DRC says EU’s minerals deal with Rwanda is ‘obvious double standard’ | Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Democratic Republic of Congo has accused the EU of “blatant double standards” for maintaining a mining deal to supply Europe’s high-tech industries with Rwanda, which has imposed a much broader sanctions regime in response to the war in Ukraine.

Democratic Republic of Congo foreign minister Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner called on the EU to impose much stronger sanctions against Rwanda, which has fueled conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, describing the bloc’s response to violations of Democratic Republic of Congo territory as “very timid”.

Referring to the EU’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, he said: “This is a blatant double standard that makes us curious and questioning in understanding why the EU is trying so hard to act – I want to be constructive here.”

The Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda signed a peace agreement in June, brokered by the United States and Qatar, aimed at ending decades of conflict. This agreement escalated further earlier this year when the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group seized large swathes of DRC territory, including two key cities. But deadly attacks on civilians continued and a deadline to reach a peace agreement was missed in August.

Last year, a group of UN experts said some 4,000 Rwandan soldiers were fighting alongside M23 and that the Rwandan military was in “de facto control of M23 operations.” Rwanda has long denied supporting M23 and says its forces acted in self-defense.

DRC president Félix Tshisekedi called on his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame on Thursday to stop supporting militants in the Democratic Republic of Congo at an event in Brussels attended by both leaders, drawing a rebuke from Kigali that he was “completely wrong” about the roots of the conflict.

Saying that he had reached out to make peace, Tshisekedi told Kagame: “This requires you to order the M23 troops, supported by your country, to stop this tension that has already caused enough deaths.”

Rwandan foreign minister Olivier Nduhungirehe later responded to X, saying Tshisekedi was “completely wrong” and accused him of abusing the platform at the Brussels event.

Speaking before the meeting, Wagner drew parallels between Rwanda’s violation of Democratic Republic of Congo territory and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The EU has adopted a catalog of sanctions against Russia but has made only “very cautious progress” on the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

The eastern DRC, a region bordering Rwanda with abundant natural resources but plagued by non-state armed groups, has been plagued by extreme violence for more than three decades.

The EU imposed sanctions on 32 individuals and two entities – a militant group and a Rwandan gold refinery involved in the illegal supply of the metal – for their role in fueling the conflict. Explaining the reasons for these sanctions, the EU said that the Rwanda Defense Force in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo violated the territory of the Democratic Republic of Congo and “continued the armed conflict”. [and is] It is also responsible for serious human rights violations, including collective punishment.”

Despite this finding of human rights abuses by the Rwandan military in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the European Commission rejected calls to suspend the 2024 mining agreement with Kigali aimed at increasing supplies of raw materials to power Europe’s electric car batteries and microchips.

Wagner said the memorandum of understanding with Rwanda “lacks any credibility in a context where Rwanda has been found to be exploiting Congolese resources obtained under brutal conditions of forced labor, including of children.”

The United States and many others have expressed concern about the illicit trade in gold and tantalum in eastern Congo, mined through forced labor and then smuggled to Rwanda for export for the benefit of armed groups.

Wagner said it was up to the EU whether to suspend or cancel the deal, “but silence is probably the least constructive” [response] and most confusing”.

Although the conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo is one of seven wars that Donald Trump claims is over, the UN reported 1,087 people were killed between June and the end of September. It remains one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, with more than 7.8 million people internally displaced in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and 28 million facing food insecurity, 4 million of whom are at emergency levels, according to the UN.

Wagner, the Democratic Republic of Congo’s chief diplomat, signed an agreement with Rwanda at the White House in June aimed at providing greater U.S. access to Congolese natural resources.

Stating that the United States is still busy with the peace process, Trump rejected claims that his sole motivation is the vast mineral wealth of the Democratic Republic of Congo, adding: “It is a fact that this potential is not currently being used.”

He was in Brussels to attend a conference on the global gateway, Europe’s low-budget answer to China’s belt and road initiative aimed at financing infrastructure projects around the world.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen opened the conference on Thursday, saying the EU wanted “partnerships based on common interests and respect for sovereignty.” He highlighted the Lobito corridor, a network of rail, road and water transport links connecting the mining centers of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia to the Atlantic coast of Angola.

Wagner said the EU and the Democratic Republic of Congo have a strong foundation in the Lobito project, but “the situation in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo overshadows a lot of things.”