The Deputy leader of the AFC/M23 movement, Bertrand Bisimwa, criticized the United Nations (UN) over the sanctions it imposed on some leaders of the group, saying that the organization had lost its way. He claimed that the decision was based on emotions and described it as a step backward that could endanger the peace process.
The United Nations Security Council recently imposed sanctions on some AFC/M23 leaders, including the group’s leader, Corneille Nangaa, and Col. Nzenze Imani, who is in charge of intelligence within the alliance.
The sanctions imposed on these leaders include the freezing of their assets located in UN member states, travel bans preventing them from entering those countries, and measures by security agencies, including the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol).
In a message posted on X on July 19, 2026, Bisimwa said that the UN had decided to impose sanctions on only one side, claiming that this was the side that was respecting its commitments in the peace process and seeking a peaceful solution to the conflict.
He said:
“By imposing sanctions on only one side that is respecting its commitments in the peace process, with the aim of achieving a peaceful resolution to the conflict, the United Nations has shown that it has lost its way.”
Bisimwa said the UN decision was based on emotions rather than properly and fairly following a peace process aimed at permanently addressing the underlying issues that caused the conflict.
He added:
“This is a step backward and could put the peace process at risk.”
The AFC/M23 deputy leader also said that putting pressure on people who have experienced ethnic-based violence, with the aim of forcing them to leave their areas, is a mistake that could have consequences, including escalating fighting between opposing sides, increasing and intensifying acts of violence and abuses, and slowing down efforts to achieve peace.
He said:
“The politics of hatred and discrimination, even if supported by the entire world, can never defeat justice and lasting peace.”
AFC/M23 and the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) have been engaged in conflict in eastern DRC for a long time, despite the signing of various agreements aimed at ending fighting and respecting ceasefires. However, the implementation of these agreements has repeatedly failed to last.
