A U.S.-brokered peace deal, signed on June 27 between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, will link economic integration and respect for territorial integrity with the promise of Western investment. It is a mineral deal first, an opportunity for peace second. Making the deal work will depend on continued monitoring by the U.S. government and support from Congress.

The deal aligns squarely with U.S. strategic interests and President Trump’s ethos for a transactional foreign policy. The carrots offered to both the Congolese for their minerals and to Rwanda, a potential processing hub, may get the two to the table. Yet from my experience in the region, I believe a sustainable peace can only be delivered if accountability for human rights violations committed by all sides is out front.

For while this deal represents the most practical opportunity in years to end abuses against civilians in eastern Congo, it fails to address the impunity that drives so much conflict.

The region’s mineral wealth, which includes cobalt, coltan, gold, tin, and tungsten, is an invisible driver of both opportunity and destruction. Armed groups financed by the pillaging of these resources have long perpetuated the conflict.

Grave abuses have been

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