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The DRC has characterized the European Union's continued minerals partnership with Rwanda as showing "clear double standards" while imposing much broader restrictions in response to the war in Ukraine.

Government Firm Condemnation

Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner, the Congo's foreign minister, demanded the EU to impose much stronger measures against Rwanda, which has been alleged to exacerbate the unrest in Congo's eastern region.

"It represents evident inconsistency – I aim to be constructive here – that leaves us wondering and inquisitive about understanding why the EU repeatedly finds it difficult so much to implement measures," she stated.

Ceasefire Deal Context

The DRC and Rwanda ratified a conflict resolution in June, brokered by the America and Qatar, designed to conclude the decades-old conflict.

However, lethal incidents on ordinary citizens have persisted and a time limit to reach a final settlement was passed without success in August.

UN Report

Last year, a group of UN experts stated that up to 4,000 Rwandan troops were fighting alongside the M23 insurgent faction and that the Rwandan military was in "effective direction of M23 operations."

Rwanda has repeatedly rejected assisting M23 and maintains its forces act in self-protection.

Leadership Call

The DRC president, Félix Tshisekedi, recently called upon his Rwandan counterpart, Paul Kagame, to cease backing armed groups in the DRC during a international conference attended by both leaders.

"This necessitates you to command the M23 troops supported by your country to end this intensification, which has already caused enough fatalities," the leader emphasized.

European Measures

The EU has enacted measures targeting 32 people and two organizations – a rebel organization and a Rwandan mineral treatment facility dealing in illegal supplies of the metal – for their participation in prolonging the conflict.

Despite these determinations of rights violations by the Rwandan army in the DRC, the Brussels administration has declined demands to terminate a 2024 minerals deal with Kigali.

Mineral Issues

Wagner characterized the agreement with Rwanda as "lacking all legitimacy in a situation where it has been established that Rwanda has been siphoning off Congolese resources" extracted under brutal conditions of coerced employment, involving children.

The United States and various countries have voiced apprehension about unauthorized transactions in mineral resources in Congo's eastern region, extracted via coerced employment, then smuggled to Rwanda for export to support rebel organizations.

Regional Emergency

The violence in Congo's east remains one of the world's worst emergency situations, with more than 7.8 million people internally displaced in the region and 28 million confronting food insecurity, including 4 million at critical stages, according to UN data.

Diplomatic Efforts

As the DRC's chief diplomat, Wagner approved the agreement with Rwanda at the American administration in June, which also attempts to give the United States greater access to Congolese natural resources.

She asserted that the US remains participating in the peace process and dismissed suggestions that primary interest was the DRC's significant natural resources.

International Collaboration

The Brussels chief, Ursula von der Leyen, inaugurated a summit by stating that the EU wanted "partnerships based on mutual benefits and respect for sovereignty."

She featured the Lobito corridor – transportation infrastructure transport links – connecting the mining regions of the DRC and Zambia to Angola's Atlantic coast.

Wagner acknowledged that the EU and DRC had a firm groundwork in the Lobito project, but "much has been diminished by the crisis in eastern DRC."