🔗 Share this article

The Central African nation has labeled the European Union's continued minerals agreement with Rwanda as showing "evident contradiction" while enforcing significantly wider sanctions in response to the war in Ukraine.

Diplomatic Firm Condemnation

Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner, the DRC's international affairs chief, called for the EU to implement far more severe restrictions against Rwanda, which has been charged with intensifying the unrest in Congo's eastern region.

"This shows clear double standards – I strive to be constructive here – that makes us wondering and inquisitive about comprehending why the EU repeatedly finds it difficult so much to enact sanctions," she emphasized.

Ceasefire Deal Context

The DRC and Rwanda signed a conflict resolution in June, facilitated by the America and Qatar, aiming to conclude the decades-old dispute.

However, deadly attacks on non-combatants have persisted and a deadline to reach a lasting resolution was missed in August.

International Findings

Last year, a group of UN experts stated that up to 4,000 Rwandan troops were fighting alongside the M23 rebel group and that the Rwandan military was in "de facto control of M23 operations."

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

Leadership Call

The DRC president, Félix Tshisekedi, recently appealed to his Rwandan counterpart, Paul Kagame, to stop supporting militants in the DRC during a European gathering attended by both leaders.

"This necessitates you to command the M23 troops assisted by your country to end this intensification, which has already caused enough deaths," the president declared.

International Restrictions

The EU has imposed restrictions against 32 people and two organizations – a rebel organization and a Rwandan gold refiner handling contraband materials of the metal – for their role in prolonging the conflict.

Despite these findings of human rights abuses by the Rwandan army in the DRC, the Brussels administration has declined demands to cancel a 2024 mining agreement with Kigali.

Mineral Issues

Wagner labeled the memorandum of understanding with Rwanda as "void of any credibility in a situation where it has been established that Rwanda has been diverting DRC minerals" mined under severe situations of coerced employment, involving children.

The United States and numerous nations have voiced apprehension about unauthorized transactions in mineral resources in DRC's east, mined via compulsory work, then illegally transported to Rwanda for international trade to support militant factions.

Humanitarian Crisis

The violence in eastern DRC remains one of the world's gravest emergency situations, with over 7.8 million people internally displaced in the region and 28 million experiencing hunger issues, including 4 million at critical stages, according to UN assessments.

Global Involvement

As the DRC's top representative, Wagner approved the deal with Rwanda at the US presidential residence in June, which also seeks to give the United States enhanced entry to DRC minerals.

She maintained that the US remains involved in the resolution efforts and dismissed claims that main concern was the DRC's vast mineral wealth.

EU Cooperation

The Brussels chief, Ursula von der Leyen, opened a gathering by stating that the EU wanted "cooperation based on mutual benefits and honoring independence."

She featured the Lobito corridor – transportation infrastructure transport links – linking the mining regions of the DRC and Zambia to Angola's Atlantic coast.

Wagner recognized that the EU and DRC had a solid basis in the Lobito project, but "significant aspects has been diminished by the crisis in Congo's east."