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The Democratic Republic of Congo has described the European Union's persistent minerals agreement with Rwanda as showing "evident contradiction" while implementing significantly wider sanctions in response to the Ukraine conflict.

Government Strong Criticism

Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner, the Congo's top diplomat, urged the EU to implement much stronger measures against Rwanda, which has been charged with intensifying the unrest in Congo's eastern region.

"It represents clear hypocrisy – I strive to be constructive here – that leaves us wondering and concerned about grasping why the EU repeatedly finds it difficult so much to take action," she declared.

Conflict Resolution Context

The DRC and Rwanda ratified a ceasefire deal in June, facilitated by the US and Qatar, aiming to conclude the protracted conflict.

However, fatal assaults on ordinary citizens have persisted and a deadline to reach a lasting resolution was not met in August.

UN Report

Last year, a group of UN experts stated that up to 4,000 Rwandan troops were fighting alongside the M23 rebel group and that the Rwandan military was in "actual command of M23 operations."

Rwanda has repeatedly rejected backing M23 and maintains its forces act in self-protection.

Presidential Appeal

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

"This requires you to command the M23 troops assisted by your country to halt this escalation, which has already caused sufficient fatalities," Tshisekedi stated.

International Restrictions

The EU has placed sanctions on 32 individuals and two entities – a armed faction and a Rwandan gold refiner processing unauthorized sources of the metal – for their role in prolonging the conflict.

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

Resource Concerns

Wagner characterized the agreement with Rwanda as "void of any credibility in a environment where it has been confirmed that Rwanda has been diverting DRC minerals" mined under brutal conditions of forced labour, involving children.

The United States and various countries have raised concerns about illegal trade in precious metals in DRC's east, extracted via coerced employment, then smuggled to Rwanda for export to support rebel organizations.

Human Catastrophe

The violence in DRC's eastern territories remains one of the world's worst emergency situations, with exceeding 7.8 million people internally displaced in the region and 28 million confronting hunger issues, including 4 million at crisis conditions, according to UN assessments.

Diplomatic Efforts

As the DRC's top representative, Wagner ratified the deal with Rwanda at the White House in June, which also seeks to give the United States greater access to African wealth.

She maintained that the US remains engaged in the diplomatic negotiations and denied suggestions that main concern was the DRC's vast mineral wealth.

International Collaboration

The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, opened a conference by emphasizing that the EU wanted "collaboration based on common interests and acknowledging autonomy."

She featured the Lobito corridor – rail, road and water transport links – linking the mining regions of the DRC and Zambia to Angola's Atlantic coast.

Wagner admitted that the EU and DRC had a solid basis in the Lobito project, but "much has been diminished by the conflict in eastern DRC."