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The Central African nation has described the European Union's continued minerals partnership with Rwanda as exhibiting "evident hypocrisy" while enforcing much broader sanctions in response to the Ukrainian crisis.

Government Sharp Rebuke

Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner, the Congo's international affairs chief, called for the EU to enact far more severe restrictions against Rwanda, which has been accused of fueling the violence in Congo's eastern region.

"This shows clear inconsistency – I want to be productive here – that leaves us questioning and inquisitive about comprehending why the EU continues to hesitate so much to enact sanctions," she emphasized.

Ceasefire Deal Background

The DRC and Rwanda signed a ceasefire deal in June, mediated by the US and Qatar, intending to end the long-standing conflict.

However, deadly attacks on ordinary citizens have endured and a target date to establish 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 rebel group and that the Rwandan military was in "actual command of M23 operations."

Rwanda has continually refuted 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 end assistance to militants in the DRC during a Brussels event featuring both leaders.

"This demands you to order the M23 troops supported by your country to halt this deterioration, which has already resulted in enough deaths," the leader emphasized.

EU Sanctions

The EU has enacted measures targeting 32 individuals and two groups – a rebel organization and a Rwandan precious metals processor handling contraband materials 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 rejected demands to terminate a 2024 resource partnership with Kigali.

Economic Implications

Wagner described the memorandum of understanding with Rwanda as "lacking all legitimacy in a situation where it has been established that Rwanda has been siphoning off Congolese resources" mined under harsh circumstances of compulsory work, including children.

The United States and numerous nations have raised concerns about illegal trade in mineral resources in Congo's eastern region, obtained via forced labour, then trafficked to Rwanda for export to finance militant factions.

Humanitarian Crisis

The unrest in DRC's eastern territories remains one of the world's worst human catastrophes, with more than 7.8 million people internally displaced 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 signed the agreement with Rwanda at the American administration in June, which also seeks to give the United States expanded opportunity to Congolese natural resources.

She asserted that the US remains participating in the diplomatic negotiations and rejected allegations that sole motivation was the DRC's extensive resource deposits.

International Collaboration

The EU leader, Ursula von der Leyen, inaugurated a summit by declaring that the EU wanted "cooperation based on mutual benefits and honoring independence."

She featured the Lobito corridor – multi-modal transport links – joining the mining regions 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 "significant aspects has been overshadowed by the situation in eastern DRC."