Congo Denounces EU's Mineral Deal with Rwanda as ‘Obvious Hypocrisy’

The DRC has labeled the European Union's ongoing minerals agreement with Rwanda as demonstrating "clear double standards" while imposing far more extensive restrictions in response to the Ukrainian crisis.

Government Sharp Rebuke

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

"It represents clear hypocrisy – I strive to be productive here – that makes us questioning and concerned about grasping why the EU continues to hesitate so much to take action," she declared.

Ceasefire Deal Context

The DRC and Rwanda ratified a peace agreement in June, mediated by the United States and Qatar, designed to resolve the long-standing conflict.

However, fatal assaults on non-combatants have endured and a target date to establish a lasting resolution was not met in August.

Expert Assessment

Last year, a United Nations panel 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 national security.

Diplomatic Request

The DRC president, Félix Tshisekedi, recently appealed to his Rwandan counterpart, Paul Kagame, to cease backing rebel forces in the DRC during a international conference featuring both leaders.

"This necessitates you to order the M23 troops supported by your country to halt this deterioration, which has already caused sufficient fatalities," the president declared.

EU Sanctions

The EU has enacted measures targeting 32 people and two groups – a armed faction and a Rwandan precious metals processor dealing in unauthorized sources of the metal – for their participation in prolonging the conflict.

Despite these conclusions of human rights abuses by the Rwandan army in the DRC, the Brussels administration has declined demands to suspend a 2024 mining agreement with Kigali.

Mineral Issues

Wagner labeled the memorandum of understanding with Rwanda as "completely untrustworthy in a context where it has been confirmed that Rwanda has been siphoning off African wealth" extracted under severe situations of forced labour, involving children.

The United States and many others have raised concerns about unauthorized transactions in precious metals in eastern Congo, obtained via compulsory work, then illegally transported to Rwanda for shipment to finance rebel organizations.

Humanitarian Crisis

The conflict in Congo's east remains one of the world's gravest humanitarian crises, with more than 7.8 million people internally displaced in eastern DRC and 28 million facing nutritional challenges, including 4 million at crisis conditions, according to UN assessments.

Global Involvement

As the DRC's principal negotiator, Wagner signed the agreement with Rwanda at the US presidential residence in June, which also seeks to give the United States enhanced entry to DRC minerals.

She maintained that the US remains participating in the resolution efforts and denied claims that main concern was the DRC's extensive resource deposits.

European Partnership

The EU leader, Ursula von der Leyen, opened a conference by declaring that the EU wanted "cooperation based on mutual benefits and honoring independence."

She featured the Lobito corridor – multi-modal transport links – linking the resource-rich areas of the DRC and Zambia to Angola's ocean access.

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