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The Democratic Republic of Congo has characterized the European Union's continued minerals partnership with Rwanda as demonstrating "evident contradiction" while imposing significantly wider sanctions in response to the war in Ukraine.

Diplomatic Sharp Rebuke

Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner, the African nation's international affairs chief, urged the EU to impose significantly tougher measures against Rwanda, which has been charged with intensifying the violence in DRC's eastern territories.

"This demonstrates obvious inconsistency – I strive to be constructive here – that has us wondering and interested about understanding why the EU again struggles so much to implement measures," she stated.

Ceasefire Deal Context

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

However, deadly attacks on ordinary citizens have endured and a time limit to achieve a final settlement was missed in August.

UN Report

Last year, a group of UN experts found that up to 4,000 Rwandan troops were supporting the M23 insurgent faction and that the Rwandan military was in "effective direction of M23 operations."

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

Diplomatic Request

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

"This necessitates you to command the M23 troops assisted by your country to stop this escalation, which has already led to sufficient fatalities," Tshisekedi stated.

EU Sanctions

The EU has imposed restrictions against 32 persons and two groups – a militant group and a Rwandan mineral treatment facility dealing in illegal supplies of the metal – for their participation in intensifying the conflict.

Despite these findings of rights violations by the Rwandan army in the DRC, the European Commission has declined calls to cancel a 2024 resource partnership with Kigali.

Mineral Issues

Wagner labeled the memorandum of understanding with Rwanda as "lacking all legitimacy in a context where it has been verified that Rwanda has been illegally extracting African wealth" obtained under harsh circumstances of forced labour, involving children.

The United States and many others have raised concerns about unauthorized transactions in gold and tantalum in DRC's east, mined via forced labour, then trafficked to Rwanda for international trade to finance armed groups.

Human Catastrophe

The conflict in eastern DRC remains one of the world's worst human catastrophes, with exceeding 7.8 million people internally displaced in the region and 28 million experiencing food insecurity, including 4 million at emergency levels, according to UN assessments.

International Engagement

As the DRC's principal negotiator, Wagner ratified the accord with Rwanda at the American administration in June, which also attempts to give the United States greater access to African wealth.

She asserted that the US remains engaged in the resolution efforts and dismissed suggestions that primary interest was the DRC's significant natural resources.

International Collaboration

The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, opened a conference by declaring that the EU wanted "collaboration based on common interests and honoring independence."

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

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