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The Democratic Republic of Congo has labeled the European Union's continued minerals partnership with Rwanda as demonstrating "clear contradiction" while imposing far more extensive penalties in response to the war in Ukraine.

Diplomatic Strong Criticism

Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner, the DRC's top diplomat, urged the EU to enact significantly tougher measures against Rwanda, which has been charged with intensifying the unrest in Congo's eastern region.

"This demonstrates evident inconsistency – I want to be productive here – that has us wondering and inquisitive about grasping why the EU repeatedly finds it difficult so much to take action," she declared.

Ceasefire Deal Context

The DRC and Rwanda signed a conflict resolution in June, facilitated by the America and Qatar, aiming to resolve the protracted conflict.

However, lethal incidents on ordinary citizens have persisted and a target date to achieve a comprehensive peace agreement was missed in August.

UN Report

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

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

Diplomatic Request

The DRC president, Félix Tshisekedi, recently called upon his Rwandan counterpart, Paul Kagame, to stop supporting rebel forces in the DRC during a European gathering attended by both leaders.

"This demands you to command the M23 troops assisted by your country to halt this escalation, which has already led to numerous fatalities," the leader emphasized.

EU Sanctions

The EU has placed sanctions on 32 persons and two organizations – a militant group and a Rwandan mineral treatment facility handling unauthorized sources of the metal – for their involvement in fuelling the conflict.

Despite these conclusions of human rights abuses by the Rwandan army in the DRC, the EU executive has rejected demands to terminate a 2024 mining agreement with Kigali.

Resource Concerns

Wagner labeled the memorandum of understanding with Rwanda as "lacking all legitimacy in a situation where it has been confirmed that Rwanda has been diverting African wealth" obtained under severe situations of forced labour, affecting children.

The United States and various countries have expressed alarm about unauthorized transactions in precious metals in DRC's east, obtained via coerced employment, then smuggled to Rwanda for export to support militant factions.

Human Catastrophe

The conflict in Congo's east remains one of the world's worst emergency situations, with exceeding 7.8 million people internally displaced in eastern DRC and 28 million experiencing nutritional challenges, including 4 million at crisis conditions, according to UN data.

Global Involvement

As the DRC's principal negotiator, Wagner signed the agreement with Rwanda at the American administration in June, which also seeks to give the United States enhanced entry to Congolese natural resources.

She stated that the US remains involved in the diplomatic negotiations and rejected suggestions that main concern was the DRC's extensive resource deposits.

European Partnership

The Brussels chief, Ursula von der Leyen, inaugurated a conference by declaring that the EU wanted "cooperation based on shared objectives and acknowledging autonomy."

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

Wagner acknowledged that the EU and DRC had a solid basis in the Lobito project, but "much has been overshadowed by the situation in eastern DRC."