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The DRC has described the European Union's continued minerals agreement with Rwanda as showing "obvious contradiction" while imposing far more extensive restrictions in response to the Ukrainian crisis.

Foreign Minister's Firm Condemnation

Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner, the African nation's international affairs chief, urged the EU to impose much stronger restrictions against Rwanda, which has been charged with intensifying the violence in eastern DRC.

"It represents clear double standards – I aim to be constructive here – that makes us curious and inquisitive about understanding why the EU repeatedly finds it difficult so much to take action," she stated.

Peace Agreement Context

The DRC and Rwanda ratified a conflict resolution in June, brokered by the US and Qatar, aiming to resolve the long-standing dispute.

However, lethal incidents on civilians have continued and a time limit to achieve a lasting resolution was passed without success in August.

International Findings

Last year, a group of UN experts found that up to 4,000 Rwandan troops were supporting the M23 insurgent faction and that the Rwandan military was in "de facto control of M23 operations."

Rwanda has consistently denied assisting M23 and maintains its forces act in self-protection.

Diplomatic Request

The DRC president, Félix Tshisekedi, recently appealed to his Rwandan counterpart, Paul Kagame, to cease backing armed groups in the DRC during a European gathering featuring both leaders.

"This demands you to command the M23 troops assisted by your country to stop this intensification, which has already caused numerous casualties," Tshisekedi stated.

EU Sanctions

The EU has placed sanctions on 32 persons and two entities – a militant group and a Rwandan precious metals processor dealing in illegal supplies of the metal – for their role in fuelling the conflict.

Despite these determinations of human rights abuses by the Rwandan army in the DRC, the Brussels administration has resisted demands to terminate a 2024 mining agreement with Kigali.

Economic Implications

Wagner described the memorandum of understanding with Rwanda as "void of any credibility in a situation where it has been established that Rwanda has been illegally extracting Congolese resources" extracted under harsh circumstances of compulsory work, including children.

The United States and many others have voiced apprehension about unauthorized transactions in mineral resources in DRC's east, extracted via coerced employment, then illegally transported to Rwanda for international trade to finance militant factions.

Regional Emergency

The conflict in Congo's east remains one of the world's gravest human catastrophes, with over 7.8 million people relocated within country in eastern DRC and 28 million facing hunger issues, including 4 million at emergency levels, according to UN assessments.

Global Involvement

As the DRC's top representative, Wagner signed the agreement with Rwanda at the US presidential residence in June, which also attempts 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.

European Partnership

The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, inaugurated a conference by stating that the EU wanted "partnerships based on mutual benefits and acknowledging autonomy."

She highlighted the Lobito corridor – multi-modal transport links – joining the resource-rich areas of the DRC and Zambia to Angola's ocean access.

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