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

The DRC has described the European Union's continued minerals deal with Rwanda as exhibiting "obvious contradiction" while imposing significantly wider sanctions in response to the Ukrainian crisis.

Foreign Minister's Sharp Rebuke

Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner, the DRC's top diplomat, called for the EU to impose much stronger sanctions against Rwanda, which has been accused of fueling the violence in DRC's eastern territories.

"This demonstrates obvious hypocrisy – I aim to be helpful here – that makes us questioning and interested about understanding why the EU again struggles so much to take action," she stated.

Peace Agreement Background

The DRC and Rwanda ratified a peace agreement in June, facilitated by the America and Qatar, aiming to conclude the decades-old conflict.

However, lethal incidents on civilians have continued and a deadline to establish 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 "actual command of M23 operations."

Rwanda has repeatedly rejected supporting M23 and claims its forces act in national security.

Leadership Call

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

"This necessitates you to instruct the M23 troops backed by your country to end this intensification, which has already resulted in enough deaths," Tshisekedi stated.

European Measures

The EU has enacted measures targeting 32 individuals and two groups – a armed faction and a Rwandan gold refiner dealing in contraband materials of the metal – for their involvement in prolonging the conflict.

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

Mineral Issues

Wagner described the agreement with Rwanda as "completely untrustworthy in a situation where it has been verified that Rwanda has been siphoning off Congolese resources" mined under severe situations of compulsory work, involving children.

The United States and many others have voiced apprehension about illicit commerce in precious metals in eastern Congo, obtained via compulsory work, then trafficked to Rwanda for shipment to finance militant factions.

Humanitarian Crisis

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

Diplomatic Efforts

As the DRC's top representative, Wagner approved the agreement with Rwanda at the White House in June, which also aims to give the United States expanded opportunity to Congolese natural resources.

She stated that the US remains engaged in the diplomatic negotiations and denied claims that main concern was the DRC's extensive resource deposits.

European Partnership

The EU leader, Ursula von der Leyen, commenced a gathering by stating that the EU wanted "collaboration based on mutual benefits and acknowledging autonomy."

She featured the Lobito corridor – transportation infrastructure transport links – linking the resource-rich areas of the DRC and Zambia to Angola's western shoreline.

Wagner acknowledged that the EU and DRC had a firm groundwork in the Lobito project, but "much has been diminished by the conflict in Congo's east."