EU Commissioner Hadja Lahbib plans humitarian mission to Congo, Rwanda and Burundi

29 January 2026

European commissioner for crisis management Hadja Lahbib will travel to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Rwanda and Burundi within two weeks on a humanitarian mission. She announced this on Thursday on the sidelines of the EU Foreign Affairs Council.

Belgium, together with France, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden and Slovenia, raised concerns on Thursday about the worsening humanitarian crisis in eastern Congo. Despite a peace agreement signed in Washington, fighting continues and the situation remains "dramatic", Lahbib said, with hundreds of thousands of people forced to flee, mainly to neighbouring Burundi.

According to the Belgian commissioner, the EU’s 250 million euros in humanitarian aid is insufficient without a political and diplomatic solution. She said she would therefore call for full and unrestricted access for humanitarian actors on the ground, pending the conclusion of a genuine peace agreement.

"The most urgent issue today"

Belgian Foreign minister Maxime Prévot urged the EU during the Council meeting to take a more assertive stance in Africa's Great Lakes region, where "other powers have already taken the lead". The United States has led talks between the DRC and Rwanda, while Qatar has organised talks between the DRC and the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group. Without undermining these peace processes, Europe must step up its humanitarian engagement, Prévot said, calling it "the most urgent issue today".

Violence continues in eastern Congo despite new peace agreement

Despite a high-profile peace agreement being signed in Washington on Thursday by the presidents of Congo and Rwanda, violence in eastern Congo...

belganewsagency.eu

For Belgium, reopening Goma airport, currently under the control of M23 rebels, is essential, as is restoring internal corridors to allow the transport of aid supplies. Alongside a strong humanitarian response, the EU must also keep other options on the table should the situation deteriorate further. Sanctions have not been ruled out, and the United States is also considering them, although Prévot stressed that the situation has not yet reached that point.

Critical raw materials

Prévot also reiterated the need to revive the memorandum of understanding on critical raw materials between the EU and Congo, noting that access to minerals is one of the drivers of tensions between Kinshasa and Kigali. The agreement is currently suspended pending the implementation of a separate EU memorandum with Rwanda, but "we must avoid linking the two", Prévot said.

The situation in the region has barely improved since December's US-backed peace deal. Earlier this month, the Rwanda-backed M23 group withdrew from the strategic Congolese town of Uvira at the request of the US. However, heavy fighting has continued on the outskirts of Uvira, Reuters reports, with M23 and the Congolese government trading accusations of looting inside the town. The rebel group also continues to control more territory in the DRC than at any previous point.