DRC Condemns EU's Rwanda Minerals Agreement as ‘Clear Double Standard’

The DRC has characterized the European Union's persistent minerals deal with Rwanda as exhibiting "evident contradiction" while enforcing significantly wider restrictions in response to the Ukraine conflict.

Government Strong Criticism

Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner, the Congo's international affairs chief, urged the EU to implement much stronger restrictions against Rwanda, which has been alleged to exacerbate the conflict in eastern DRC.

"This shows evident double standards – I aim to be constructive here – that makes us questioning and concerned about grasping why the EU continues to hesitate so much to implement measures," she emphasized.

Conflict Resolution Context

The DRC and Rwanda signed a conflict resolution in June, brokered by the United States and Qatar, designed to resolve the decades-old hostilities.

However, fatal assaults on civilians have continued and a deadline to achieve a comprehensive peace agreement was not met in August.

UN Report

Last year, a international assessment team stated that up to 4,000 Rwandan troops were fighting alongside the M23 insurgent faction and that the Rwandan military was in "effective direction of M23 operations."

Rwanda has consistently denied supporting M23 and asserts its forces act in self-defence.

Diplomatic Request

The DRC president, Félix Tshisekedi, recently appealed to his Rwandan counterpart, Paul Kagame, to end assistance to militants in the DRC during a European gathering attended by both leaders.

"This requires you to command the M23 troops backed by your country to stop this escalation, which has already led to numerous deaths," Tshisekedi stated.

EU Sanctions

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

Despite these conclusions of international law breaches by the Rwandan army in the DRC, the European Commission has declined calls to cancel a 2024 mining agreement with Kigali.

Resource Concerns

Wagner characterized the partnership with Rwanda as "void of any credibility in a situation where it has been confirmed that Rwanda has been illegally extracting DRC minerals" obtained under brutal conditions of forced labour, including children.

The United States and numerous nations have raised concerns about unauthorized transactions in precious metals in Congo's eastern region, obtained via forced labour, then trafficked to Rwanda for shipment to benefit armed groups.

Humanitarian Crisis

The violence in DRC's eastern territories remains one of the world's gravest humanitarian crises, with exceeding 7.8 million people relocated within country in affected areas and 28 million experiencing nutritional challenges, including 4 million at critical stages, according to UN assessments.

International Engagement

As the DRC's chief diplomat, Wagner ratified the agreement with Rwanda at the White House in June, which also seeks to give the United States expanded opportunity to Congolese natural resources.

She maintained that the US remains engaged in the resolution efforts and rejected suggestions that primary interest was the DRC's extensive resource deposits.

European Partnership

The EU leader, Ursula von der Leyen, inaugurated a summit by stating that the EU wanted "partnerships based on shared objectives and acknowledging autonomy."

She highlighted the Lobito corridor – rail, road and water transport links – joining the mineral heartlands 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 "much has been diminished by the crisis in Congo's east."