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

The Central African nation has described the European Union's continued minerals deal with Rwanda as showing "evident double standards" while implementing much broader sanctions in response to the Ukrainian crisis.

Government Sharp Rebuke

Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner, the African nation's foreign minister, demanded the EU to enact significantly tougher restrictions against Rwanda, which has been accused of fueling the conflict in eastern DRC.

"This demonstrates evident hypocrisy – I want to be constructive here – that makes us wondering and interested about grasping why the EU again struggles so much to take action," she stated.

Peace Agreement Context

The DRC and Rwanda ratified a peace agreement in June, brokered by the United States and Qatar, designed to conclude the protracted dispute.

However, fatal assaults on civilians have persisted and a target date to achieve a final settlement was missed in August.

International Findings

Last year, a group of UN experts stated 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 continually refuted supporting M23 and maintains its forces act in national security.

Diplomatic Request

The DRC president, Félix Tshisekedi, recently called upon his Rwandan counterpart, Paul Kagame, to stop supporting rebel forces in the DRC during a Brussels event featuring both leaders.

"This necessitates you to instruct the M23 troops backed by your country to halt this escalation, which has already caused sufficient casualties," the leader emphasized.

European Measures

The EU has placed sanctions on 32 individuals and two organizations – a armed faction and a Rwandan gold refiner processing contraband materials of the metal – for their participation in fuelling 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 minerals deal with Kigali.

Mineral Issues

Wagner characterized the agreement with Rwanda as "completely untrustworthy in a situation where it has been established that Rwanda has been siphoning off DRC minerals" obtained under severe situations of coerced employment, including children.

The United States and numerous nations have voiced apprehension about illicit commerce in precious metals in Congo's eastern region, extracted via forced labour, then trafficked to Rwanda for international trade to finance militant factions.

Humanitarian Crisis

The violence in DRC's eastern territories remains one of the world's most severe emergency situations, with exceeding 7.8 million people forced from homes in eastern DRC and 28 million facing nutritional challenges, including 4 million at crisis conditions, according to UN data.

International Engagement

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 Congolese natural resources.

She maintained that the US remains involved in the peace process and denied suggestions that sole motivation was the DRC's vast mineral wealth.

European Partnership

The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, opened a gathering by emphasizing that the EU wanted "cooperation based on shared objectives and acknowledging autonomy."

She featured the Lobito corridor – rail, road and water transport links – connecting the mining regions of the DRC and Zambia to Angola's ocean access.

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