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The DRC has described the European Union's continued minerals partnership with Rwanda as showing "evident hypocrisy" while imposing significantly wider penalties in response to the Ukrainian crisis.

Foreign Minister's Sharp Rebuke

Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner, the DRC's foreign minister, urged the EU to enact much stronger sanctions against Rwanda, which has been accused of fueling the conflict in Congo's eastern region.

"It represents clear inconsistency – I strive to be constructive here – that has us curious and interested about understanding why the EU again struggles so much to enact sanctions," she declared.

Conflict Resolution Background

The DRC and Rwanda signed a conflict resolution in June, facilitated by the America and Qatar, aiming to end the decades-old conflict.

However, deadly attacks on non-combatants have continued and a deadline to achieve a comprehensive peace agreement was passed without success in August.

International Findings

Last year, a group of UN experts found 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 backing M23 and claims its forces act in self-protection.

Diplomatic Request

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

"This demands you to command the M23 troops supported by your country to stop this escalation, which has already caused enough fatalities," the president declared.

EU Sanctions

The EU has enacted measures targeting 32 people and two groups – a militant group and a Rwandan mineral treatment facility handling illegal supplies of the metal – for their role in intensifying the conflict.

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

Economic Implications

Wagner characterized the agreement with Rwanda as "lacking all legitimacy in a context where it has been established that Rwanda has been illegally extracting DRC minerals" mined under severe situations of coerced employment, involving children.

The United States and various countries have expressed alarm about illicit commerce in gold and tantalum in DRC's east, extracted via forced labour, then trafficked to Rwanda for international trade to benefit militant factions.

Regional Emergency

The violence in DRC's eastern territories remains one of the world's most severe human catastrophes, with exceeding 7.8 million people relocated within country in eastern DRC and 28 million confronting food insecurity, including 4 million at critical stages, according to UN assessments.

International Engagement

As the DRC's chief diplomat, Wagner signed the deal with Rwanda at the White House in June, which also aims to give the United States greater access to DRC minerals.

She maintained that the US remains engaged in the diplomatic negotiations and rejected suggestions that sole motivation was the DRC's extensive resource deposits.

European Partnership

The Brussels chief, Ursula von der Leyen, inaugurated a gathering by emphasizing that the EU wanted "collaboration based on mutual benefits and acknowledging autonomy."

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

Wagner admitted that the EU and DRC had a firm groundwork in the Lobito project, but "much has been overshadowed by the situation in eastern DRC."