🔗 Share this article Congo Denounces EU's Rwanda Mining Partnership as ‘Evident Contradiction’ The Central African nation has labeled the European Union's ongoing minerals agreement with Rwanda as showing "obvious contradiction" while imposing much broader penalties in response to the Ukrainian crisis. Government Sharp Rebuke Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner, the DRC's top diplomat, urged the EU to impose much stronger sanctions against Rwanda, which has been accused of fueling the unrest in eastern DRC. "This shows clear inconsistency – I want to be helpful here – that has us curious and inquisitive about understanding why the EU repeatedly finds it difficult so much to enact sanctions," she declared. Ceasefire Deal History The DRC and Rwanda ratified a ceasefire deal in June, facilitated by the United States and Qatar, intending to end the protracted dispute. However, deadly attacks on ordinary citizens have persisted and a deadline 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 fighting alongside the M23 rebel group and that the Rwandan military was in "actual command of M23 operations." Rwanda has consistently denied backing M23 and maintains its forces act in self-protection. Leadership Call The DRC president, Félix Tshisekedi, recently appealed to his Rwandan counterpart, Paul Kagame, to cease backing militants in the DRC during a international conference attended by both leaders. "This demands you to order the M23 troops backed by your country to halt this deterioration, which has already led to numerous casualties," the leader emphasized. International Restrictions The EU has enacted measures targeting 32 people and two groups – a armed faction and a Rwandan mineral treatment facility dealing in unauthorized sources of the metal – for their participation in intensifying the conflict. Despite these findings of human rights abuses by the Rwandan army in the DRC, the EU executive has declined requests to cancel a 2024 mining agreement with Kigali. Resource Concerns Wagner described the partnership with Rwanda as "completely untrustworthy in a environment where it has been established that Rwanda has been diverting African wealth" obtained under harsh circumstances of coerced employment, involving children. The United States and numerous nations have voiced apprehension about illegal trade in mineral resources in DRC's east, extracted via forced labour, then illegally transported to Rwanda for shipment to finance rebel organizations. Humanitarian Crisis The violence in DRC's eastern territories remains one of the world's worst human catastrophes, with over 7.8 million people forced from homes in the region and 28 million experiencing food insecurity, including 4 million at crisis conditions, according to UN assessments. International Engagement As the DRC's chief diplomat, Wagner approved the agreement with Rwanda at the White House in June, which also attempts to give the United States enhanced entry to Congolese natural resources. She maintained that the US remains participating in the diplomatic negotiations and dismissed allegations that main concern was the DRC's significant natural resources. EU Cooperation The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, opened a conference by stating that the EU wanted "partnerships based on mutual benefits and honoring independence." She emphasized the Lobito corridor – multi-modal transport links – linking the mineral heartlands of the DRC and Zambia to Angola's western shoreline. Wagner acknowledged that the EU and DRC had a firm groundwork in the Lobito project, but "much has been eclipsed by the situation in Congo's east."