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The Democratic Republic of Congo has described the European Union's persistent minerals deal with Rwanda as exhibiting "evident contradiction" while implementing much broader penalties in response to the war in Ukraine.

Diplomatic Sharp Rebuke

Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner, the African nation's foreign minister, urged the EU to implement significantly tougher restrictions against Rwanda, which has been alleged to exacerbate the violence in eastern DRC.

"This demonstrates obvious hypocrisy – I aim to be productive here – that has us wondering and concerned about grasping why the EU repeatedly finds it difficult so much to enact sanctions," she stated.

Conflict Resolution Context

The DRC and Rwanda signed a ceasefire deal in June, mediated by the United States and Qatar, intending to resolve the decades-old conflict.

However, deadly attacks on civilians have persisted and a deadline to reach a comprehensive peace agreement was passed without success in August.

International Findings

Last year, a international assessment team stated that up to 4,000 Rwandan troops were operating with the M23 rebel group and that the Rwandan military was in "de facto control of M23 operations."

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

Presidential Appeal

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

"This necessitates you to instruct the M23 troops supported by your country to halt this deterioration, which has already caused sufficient deaths," Tshisekedi stated.

EU Sanctions

The EU has placed sanctions on 32 people and two organizations – a rebel organization and a Rwandan precious metals processor handling illegal supplies of the metal – for their role in fuelling the conflict.

Despite these determinations of rights violations by the Rwandan army in the DRC, the EU executive has rejected demands to suspend a 2024 mining agreement with Kigali.

Economic Implications

Wagner described the partnership with Rwanda as "completely untrustworthy in a situation where it has been verified that Rwanda has been illegally extracting DRC minerals" mined under brutal conditions of forced labour, involving children.

The United States and various countries have raised concerns about illegal trade in gold and tantalum in DRC's east, obtained via compulsory work, then trafficked to Rwanda for shipment to support rebel organizations.

Humanitarian Crisis

The unrest in Congo's east remains one of the world's most severe humanitarian crises, with over 7.8 million people forced from homes in affected areas and 28 million experiencing hunger issues, including 4 million at crisis conditions, according to UN reports.

Global Involvement

As the DRC's top representative, Wagner ratified the deal with Rwanda at the American administration in June, which also aims to give the United States greater access to Congolese natural resources.

She stated that the US remains engaged in the resolution efforts and rejected suggestions that sole motivation was the DRC's vast mineral wealth.

International Collaboration

The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, inaugurated a gathering by emphasizing that the EU wanted "collaboration based on mutual benefits and honoring independence."

She highlighted the Lobito corridor – rail, road and water transport links – linking the mining regions of the DRC and Zambia to Angola's western shoreline.

Wagner admitted that the EU and DRC had a strong foundation in the Lobito project, but "significant aspects has been overshadowed by the crisis in eastern DRC."