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The Central African nation has described the European Union's persistent minerals agreement with Rwanda as showing "obvious hypocrisy" while imposing significantly wider restrictions in response to the Ukraine conflict.

Diplomatic Sharp Rebuke

Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner, the Congo's foreign minister, demanded the EU to implement much stronger restrictions against Rwanda, which has been charged with intensifying the violence in Congo's eastern region.

"It represents evident inconsistency – I aim to be helpful here – that makes us wondering and inquisitive about grasping why the EU again struggles so much to implement measures," she declared.

Ceasefire Deal History

The DRC and Rwanda signed a peace agreement in June, facilitated by the America and Qatar, designed to resolve the long-standing hostilities.

However, fatal assaults on ordinary citizens have endured and a deadline to establish a final settlement was passed without success in August.

Expert Assessment

Last year, a international assessment team found that up to 4,000 Rwandan troops were supporting the M23 militant organization and that the Rwandan military was in "de facto control of M23 operations."

Rwanda has continually refuted backing M23 and claims its forces act in national security.

Leadership Call

The DRC president, Félix Tshisekedi, recently appealed to his Rwandan counterpart, Paul Kagame, to end assistance to rebel forces in the DRC during a Brussels event including both leaders.

"This demands you to order the M23 troops backed by your country to stop this escalation, which has already resulted in sufficient deaths," the leader emphasized.

EU Sanctions

The EU has placed sanctions on 32 people and two groups – a militant group and a Rwandan mineral treatment facility handling illegal supplies of the metal – for their role in intensifying the conflict.

Despite these determinations of international law breaches by the Rwandan army in the DRC, the EU executive has declined requests to cancel a 2024 minerals deal with Kigali.

Mineral Issues

Wagner labeled the agreement with Rwanda as "lacking all legitimacy in a environment where it has been established that Rwanda has been diverting Congolese resources" extracted under severe situations of compulsory work, including children.

The United States and numerous nations have expressed alarm about illicit commerce in precious metals in DRC's east, extracted via forced labour, then trafficked to Rwanda for shipment to finance militant factions.

Humanitarian Crisis

The unrest in eastern DRC remains one of the world's gravest emergency situations, with over 7.8 million people forced from homes in the region and 28 million confronting hunger issues, including 4 million at critical stages, according to UN assessments.

Global Involvement

As the DRC's principal negotiator, Wagner approved the agreement with Rwanda at the White House in June, which also aims to give the United States greater access to Congolese natural resources.

She maintained that the US remains involved in the resolution efforts and dismissed allegations that primary interest was the DRC's extensive resource deposits.

International Collaboration

The EU leader, Ursula von der Leyen, opened a conference by emphasizing that the EU wanted "collaboration based on mutual benefits and acknowledging autonomy."

She featured the Lobito corridor – rail, road and water transport links – linking the mining regions of the DRC and Zambia to Angola's Atlantic coast.

Wagner recognized that the EU and DRC had a solid basis in the Lobito project, but "much has been overshadowed by the situation in the troubled region."