The Hon. James E. Risch August 14, 2025
United States Senator
483 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Subject: Support for Amendment S.Amdt.3626 to Assess the Designation of AFC-M23 as a Terrorist Organization and Call for Sanctions Against its Supporters
Dear Senator Risch,
We, representatives of Rwandan democratic opposition parties and members of civil society, united in the defense of justice, peace, and human dignity, express our deep appreciation for your initiative of the Amendment S.Amdt.3626 (August 2025).
This amendment, included in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026, calls for a formal assessment to determine whether the March 23 Movement (AFC-M23) should be designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) under U.S. law. We commend this step, which addresses an urgent humanitarian and security crisis in the Great Lakes region.
Evidence gathered by the United Nations, numerous international NGOs, and the media confirms that the M23 has repeatedly committed serious violations of international humanitarian law and human rights in DRC, including:
• Massacres and summary executions: killings of civilians in Kishishe, Rutshuru, Masisi, Goma, and other locations, including 3,000 civilians killed after the capture of Goma and at least 319 deaths in July 2025 (UN).
• Murders of peacekeepers: attacks that claimed the lives of several United Nations Blue Helmets (MONUSCO) deployed to protect civilians.
• Enforced disappearances and hostage-taking: arbitrary arrests, secret detentions, and disappearances documented in Goma and Bukavu (Amnesty International).
• Torture and public corporal abuse aimed at terrorizing the population.
• Forced recruitment of child soldiers (UN).
• Attacks on hospitals and abductions of patients and medical staff.
• Systematic sexual violence against women and underage girls.
• Looting, forced expulsions, and displacement of entire communities.
• Shelling of civilian areas and displacement camps, killing over 100 people in seven months (HRW, OCHA).
These crimes could not have been committed at such a scale without the direct support of the Rwandan regime, which provides the M23 with logistical, military, and political backing. This regime, already responsible for grave human rights violations inside Rwanda, plays a central role in the chronic instability of the region.
Our requests:
• Formally designate AFC-M23 as a terrorist organization and apply all measures provided by U.S. law.
• End all security and military cooperation with the Rwandan regime, including its involvement in United Nations peacekeeping mandates.
• Strengthen international judicial cooperation to prosecute all perpetrators and accomplices of these crimes before competent courts.
• Support a comprehensive peace plan for the Great Lakes region, based on democracy, respect for human rights, justice, and reconciliation.
Our commitment:
We, the undersigned Rwandan political and civil society actors, commit to:
• Documenting and sharing all available evidence with international judicial bodies.
• Working together to end wars and regional instability.
• Defending the rights and dignity of the populations affected by these atrocities.
Conclusion:
Your initiative, Honorable Senator, sends a strong message in favor of justice and against impunity. It restores hope to victims and reminds the international community that they can act decisively to protect civilians and hold perpetrators accountable.
Please accept, Honorable Senator, the assurances of our highest consideration and our solidarity.
CC.:
President of the United States
Senate Foreign Relations Committee
U.S. Department of State
President, DRC
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
United Nations Security Council
African Union and regional organizations
International human rights institutions
National and international media
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