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The Democratic Republic of Congo has labeled the European Union's persistent minerals agreement with Rwanda as demonstrating "evident contradiction" while implementing significantly wider sanctions in response to the Ukraine conflict.

Government Sharp Rebuke

Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner, the African nation's international affairs chief, called for the EU to implement much stronger sanctions against Rwanda, which has been accused of fueling the violence in eastern DRC.

"It represents obvious hypocrisy – I want to be helpful here – that leaves us curious and concerned about comprehending why the EU continues to hesitate so much to take action," she stated.

Ceasefire Deal Context

The DRC and Rwanda ratified a peace agreement in June, facilitated by the United States and Qatar, designed to resolve the decades-old dispute.

However, deadly attacks on non-combatants have endured and a deadline to achieve a comprehensive peace agreement was passed without success in August.

UN Report

Last year, a group of UN experts stated 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 national security.

Presidential Appeal

The DRC president, Félix Tshisekedi, recently appealed to his Rwandan counterpart, Paul Kagame, to end assistance to militants in the DRC during a European gathering attended by both leaders.

"This requires you to order the M23 troops supported by your country to end this escalation, which has already led to sufficient fatalities," the leader emphasized.

International Restrictions

The EU has imposed restrictions against 32 persons and two groups – a rebel organization and a Rwandan precious metals processor handling illegal supplies of the metal – for their involvement in fuelling the conflict.

Despite these findings of rights violations by the Rwandan army in the DRC, the European Commission has rejected demands to terminate a 2024 resource partnership with Kigali.

Mineral Issues

Wagner described the memorandum of understanding with Rwanda as "void of any credibility in a environment where it has been verified that Rwanda has been illegally extracting Congolese resources" mined under brutal conditions of compulsory work, including children.

The United States and numerous nations have expressed alarm about unauthorized transactions in gold and tantalum in Congo's eastern region, obtained via compulsory work, then smuggled to Rwanda for international trade to finance armed groups.

Human Catastrophe

The violence in Congo's east remains one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, with exceeding 7.8 million people internally displaced in eastern DRC and 28 million facing nutritional challenges, including 4 million at crisis conditions, according to UN reports.

Diplomatic Efforts

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

She stated that the US remains engaged in the peace process and rejected claims that main concern was the DRC's extensive resource deposits.

European Partnership

The EU leader, Ursula von der Leyen, opened a summit by stating that the EU wanted "collaboration based on mutual benefits and acknowledging autonomy."

She featured the Lobito corridor – rail, road and water transport links – linking the mineral heartlands of the DRC and Zambia to Angola's western shoreline.

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