In this powerful and timely episode of Give Peace a Chance, host Adrian Beckingham explores the historic peace agreement signed this week between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda, brokered by the United States government. After decades of bloodshed, displacement, and regional destabilization, the two nations have agreed to end hostilities—marking what could become one of the most significant peace breakthroughs in African history.
But this is no ordinary treaty. Behind the diplomacy lies a deeper story—one involving war, minerals, geopolitical rivalry, and the long shadow of colonial exploitation. As Adrian reveals, this peace deal comes after years of ignored pleas by Congolese officials to successive U.S. administrations. Repeated appeals to President Biden went unanswered. It was only under President Donald Trump that the call was finally heard, leading to direct engagement, diplomatic negotiations, and this weekend’s landmark signing in Washington, D.C.
The episode dissects the cautious optimism surrounding the deal. It also lays bare the complex role of the United States—motivated in no small part by access to Congo’s rich mineral resources, including cobalt and coltan, which are critical to smartphones, electric vehicles, and military technologies.
Listeners are taken through a compelling historical journey—from Henry Morton Stanley’s colonial expeditions and the Belgian monarch King Leopold II’s bloody conquest, to repeated appeals to United States presidents for help following on deaf ears - until now. Adrian weaves together the threads of history, economics, and humanitarian struggle to ask: is this truly a peace accord, or a mineral deal cloaked in diplomacy?
This episode is both an exploration and an appeal: a call to hold the world accountable and to recognise the enduring human cost of war, neglect, and exploitation.
What does peace really mean when the ink is still wet, but the wounds run centuries deep?
In this moving live episode of Give Peace a Chance, storyteller Adrian Beckingham takes the audience on an emotional, historical, and political journey through the Congo — from colonial conquest to a modern-day peace accord signed at the White House.
The Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda have agreed to end decades of hostilities in a deal brokered not by decades of diplomacy, but by the intervention of a surprising figure: Donald Trump. After years of silence from prior U.S. administrations, Trump was the one to answer Congo’s long-standing calls for help.
But behind the headlines lies a deeper story — one of foreign extraction, betrayal, and resilience. Adrian recounts how journalist-explorer Henry Morton Stanley’s brutal expedition in the 1870s lit the fuse that sparked the Scramble for Africa, leading to King Leopold II’s colonization of the Congo and the deaths of millions.
Through rich narrative, hard truths, and a call to conscience, this episode invites listeners to confront a question that echoes far beyond Central Africa:
Is this really peace — or just a new chapter in the same old story of exploitation?
If you care about justice, history, or the human cost behind the world’s technology, don’t miss this episode.
Key Topics:
- 2025 Congo-Rwanda peace deal and U.S. involvement
- Donald Trump’s unexpected role
- The colonial roots of Congo’s crisis
- Henry Morton Stanley and the Scramble for Africa
- The human cost of cobalt, coltan, and conflict minerals
- Justice, memory, and the meaning of peace
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