DRC Condemns EU's Mineral Deal with Rwanda as ‘Clear Double Standard’

The Central African nation has described the European Union's ongoing minerals deal with Rwanda as demonstrating "evident double standards" while enforcing far more extensive penalties in response to the war in Ukraine.

Foreign Minister's Sharp Rebuke

Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner, the DRC's international affairs chief, called for the EU to implement far more severe measures against Rwanda, which has been accused of fueling the conflict in eastern DRC.

"This shows clear double standards – I want to be productive here – that has us questioning and inquisitive about grasping why the EU again struggles so much to enact sanctions," she declared.

Ceasefire Deal Context

The DRC and Rwanda signed a conflict resolution in June, facilitated by the America and Qatar, designed to resolve the decades-old dispute.

However, lethal incidents on ordinary citizens have endured and a deadline to achieve a lasting resolution was missed in August.

Expert Assessment

Last year, a group of UN experts reported that up to 4,000 Rwandan troops were fighting alongside the M23 militant organization and that the Rwandan military was in "de facto control of M23 operations."

Rwanda has repeatedly rejected assisting M23 and asserts its forces act in self-protection.

Diplomatic Request

The DRC president, Félix Tshisekedi, recently called upon his Rwandan counterpart, Paul Kagame, to stop supporting armed groups in the DRC during a international conference featuring both leaders.

"This requires you to order the M23 troops assisted by your country to halt this escalation, which has already resulted in numerous casualties," the president declared.

European Measures

The EU has imposed restrictions against 32 individuals and two entities – a armed faction and a Rwandan mineral treatment facility dealing in contraband materials 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 rejected demands to cancel a 2024 resource partnership with Kigali.

Mineral Issues

Wagner characterized the memorandum of understanding with Rwanda as "void of any credibility in a environment where it has been established that Rwanda has been diverting African wealth" mined under brutal conditions of coerced employment, affecting children.

The United States and numerous nations have expressed alarm about unauthorized transactions in gold and tantalum in eastern Congo, obtained via compulsory work, then smuggled to Rwanda for international trade to benefit rebel organizations.

Regional Emergency

The conflict in Congo's east remains one of the world's most severe human catastrophes, with more than 7.8 million people forced from homes in eastern DRC and 28 million confronting nutritional challenges, including 4 million at crisis conditions, according to UN reports.

Global Involvement

As the DRC's chief diplomat, Wagner signed the deal with Rwanda at the US presidential residence in June, which also aims to give the United States expanded opportunity to African wealth.

She asserted that the US remains involved in the resolution efforts and dismissed allegations that sole motivation was the DRC's extensive resource deposits.

International Collaboration

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

She featured the Lobito corridor – transportation infrastructure transport links – joining the mining regions of the DRC and Zambia to Angola's Atlantic coast.

Wagner acknowledged that the EU and DRC had a solid basis in the Lobito project, but "much has been diminished by the crisis in Congo's east."