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The Central African nation has characterized the European Union's persistent minerals agreement with Rwanda as exhibiting "obvious hypocrisy" while implementing much broader sanctions in response to the war in Ukraine.

Diplomatic Strong Criticism

Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner, the Congo's top diplomat, urged the EU to enact far more severe measures against Rwanda, which has been alleged to exacerbate the violence in Congo's eastern region.

"It represents clear double standards – I aim to be constructive here – that makes us wondering and interested about comprehending why the EU again struggles so much to take action," she stated.

Ceasefire Deal Background

The DRC and Rwanda signed a ceasefire deal in June, mediated by the America and Qatar, designed to end the protracted dispute.

However, deadly attacks on civilians have endured and a deadline to establish a final settlement was not met in August.

International Findings

Last year, a international assessment team stated that up to 4,000 Rwandan troops were operating with the M23 militant organization and that the Rwandan military was in "effective direction of M23 operations."

Rwanda has consistently denied supporting M23 and asserts its forces act in self-protection.

Leadership Call

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 demands you to order the M23 troops supported by your country to stop this deterioration, which has already led to enough fatalities," the president declared.

International Restrictions

The EU has placed sanctions on 32 persons and two groups – a armed faction and a Rwandan gold refiner handling illegal supplies of the metal – for their involvement in prolonging the conflict.

Despite these findings of international law breaches by the Rwandan army in the DRC, the EU executive has declined demands to terminate a 2024 resource partnership with Kigali.

Economic Implications

Wagner characterized the partnership with Rwanda as "void of any credibility in a environment where it has been confirmed that Rwanda has been illegally extracting African wealth" obtained under brutal conditions of forced labour, affecting children.

The United States and many others have voiced apprehension about illegal trade in precious metals in DRC's east, obtained via forced labour, then trafficked to Rwanda for export to support armed groups.

Human Catastrophe

The conflict in Congo's east remains one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, with over 7.8 million people internally displaced in eastern DRC and 28 million experiencing nutritional challenges, including 4 million at emergency levels, according to UN data.

Global Involvement

As the DRC's top representative, Wagner signed the agreement with Rwanda at the White House in June, which also aims to give the United States greater access to African wealth.

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 European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, commenced a conference by declaring that the EU wanted "partnerships based on common interests and respect for sovereignty."

She featured the Lobito corridor – rail, road and water transport links – linking the resource-rich areas of the DRC and Zambia to Angola's ocean access.

Wagner recognized that the EU and DRC had a solid basis in the Lobito project, but "much has been diminished by the situation in Congo's east."