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The Democratic Republic of Congo has labeled the European Union's continued minerals agreement with Rwanda as showing "clear hypocrisy" while imposing far more extensive restrictions in response to the Ukrainian crisis.

Diplomatic Sharp Rebuke

Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner, the African nation's foreign minister, demanded the EU to enact far more severe sanctions against Rwanda, which has been charged with intensifying the unrest in Congo's eastern region.

"This shows obvious inconsistency – I aim to be constructive here – that has us wondering and inquisitive about grasping why the EU again struggles so much to take action," she stated.

Peace Agreement History

The DRC and Rwanda agreed to a conflict resolution in June, facilitated by the America and Qatar, intending to end the decades-old conflict.

However, fatal assaults on ordinary citizens have continued and a time limit to establish a final settlement was missed in August.

UN Report

Last year, a group of UN experts found 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 continually refuted backing M23 and claims its forces act in self-protection.

Presidential Appeal

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

"This requires you to order the M23 troops backed by your country to halt this deterioration, which has already resulted in sufficient casualties," the leader emphasized.

International Restrictions

The EU has placed sanctions on 32 persons and two groups – a militant group and a Rwandan gold refiner dealing in unauthorized sources 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 European Commission has resisted requests to terminate a 2024 resource partnership with Kigali.

Economic Implications

Wagner characterized the partnership with Rwanda as "completely untrustworthy in a context where it has been established that Rwanda has been siphoning off African wealth" extracted under harsh circumstances of compulsory work, including children.

The United States and various countries have raised concerns about illegal trade in gold and tantalum in DRC's east, extracted via forced labour, then smuggled to Rwanda for shipment to support armed groups.

Regional Emergency

The violence in Congo's east remains one of the world's gravest emergency situations, with more than 7.8 million people forced from homes in eastern DRC and 28 million confronting nutritional challenges, including 4 million at crisis conditions, according to UN reports.

Diplomatic Efforts

As the DRC's chief diplomat, Wagner approved the agreement with Rwanda at the US presidential residence in June, which also aims to give the United States enhanced entry to DRC minerals.

She stated that the US remains involved in the peace process and rejected suggestions that main concern was the DRC's vast mineral wealth.

European Partnership

The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, inaugurated a conference by declaring that the EU wanted "partnerships based on mutual benefits and acknowledging autonomy."

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

Wagner admitted that the EU and DRC had a strong foundation in the Lobito project, but "a great deal has been overshadowed by the situation in the troubled region."