DRC: 75 Nobel Prize winners call for international action to end suffering in eastern DRC

A collective forum to denounce global inaction

On June 4, 2025, 75 Nobel laureates signed a tribune published in the newspaper Le Monde, calling for international mobilization in the face of continuing suffering in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The initiative is spearheaded by Dr. Denis Mukwege, winner of the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize, recognized for his fight on behalf of women victims of sexual violence used as weapons of war.

A tragedy ignored for three decades

The signatories – from fields as diverse as peace, medicine, literature and chemistry – denounce the persistent global silence in the face of a major humanitarian crisis. They point out that for over 30 years, the eastern DRC has been the scene of recurrent armed conflict, massive human rights violations and a systemic impunity that maintains the spiral of violence.

“A forgotten and neglected tragedy that must be placed at the top of the international agenda,” they write.

An alarming humanitarian situation

According to the UN, nearly 7 million people are currently displaced by insecurity in the country. Civilians are paying a heavy price, exposed to violence, looting, instability and lack of protection.

International peace conference called for

The 75 Nobel laureates are calling for an urgent international peace conference to mobilize the international community and bring the Congolese conflict out of its geopolitical invisibilization.

They also denounce the continued presence of the Rwandan army in eastern DRC, which they describe as“illegal aggression”, despite a UN resolution passed last February expressly calling on Rwanda to cease its support for the M23 armed group.

Denouncing double standards

In their appeal, the signatories highlight the international community’s inequitable treatment of conflicts. They point to a “double standard”, comparing inaction in the DRC with reactivity in the Ukraine-Russia conflict.

Conclusion

With this collective appeal, 75 Nobel Prize winners are calling for global awareness of the human tragedy that continues to unfold in the east of the DRC, in the midst of general indifference. By calling for a high-level international conference, they hope to break the wall of silence and put peace in the Congo back at the heart of diplomatic priorities. A strong signal that inaction is also a form of complicity.