Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ), Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, today introduced legislation pushing for a robust diplomatic, humanitarian, and economic response to the worsening crisis in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)—a region plagued by nearly three decades of conflict that has claimed about 6 million lives and displaced more than 6.8 million people as of April 2025.

          The introduction comes as the governments of DRC and Rwanda sign a peace agreement today brokered by the Trump Administration, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Senior Advisor Massad Boulos, marking what Smith called a “critical and long-overdue step toward ending the violence and suffering that has engulfed the region for far too long.”

          “Six million deaths is staggering and intolerable,” said Rep. Smith. “The United States—under President Trump—is leading the way in promoting regional peace, real accountability, and transparent supply chains through principled diplomacy and smart solutions.”

          Earlier this year, Congressman Smith chaired a pivotal hearing on March 25, 2025, titled “Metals, Minerals, and Mining: How the CCP Fuels Conflict and Exploitation in Africa,” which exposed the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) malign role in Africa’s critical minerals sector, exposing how illegal and unregulated Chinese-backed mining operations have fueled conflict, undermined governance, and driven the exploitation of child labor.

The resolution reflects Smith’s decades-long leadership on legislative and oversight work on the DRC, including his chairmanship of the bipartisan Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission and the bicameral Congressional-Executive Commission on China, where he consistently exposed the link between illegal Chinese mining operations in Africa and the financing of armed groups and child labor.

          “This resolution urges the immediate cessation of armed group activities, encourages targeted sanctions, supports inclusive national dialogue, and backs ongoing efforts to achieve regional peace,” Smith said. “It recognizes that lasting peace must also include good governance and sustainable economic solutions—such as those being advanced through this administration’s U.S.-DRC critical minerals agreements.”

          “We must reject complicity in atrocities committed for the sake of cheap cobalt and consumer electronics,” Smith added. “This legislation reaffirms the United States’ leadership to stand for peace through strength, and to ensure that justice, not exploitation, defines our engagement in the region.”