President Felix Tshisekedi’s government has launched a multi-pronged strategy to get the US congress and Joe Biden administration to help push back against its neighbour’s alleged meddling in eastern Congo, according to public documents and interviews with key players.
Efforts include building the case for the US to designate the Mouvement du 23 Mars (M23) insurgency as a terrorist group, asking the state department to investigate Rwanda’s alleged support for the group and pressing the US to improve its diplomatic presence in the region.
“We’re trying to say, look, do you guys really want to deal with this issue?” says Joseph Szlavik, a former George H.W. Bush administration official whose Washington firm Scribe Strategies and Advisors signed a $50,000-a-month lobbying contract with Tshisekedi’s government in March. “You have to get people appointed here because if you’re going to
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