🔗 Share this article DRC Condemns EU's Mineral Deal with Rwanda as ‘Evident Contradiction’ The Central African nation has described the European Union's continued minerals agreement with Rwanda as exhibiting "clear contradiction" while implementing much broader penalties in response to the Ukraine conflict. Foreign Minister's Strong Criticism Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner, the African nation's international affairs chief, called for the EU to implement far more severe measures against Rwanda, which has been alleged to exacerbate the violence in DRC's eastern territories. "It represents clear inconsistency – I aim to be constructive here – that makes us curious and interested about understanding why the EU again struggles so much to take action," she stated. Peace Agreement History The DRC and Rwanda ratified a conflict resolution in June, mediated by the America and Qatar, designed to end the long-standing conflict. However, lethal incidents on civilians have persisted and a target date to achieve a comprehensive peace agreement was passed without success in August. UN Report Last year, a United Nations panel reported that up to 4,000 Rwandan troops were operating with the M23 rebel group and that the Rwandan military was in "effective direction of M23 operations." Rwanda has repeatedly rejected backing M23 and maintains its forces act in national security. Diplomatic Request The DRC president, Félix Tshisekedi, recently appealed to his Rwandan counterpart, Paul Kagame, to cease backing rebel forces in the DRC during a European gathering including both leaders. "This requires you to order the M23 troops supported by your country to stop this escalation, which has already caused sufficient casualties," the leader emphasized. EU Sanctions The EU has imposed restrictions against 32 people and two entities – a armed faction and a Rwandan mineral treatment facility processing unauthorized sources of the metal – for their role in prolonging the conflict. Despite these findings of rights violations by the Rwandan army in the DRC, the Brussels administration has declined demands to cancel a 2024 mining agreement with Kigali. Resource Concerns Wagner described the memorandum of understanding with Rwanda as "lacking all legitimacy in a context where it has been confirmed that Rwanda has been diverting Congolese resources" mined under brutal conditions of forced labour, including children. The United States and many others have expressed alarm about illegal trade in mineral resources in eastern Congo, extracted via coerced employment, then trafficked to Rwanda for shipment to support militant factions. Humanitarian Crisis The unrest in Congo's east remains one of the world's worst human catastrophes, with exceeding 7.8 million people internally displaced in affected areas and 28 million confronting nutritional challenges, including 4 million at critical stages, according to UN assessments. Diplomatic Efforts As the DRC's top representative, Wagner ratified the agreement with Rwanda at the US presidential residence in June, which also aims to give the United States enhanced entry to Congolese natural resources. She stated that the US remains involved in the resolution efforts and dismissed claims that primary interest was the DRC's extensive resource deposits. European Partnership The Brussels chief, Ursula von der Leyen, inaugurated a conference by declaring that the EU wanted "cooperation based on common interests and honoring independence." She featured the Lobito corridor – multi-modal transport links – linking the resource-rich areas of the DRC and Zambia to Angola's ocean access. Wagner admitted that the EU and DRC had a solid basis in the Lobito project, but "much has been eclipsed by the situation in eastern DRC."