have for decades been victims of a silent genocide, perpetrated under the guise of armed conflict, economic plunder, and repeated military occupations.
2. We acknowledge the immense suffering endured by millions of Congolese men and women, as well as by thousands of Rwandan refugees who have lived on Congolese soil since 1996, being themselves victims of extrajudicial executions, massacres, sexual violence, forced displacement, and disappearances — as documented in the United Nations Mapping Report published in 2010.
3. We fully recognize the existence of the Genocost — a campaign of mass destruction against the Congolese people, driven by greed for natural resources, and carried out in a context of indifference by certain regional and international powers.
4. We firmly condemn the role of the current Rwandan regime in the wars and crimes committed in eastern DRC, and we commit, once in power, to fully cooperate with international justice and Congolese institutions to ensure that all perpetrators of these crimes — whoever they may be — are identified, prosecuted, and held accountable.
5. We affirm our will to restore a sincere, peaceful, and fraternal relationship between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, based on mutual respect, shared memory, cooperation for peace, and justice for all victims — Congolese and Rwandan alike.
6. We call on the international community, the United Nations, and all relevant institutions to officially recognize the Genocost, and to actively collaborate to ensure that justice is delivered without delay, to honor the memory of the victims, prevent future crimes, and secure lasting peace and true stability across the Great Lakes region.
7. We express grave concern regarding recent UN reports, which once again confirm that systematic massacres continue in areas currently occupied by the Rwandan army (RDF), operating under the cover of the M23 group, particularly in North Kivu. Civilians in these regions are being targeted, displaced, starved, and denied all protection — in flagrant violation of international humanitarian law.
8. As a democratic opposition and committed civil society, we call upon the peoples of Rwanda and Congo to resist manipulation, hatred, and criminal policies carried out in the name of security or development, and to build a new era of truth, remembrance, and regional solidarity.

Rev. Christine Coleman
President of the MRD