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The DRC has labeled the European Union's persistent minerals partnership with Rwanda as demonstrating "evident hypocrisy" while enforcing far more extensive restrictions in response to the Ukrainian crisis.

Government Firm Condemnation

Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner, the African nation's international affairs chief, demanded the EU to enact much stronger restrictions against Rwanda, which has been accused of fueling the unrest in DRC's eastern territories.

"This shows evident hypocrisy – I strive to be productive here – that has us curious and concerned about understanding why the EU repeatedly finds it difficult so much to enact sanctions," she declared.

Ceasefire Deal Context

The DRC and Rwanda signed a peace agreement in June, mediated by the US and Qatar, aiming to conclude the protracted hostilities.

However, deadly attacks on non-combatants have endured and a target date to achieve a comprehensive peace agreement was missed 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 "de facto control of M23 operations."

Rwanda has consistently denied assisting M23 and asserts its forces act in national security.

Leadership Call

The DRC president, Félix Tshisekedi, recently urged his Rwandan counterpart, Paul Kagame, to end assistance to armed groups in the DRC during a Brussels event attended by both leaders.

"This requires you to command the M23 troops backed by your country to end this escalation, which has already resulted in enough casualties," Tshisekedi stated.

EU Sanctions

The EU has enacted measures targeting 32 individuals and two organizations – a rebel organization and a Rwandan gold refiner processing unauthorized sources of the metal – for their role in fuelling the conflict.

Despite these findings of rights violations by the Rwandan army in the DRC, the Brussels administration has resisted calls to cancel a 2024 mining agreement with Kigali.

Mineral Issues

Wagner described the memorandum of understanding with Rwanda as "completely untrustworthy in a environment where it has been established that Rwanda has been diverting Congolese resources" extracted under brutal conditions of forced labour, affecting children.

The United States and various countries have expressed alarm about unauthorized transactions in mineral resources in eastern Congo, obtained via coerced employment, then illegally transported to Rwanda for shipment to finance armed groups.

Humanitarian Crisis

The conflict in Congo's east remains one of the world's gravest emergency situations, with more than 7.8 million people forced from homes in affected areas and 28 million facing food insecurity, including 4 million at critical stages, according to UN reports.

Global Involvement

As the DRC's top representative, Wagner ratified the deal with Rwanda at the US presidential residence in June, which also aims to give the United States expanded opportunity to Congolese natural resources.

She asserted that the US remains involved in the resolution efforts and dismissed claims that main concern was the DRC's extensive resource deposits.

International Collaboration

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

She featured the Lobito corridor – rail, road and water transport links – joining the mineral heartlands of the DRC and Zambia to Angola's ocean access.

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