On Congo Crisis, European Union pushes levers against Rwanda

UN Peacekeepers

Monusco troops cover a Red Cross team in Bunia, Ituri Province.

Photo credit: File | AFP

The European Union is backing up the embattled UN forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo, railing against Rwanda’s support for the M23 rebel group in the latest war.

The EU’s vocal decision coincides with other global bodies, including the United Nations Security Council and the African Union, and the G7, all of who have voiced support for peacekeeping forces and condemned the M23.

On Monday, the High Representative of the European Union, Kaja Kallas, endorsed a statement by the G7 Foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States of America “to strongly condemn the Rwanda-backed M23 offensive in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, in particular the capture of Minova, Saké and Goma.”

“We urge M23 and the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) to cease their offensive in all directions. We call for the urgent protection of civilians.”

Some players in the European bloc want to go as far as imposing direct punishments on Rwanda.

Last week, European Council said attacks on peacekeeping forces were “unacceptable” and went ahead to ask Rwanda to “halt its support for rebels in eastern Congo.” Their statement came following the death of a number of peacekeepers in eastern DRC in clashes.

While backing up peacekeepers is routine statement for the EU, it came after Rwanda had voiced reservations on the presence of UN peacekeepers in the Congo. Long before the clashes escalated, Rwandan President Paul Kagame told a diplomatic corps in Kigali that the UN peacekeepers, known by their French acronym Monusco, had outlived their relevance.

“We have had peacekeepers from the UN in that country for close to three decades,” Kagame said on January 16.

“What are the returns on investments of such a big force under such a big body like the UN and so much money spent on that? What is the return on investment other than continuing to have problems getting worse?”

Monusco, first deployed in 1999 under a different mandate, has morphed over the years to todays’ stabilisation force. Initially meant to leave Congo last year, the UN Security Council extended the mission’s mandate by a year, on the request of the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo. But Rwanda has often expressed reservations about the mission it accuses of failing to prevent atrocities from FDLR rebel group, which Kigali accuses of plotting to topple Kagame.

At the EU, however, some officials want tougher decisions on Rwanda to dissuade it from backing M23, the rebels comprised mainly of Tutsi speaking Congolese people.

The matter arose on January 30 when the European Parliament’s Delegation to the Africa-EU Parliamentary Assembly held an extraordinary meeting to discuss the Congo crisis where speakers such as EU Special Representative for the Great Lakes region Johan Borgstram and Head of Monusco Bintou Keita attended.  

According to Hilde Vautmans, the Chair of the Delegation, the EU must act now to support the UN forces.

“Given the blatant evidence that Rwanda is involved in supporting the M23 rebels in eastern Congo, the adoption of urgent measures by the EU is required, including targeted sanctions, the freezing of EU development assistance and the immediate suspension of the Memorandum of Understanding on Sustainable Raw Materials Value Chains with Rwanda.”

That MoU had been entered into in June 2024, signed by EU Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jutta Urpilainen, and Rwanda's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Vincent Biruta, and meant to “to strengthen Rwanda's role in fostering sustainable development and resilient value chains across Africa.”

It targeted five key areas of cooperation including integration of sustainable raw materials value chains and support for economic diversification, ensuring good functioning and sustainability of these value chains. It also targeted mobilisation of funding for deployment of infrastructure required for the development of raw material value chains, including through improving the investment climate as well as research and enforcement of rules and raining in areas of strategic raw materials value chains.

As it is, the MoU needs further work to actually be implemented. But the European Union has signed similar deals with countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia and Namibia. All these are part of the Global Gateway, the EU’s effort to encourage smart and clean energy investments to support economies.

The EU legislators may not immediately halt the programme, especially since such a change of policy must be cascaded up the hierarchy to the European Council. But the chatter adds to the request by the Congolese government to football clubs like Arsenal, Bayern Munich and PSG to halt sponsorship deals with Kigali.

But Rwanda hasn't always been in the EU's bad books. For example, Kigali has been accused of supporting the M23 in eastern DRC. But it has worked with the European Union in Mozambique to push back insurgents there.

In good times, Rwanda's investment climate has been seen by the West as crucial to creating a hub for the Great Lakes.