European Commissioner for Crisis Management Hadja Lahbib on Thursday, 29 January 2026, announced plans to undertake a humanitarian mission to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, and Burundi within two weeks, in response to the deepening humanitarian emergency in eastern DR Congo and the wider Great Lakes region .
The announcement followed deliberations at the EU Foreign Affairs Council, where Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden, and Slovenia raised urgent concerns over mass displacement, escalating conflict, and deteriorating humanitarian access in North Kivu and South Kivu Provinces. Despite a peace agreement recently signed in Washington between the governments of DR Congo and Rwanda, armed clashes and rebel activity persist across contested territories.
Lahbib emphasized that the European Union’s €250 million humanitarian allocation for the region remains insufficient without parallel political and diplomatic progress, highlighting the need for full and unrestricted humanitarian access to displaced populations, particularly those fleeing into Burundi. Hundreds of thousands of civilians have been forced from their homes due to renewed fighting involving the Rwanda-linked M23 rebel group.
Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot urged the European Union to adopt a more assertive strategic role in the Great Lakes region, noting that the United States and Qatar have taken leading roles in regional peace mediation. He stressed the importance of reopening Goma International Airport, currently under M23 control, and restoring internal humanitarian supply corridors to facilitate aid delivery.
The European Union is also considering additional diplomatic and economic measures, including potential sanctions, should regional instability worsen. Prévot further underscored the importance of reviving EU-DR Congo cooperation on critical raw materials, recognizing that mineral resource competition remains a key driver of conflict between Kinshasa and Kigali.
Despite a temporary M23 withdrawal from the strategic town of Uvira earlier in January 2026, heavy fighting continues in surrounding areas, with the rebel group now controlling more territory in eastern DR Congo than at any previous time. Lahbib’s upcoming mission is expected to focus on humanitarian access, emergency relief coordination, regional diplomacy, and crisis stabilization efforts .
