February 18, 2015-Rwanda’s New Times reports that the German Ambassador to Rwanda, Peter Fahrenholtz, has said that the African Union should take the lead in bringing an end to the FDLR in eastern DRC.

Speaker of the Rwandan Parliament Donatille Mukabalisa is quoted as saying, “We ask the German MPs to be our voice in the international community, push for FDLR to be flushed out and also enact laws that criminalize genocide revisionism and promotion of genocide ideology.”

The German ambassador responded by saying that his government believes that FDLR and other armed groups in the DRC have to be dissolved but “with the cooperation of African governments.”

Ambassador Mahrenholz is quoted as saying, “This [FDLR issue] is taking place in an African country, we can’t come in and violate the sovereignty of the continent. We want to do this together with African leaders and the African Union.”

Despite a January 2 deadline for FDLR to disarm, none of the parties have made any moves to carry out their mandate to disarm. The Congolese army and Monusco are disputing the human rights record of the Congolese generals tasked with leading the offensive.

In the meantime, FDLR remains active in eastern Congo.