HSRC Research Hub: Democracy, Peace, and Security Research Hub

The HSRC invites you to a seminar to assess South Africa’s tactical withdrawal from the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The discussion will explore lessons learned from the deployment, the factors behind the rapid tactical withdrawal, and the implications for future peacekeeping operations in the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

The SADC mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (SAMIDRC) was approved by an extraordinary SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government held in Windhoek, Namibia, on 8 May 2023. This was a regional effort to stabilise the deteriorating security situation in eastern DRC. While establishing a presence in Goma and Sake, the mission faced heavy attacks from the M23 rebel group, which eventually captured Goma and Sake in early 2025.

The capture of these important logistics hubs prompted SADC to terminate the mission. Military setbacks, capability constraints, political factors, and domestic pressures in South Africa all contributed to this decision. 

The seminar will seek to contextualise these factors  and consider their broader implications for peace and security in the country.

Topics to be discussed include:

1 The conflict value chain in the eastern part of DRC

2. Political, economic, and diplomatic implications of the withdrawal

3. The broader context of conflict in eastern DRC

4. Lessons for future regional peacekeeping

Welcome and opening remarks: Dr Check Achu, HSRC

Speaker: Prof. Dan Kuwali, Professor of International Law, University of Pretoria; Visiting Scholar, Raoul Wallenberg for Human Rights, Lund University.  

Date: 26 November 2025

Time: 11:00 – 12:00

Venue: VCC HSRC Pretoria Office and online            

Click here to register for online attendance

Contact: The Hub Convenor, Check Achu, cachu@hsrc.ac.za