H.R. 8704 — STABLE DRC Act

This section states congressional findings that the Rwandan Defense Forces have provided sustained military support to the March 23rd Movement’s revolt in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s North and South Kivu provinces, while the armed forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo have supported the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, an armed group whose founders participated in the 1994 Rwandan genocide. It further finds that both groups have committed war crimes and human rights abuses, including the forced recruitment of children, ethnic cleansing, rape, and summary executions. The section also notes the June 2025 Peace Agreement between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, referred to as the Washington Accords, under which the parties agree to respect each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and to refrain from hostile acts threatening the other’s peace and security.

This section establishes the policy of the United States Government to recognize the independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda; to treat the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo as a direct threat to regional peace and stability and to United States strategic interests in Central Africa; and to use sanctions to support the Washington Accords and fully end the conflict involving the Democratic Republic of the Congo, M23, and Rwanda.

This section authorizes the President to impose sanctions on any foreign person that violates or knowingly undermines the Washington Accords. The sanctions include blocking all property and interests in property of the sanctioned person that are in the United States or come within the possession or control of a U.S. person, and rendering the person inadmissible to the United States with mandatory revocation of any existing visa or entry documentation. Exceptions prohibit application of the visa sanctions when necessary to comply with U.S. obligations under the United Nations Headquarters Agreement or other international agreements, and bar imposition of any sanctions for transactions involving agricultural commodities, food, medicine, medical devices, humanitarian assistance, or related financial or transportation activities; sanctions also do not apply to authorized U.S. intelligence, law enforcement, or national security activities. The President must establish a sanctions program to implement these authorities, which may draw on existing sanctions designations under other laws, and must use the enforcement and penalty provisions of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The authority terminates seven years after the date of enactment.