Official Development Assistance (ODA) from European countries and the EU institutions has been a large and important source of grant funding for international peacebuilding over the last twenty years. It will continue to be an important source of funding for international peacebuilding in the likely absence of comparable other sources of financing for the next twenty years. Yet competition for allocation of public funds is fierce in the wake of the economic and social disruption caused by the pandemic, an ongoing global climate crisis, significant inflationary pressures, and an impending economic recession as well as fallout from the war in Ukraine.

The Catholic Church is a critical player in Congolese politics. From the National Sovereign Conference of 1992 to the protests around the electoral process between 2015 and 2018, to the revitalization of a political opposition weakened by co-option and corruption, it has played a crucial role in the struggle for democracy, notably through the Conférence Épiscopale Nationale du Congo (CENCO) and the Comité Laïc de Coordination (CLC). However, its relatively narrow focus on elections when it comes to street protests, to the exclusion of other important challenges, represents a missed opportunity.