Democratic Republic of Congo Criticizes EU's Rwanda Minerals Agreement as ‘Obvious Hypocrisy’

The Central African nation has labeled the European Union's ongoing minerals agreement with Rwanda as demonstrating "clear double standards" while enforcing significantly wider penalties in response to the war in Ukraine.

Foreign Minister's Sharp Rebuke

Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner, the African nation's foreign minister, called for the EU to implement significantly tougher sanctions against Rwanda, which has been accused of fueling the unrest in eastern DRC.

"This demonstrates obvious inconsistency – I aim to be constructive here – that makes us wondering and inquisitive about grasping why the EU again struggles so much to take action," she declared.

Ceasefire Deal History

The DRC and Rwanda signed a peace agreement in June, brokered by the America and Qatar, designed to resolve the long-standing hostilities.

However, deadly attacks on ordinary citizens have continued and a time limit to reach a comprehensive peace agreement was passed without success in August.

Expert Assessment

Last year, a group of UN experts reported that up to 4,000 Rwandan troops were fighting alongside the M23 militant organization and that the Rwandan military was in "effective direction of M23 operations."

Rwanda has continually refuted supporting M23 and asserts its forces act in self-protection.

Diplomatic Request

The DRC president, Félix Tshisekedi, recently urged his Rwandan counterpart, Paul Kagame, to end assistance to armed groups in the DRC during a Brussels event featuring both leaders.

"This demands you to command the M23 troops backed by your country to stop this intensification, which has already led to enough fatalities," Tshisekedi stated.

EU Sanctions

The EU has placed sanctions on 32 people and two entities – a armed faction and a Rwandan gold refiner dealing in unauthorized sources of the metal – for their participation in fuelling the conflict.

Despite these conclusions of international law breaches by the Rwandan army in the DRC, the EU executive has rejected requests to terminate a 2024 minerals deal with Kigali.

Mineral Issues

Wagner described the memorandum of understanding with Rwanda as "void of any credibility in a environment where it has been verified that Rwanda has been diverting DRC minerals" extracted under severe situations of coerced employment, including children.

The United States and many others have voiced apprehension about illicit commerce in gold and tantalum in Congo's eastern region, obtained via compulsory work, then trafficked to Rwanda for shipment to benefit armed groups.

Human Catastrophe

The conflict in eastern DRC remains one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, with more than 7.8 million people forced from homes in the region and 28 million confronting nutritional challenges, including 4 million at crisis conditions, according to UN reports.

Global Involvement

As the DRC's chief diplomat, Wagner signed the accord with Rwanda at the American administration in June, which also seeks to give the United States expanded opportunity to Congolese natural resources.

She stated that the US remains involved in the resolution efforts and rejected allegations that primary interest was the DRC's extensive resource deposits.

International Collaboration

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

She highlighted the Lobito corridor – transportation infrastructure transport links – linking the resource-rich areas of the DRC and Zambia to Angola's ocean access.

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