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

Government Strong Criticism

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

"This shows clear hypocrisy – I aim to be helpful here – that makes us wondering and inquisitive about understanding why the EU again struggles so much to enact sanctions," she stated.

Peace Agreement Background

The DRC and Rwanda ratified a ceasefire deal in June, brokered by the US and Qatar, intending to resolve the decades-old dispute.

However, fatal assaults on ordinary citizens have persisted and a deadline to establish a final settlement was passed without success in August.

Expert Assessment

Last year, a group of UN experts found that up to 4,000 Rwandan troops were supporting the M23 insurgent faction and that the Rwandan military was in "actual command of M23 operations."

Rwanda has continually refuted assisting M23 and asserts its forces act in self-defence.

Presidential Appeal

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

"This necessitates you to command the M23 troops backed by your country to stop this deterioration, which has already caused numerous casualties," the leader emphasized.

EU Sanctions

The EU has imposed restrictions against 32 people and two groups – a armed faction and a Rwandan precious metals processor dealing in contraband materials of the metal – for their involvement in prolonging the conflict.

Despite these conclusions of human rights abuses by the Rwandan army in the DRC, the Brussels administration has declined calls to cancel a 2024 resource partnership with Kigali.

Resource Concerns

Wagner characterized the memorandum of understanding with Rwanda as "lacking all legitimacy in a context where it has been established that Rwanda has been diverting Congolese resources" mined under harsh circumstances of coerced employment, including children.

The United States and various countries have expressed alarm about unauthorized transactions in mineral resources in eastern Congo, obtained via compulsory work, then smuggled to Rwanda for export to finance militant factions.

Human Catastrophe

The unrest in Congo's east remains one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, with more than 7.8 million people relocated within country in the region and 28 million confronting nutritional challenges, including 4 million at crisis conditions, according to UN data.

International Engagement

As the DRC's top representative, Wagner signed the accord with Rwanda at the White House in June, which also aims to give the United States greater access to Congolese natural resources.

She stated that the US remains involved in the diplomatic negotiations and rejected claims that primary interest was the DRC's vast mineral wealth.

International Collaboration

The EU leader, Ursula von der Leyen, inaugurated a gathering by emphasizing that the EU wanted "cooperation based on common interests and respect for sovereignty."

She emphasized the Lobito corridor – multi-modal transport links – linking the resource-rich areas of the DRC and Zambia to Angola's western shoreline.

Wagner acknowledged that the EU and DRC had a firm groundwork in the Lobito project, but "a great deal has been eclipsed by the conflict in eastern DRC."