🔗 Share this article

The Central African nation has labeled the European Union's ongoing minerals deal with Rwanda as demonstrating "evident double standards" while implementing significantly wider sanctions in response to the Ukraine conflict.

Foreign Minister's Sharp Rebuke

Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner, the African nation's international affairs chief, urged the EU to implement much stronger restrictions against Rwanda, which has been charged with intensifying the violence in eastern DRC.

"This demonstrates clear inconsistency – I strive to be productive here – that has us questioning and inquisitive about grasping why the EU continues to hesitate so much to enact sanctions," she declared.

Ceasefire Deal Background

The DRC and Rwanda agreed to a ceasefire deal in June, facilitated by the US and Qatar, intending to conclude the decades-old conflict.

However, deadly attacks on ordinary citizens have persisted and a target date to achieve a final settlement was missed in August.

Expert Assessment

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

Rwanda has consistently denied supporting M23 and claims its forces act in national security.

Presidential Appeal

The DRC president, Félix Tshisekedi, recently appealed to his Rwandan counterpart, Paul Kagame, to end assistance to militants in the DRC during a European gathering featuring both leaders.

"This requires you to command the M23 troops assisted by your country to halt this escalation, which has already caused enough deaths," Tshisekedi stated.

European Measures

The EU has placed sanctions on 32 individuals and two organizations – a militant group and a Rwandan mineral treatment facility dealing in contraband materials of the metal – for their participation in prolonging the conflict.

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

Economic Implications

Wagner characterized the agreement with Rwanda as "void of any credibility in a situation where it has been established that Rwanda has been illegally extracting DRC minerals" extracted under harsh circumstances of compulsory work, involving children.

The United States and many others have expressed alarm about illegal trade in precious metals in Congo's eastern region, extracted via forced labour, then illegally transported to Rwanda for export to finance rebel organizations.

Humanitarian Crisis

The violence in Congo's east remains one of the world's most severe human catastrophes, with over 7.8 million people relocated within country in the region and 28 million facing hunger issues, including 4 million at critical stages, according to UN data.

Global Involvement

As the DRC's chief diplomat, Wagner approved the agreement with Rwanda at the American administration in June, which also seeks to give the United States enhanced entry to DRC minerals.

She asserted that the US remains participating in the diplomatic negotiations and denied claims that main concern was the DRC's vast mineral wealth.

European Partnership

The EU leader, Ursula von der Leyen, opened a conference by stating that the EU wanted "collaboration based on common interests and acknowledging autonomy."

She highlighted the Lobito corridor – rail, road and water transport links – connecting the mineral heartlands of the DRC and Zambia to Angola's ocean access.

Wagner acknowledged that the EU and DRC had a firm groundwork in the Lobito project, but "significant aspects has been diminished by the situation in the troubled region."