New York, 18 March 2026 — On the occasion of the second annual interactive dialogue at ambassadorial level on the Secretary-General’s Peacebuilding Fund, held on Wednesday, 18 March 2026, in the ECOSOC Chamber, the Democratic Republic of the Congo presented the institutional framework governing its cooperation with the Peacebuilding Fund (PBF), as well as its national priorities and the main results already achieved.
In its statement, the DRC recalled that this dialogue is a direct follow-up to the resolutions stemming from the review of the peacebuilding architecture, adopted by consensus on 26 November 2025, which call on beneficiary countries to share with the Peacebuilding Commission their priorities, achievements and challenges.
The Congolese delegation highlighted the shared governance mechanism underpinning this cooperation through a Steering Committee co-chaired by the United Nations Resident Coordinator and the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Planning and Development Aid Coordination.
Having entered in March 2026 into a new phase of its cooperation with the Fund, following the renewal of its eligibility for the 2025–2029 cycle, the DRC indicated that three national strategic priorities had been jointly validated with the Resident Coordinator. These are: strengthening governance and the coordination of peace efforts; promoting resilience in the face of the root causes of conflict linked to the management of natural, mineral and land resources; and protecting civilians in the context of the transition related to the progressive, responsible and sustainable withdrawal of MONUSCO.
The DRC emphasized that these priorities are aligned with the establishment, in January 2026, of the new Peacebuilding and Peace Support Office, designed as a centre of excellence for prevention and peacebuilding. It welcomed this structural development, which strengthens the coherence of United Nations action, particularly in the areas of disarmament, demobilization and reintegration, as well as security sector reform.
With regard to concrete results, the DRC notably highlighted the support provided to the National Disarmament, Demobilization, Community Recovery and Stabilization Programme (P-DDRCS), deployed since 2021 in five provinces in the eastern and central-eastern parts of the country. Structured around five pillars, this programme has already supported more than 8,000 beneficiaries in partnership with the International Organization for Migration, through the Stabilization Coherence Fund.
The Congolese delegation also welcomed the approval, in 2025, of three new projects supported by the Peacebuilding Fund, in partnership respectively with IOM, UNFPA and UNDP, aimed at supporting disarmament, repatriation and demobilization in the Great Lakes region, strengthening unarmed civilian protection in South Kivu, and improving coordination and monitoring of the Fund in the DRC.
Furthermore, the DRC recalled that support for the transition and the progressive, responsible and sustainable withdrawal of MONUSCO constitutes a second major outcome of this cooperation. In this regard, it stressed that the Fund’s strategic investments have supported the disengagement of the UN mission from several provinces, while reaffirming the Government’s sovereign determination to continue assuming national responsibility for security matters, on the basis of joint assessments and in line with developments on the ground.
The delegation nevertheless noted that the effective protection of civilians in provinces undergoing transition remains a major challenge, calling for strengthened national capacities and greater coordination with the international community.
Lastly, the DRC commended the efforts of the Peacebuilding Commission in supporting the MONUSCO transition process, as well as the coherence-building dynamics undertaken with international financial institutions. It also recalled the importance of the Washington Agreements of 27 June 2025 between the DRC and Rwanda as an instrument aimed at consolidating peace in eastern DRC and promoting development as well as economic integration in the Great Lakes region.