🔗 Share this article

The Central African nation has described the European Union's ongoing minerals partnership with Rwanda as showing "obvious double standards" while imposing much broader restrictions in response to the war in Ukraine.

Diplomatic Strong Criticism

Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner, the DRC's international affairs chief, demanded the EU to enact significantly tougher sanctions against Rwanda, which has been charged with intensifying the violence in eastern DRC.

"It represents obvious hypocrisy – I aim to be productive here – that leaves us wondering and interested about understanding why the EU continues to hesitate so much to implement measures," she stated.

Peace Agreement History

The DRC and Rwanda agreed to a peace agreement in June, facilitated by the America and Qatar, aiming to conclude the protracted hostilities.

However, fatal assaults on civilians have persisted and a time limit to establish a comprehensive peace agreement was passed without success in August.

UN Report

Last year, a group of UN experts reported that up to 4,000 Rwandan troops were operating with the M23 militant organization and that the Rwandan military was in "de facto control of M23 operations."

Rwanda has consistently denied backing M23 and asserts its forces act in self-defence.

Leadership Call

The DRC president, Félix Tshisekedi, recently urged his Rwandan counterpart, Paul Kagame, to stop supporting militants in the DRC during a international conference featuring both leaders.

"This necessitates you to instruct the M23 troops backed by your country to end this deterioration, which has already caused enough casualties," Tshisekedi stated.

European Measures

The EU has enacted measures targeting 32 individuals and two entities – a militant group and a Rwandan mineral treatment facility processing unauthorized sources of the metal – for their role in fuelling the conflict.

Despite these findings of rights violations by the Rwandan army in the DRC, the European Commission has declined demands to cancel a 2024 resource partnership with Kigali.

Resource Concerns

Wagner described the memorandum of understanding with Rwanda as "lacking all legitimacy in a environment where it has been confirmed that Rwanda has been siphoning off DRC minerals" extracted under brutal conditions of compulsory work, including children.

The United States and numerous nations have expressed alarm about illegal trade in gold and tantalum in Congo's eastern region, mined via forced labour, then illegally transported to Rwanda for shipment to finance militant factions.

Humanitarian Crisis

The conflict in Congo's east remains one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, with over 7.8 million people internally displaced in the region and 28 million confronting hunger issues, including 4 million at crisis conditions, according to UN assessments.

Global Involvement

As the DRC's chief diplomat, Wagner signed the deal with Rwanda at the White House in June, which also attempts to give the United States greater access to DRC minerals.

She maintained that the US remains engaged in the peace process and denied suggestions that main concern was the DRC's vast mineral wealth.

European Partnership

The EU leader, Ursula von der Leyen, opened a conference by declaring that the EU wanted "collaboration based on shared objectives and acknowledging autonomy."

She highlighted the Lobito corridor – rail, road and water transport links – linking the mineral heartlands of the DRC and Zambia to Angola's western shoreline.

Wagner acknowledged that the EU and DRC had a strong foundation in the Lobito project, but "significant aspects has been diminished by the crisis in eastern DRC."