🔗 Share this article

The Central African nation has described the European Union's ongoing minerals deal with Rwanda as exhibiting "clear double standards" while implementing significantly wider restrictions in response to the Ukrainian crisis.

Diplomatic Sharp Rebuke

Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner, the DRC's international affairs chief, called for the EU to impose much stronger measures against Rwanda, which has been accused of fueling the violence in eastern DRC.

"It represents clear inconsistency – I strive to be constructive here – that makes us questioning and inquisitive about grasping why the EU repeatedly finds it difficult so much to implement measures," she emphasized.

Conflict Resolution Background

The DRC and Rwanda ratified a peace agreement in June, mediated by the United States and Qatar, designed to resolve the decades-old hostilities.

However, lethal incidents on civilians have persisted and a time limit to establish a comprehensive peace agreement was missed in August.

Expert Assessment

Last year, a international assessment team found that up to 4,000 Rwandan troops were supporting the M23 insurgent faction and that the Rwandan military was in "de facto control of M23 operations."

Rwanda has repeatedly rejected assisting M23 and asserts its forces act in self-protection.

Presidential Appeal

The DRC president, Félix Tshisekedi, recently called upon his Rwandan counterpart, Paul Kagame, to stop supporting rebel forces in the DRC during a international conference attended by both leaders.

"This requires you to instruct the M23 troops assisted by your country to halt this intensification, which has already led to numerous deaths," the president declared.

International Restrictions

The EU has placed sanctions on 32 individuals and two groups – a rebel organization and a Rwandan mineral treatment facility handling illegal supplies of the metal – for their participation in fuelling the conflict.

Despite these conclusions of human rights abuses by the Rwandan army in the DRC, the Brussels administration has resisted requests to terminate a 2024 mining agreement with Kigali.

Economic Implications

Wagner labeled the partnership with Rwanda as "lacking all legitimacy in a context where it has been established that Rwanda has been siphoning off African wealth" extracted under brutal conditions of compulsory work, affecting children.

The United States and many others have expressed alarm about illicit commerce in precious metals in DRC's east, obtained via compulsory work, then smuggled to Rwanda for international trade to benefit militant factions.

Human Catastrophe

The conflict in DRC's eastern territories remains one of the world's most severe humanitarian crises, with exceeding 7.8 million people relocated within country in eastern DRC and 28 million experiencing food insecurity, including 4 million at crisis conditions, according to UN reports.

Diplomatic Efforts

As the DRC's chief diplomat, Wagner ratified the deal with Rwanda at the US presidential residence in June, which also aims to give the United States enhanced entry to African wealth.

She stated that the US remains involved in the diplomatic negotiations and denied suggestions that sole motivation was the DRC's vast mineral wealth.

International Collaboration

The EU leader, Ursula von der Leyen, commenced a gathering by declaring that the EU wanted "cooperation based on shared objectives and respect for sovereignty."

She emphasized the Lobito corridor – multi-modal transport links – connecting the mining regions of the DRC and Zambia to Angola's western shoreline.

Wagner recognized that the EU and DRC had a firm groundwork in the Lobito project, but "a great deal has been eclipsed by the situation in eastern DRC."