It was a relatively quiet week in the news for the DRC, despite plenty of developments in world news.

• Speaking of developments in world news, the planned visit to the country by UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres to the DRC was substituted at the last minute by a visit from the Assistant Secretary General Jean-Pierre Lacroix so that Guterres could address the evolving situation in Ukraine.
  • UN chief Antonio Guterres cancels DR Congo trip over Ukraine crisis (The East African)
  • Jean-Pierre LaCroix à Kinshasa pour renforcer le soutien de l’Onu à la RDC (Digital Congo)
• Representatives from seven nations met in Kinshasa to monitor the implementation of the 2013 Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework for the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Region (the Addis Ababa Framework). Civil society groups in North Kivu called on the DRC to withdraw from the agreement, pointing to “flagrant violations” of the country’s sovereignty by groups like the M23. Statements following the meeting reaffirmed the various parties’ commitment to the central tenants of the agreement and voiced support for greater cooperation and coordination around security issues, but did not seem to indicate any concrete, follow-up action. Félix Tshisekedi was elected to head the Regional Monitoring Mechanism for one year.
  • Grands Lacs : les chefs d’Etat décident de s’attaquer aux causes et aux facteurs de conflit et d’instabilité dans la région (Radio Okapi)
  • Violation de l’accord cadre d’Addis-Abeba : la société civile invite la RDC à se retirer de la CIRGL (Radio Okapi)
  • Accords d’Addis-Abeba : Felix Tshisekedi est le nouveau Président du Mécanisme Régional de Suivi (Politico.cd)
• The government of the DRC has reached an agreement with the Israeli businessman and sanctioned individual, Dan Gertler, to recover more than 2 billion USD worth in mining assets and concessions. He was accused of exploiting his relationship with former President Joseph Kabila to secure lucrative mining deals.
  • Accord entre le Gouvernement et Dan Gertler: un arrangement à l’amiable et des questions (Actualite.cd)
  • Congo recovers mining and oil assets from Israeli billionaire (Reuters)
• The governor of South Kivu, Théo Ngwabidje Kasi, the target of a parliamentary sanction, was restored by the Constitutional Court last week and arrived back in Bukavu on Monday to a mixture of fierce protests and demonstrations of support. The Civil Society of South Kivu has called for a “ville morte” for Tuesday, March 1 in Bukavu to demand the resignation of the reinstalled governor, promising to ensure that the drama around gubernatorial politics in South Kivu endures.
  • Sud-Kivu : réhabilité par la cour constitutionnelle, le gouverneur Théo Ngwabidje prêche la paix et la cohésion sociale (Actualite.cd)