DRC: Exploitation of mineral resources and forests fuels violence

To: EU institutions and governments of the member states

“Rwanda is driving violence and environmental destruction in the DRC. We call on the EU to terminate its partnership with Rwanda on critical raw materials.”

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In a press release, the EU Commission praised Rwanda’s “favorable investment climate” and its commitment to the rule of law.

The country plays a significant role in global coltan and tantalum mining. Rwanda also produces tin, tungsten, gold, and niobium, and has potential in lithium and rare earths. A gold refinery is already operational, and a tantalum processing plant will soon begin operations. Rwanda is also home to Africa’s only tin smelter.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Rwanda follows agreements signed with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Zambia on October 26, 2023.

Statement from environmentalists and human rights activists

On February 13, 2025, 67 environmental and human rights organizations from over 30 countries – including 13 from the DRC – issued a declaration to the EU, USA, and UK. Rainforest Rescue endorsed the declaration:

Urgent call for EU, US, and UK to stop Rwanda-backed M23 attacks in Eastern DRC

Rwanda-backed M23 rebels have recently captured Goma, the provincial capital of North Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This is the latest escalation in the three decades of armed conflict in Eastern DRC, which has caused over 6 million deaths since 1996.

The offensive by M23 and Rwandan Defence Forces (RDF) have engendered a grave humanitarian crisis, leading to at least 3,000 deaths in Goma, displacing over 700,000 people in the last two months and causing widespread human rights violations according to UN sources. The already precarious humanitarian situation has further deteriorated with the capture of Goma, which acted as a humanitarian regional hub and place of refuge for civilians. Despite announcing a ceasefire, M23’s advance continues in South Kivu whereas the rebel group intends to capture Bukavu, which has raised fears of further intensification of the war.

The United Nations has gathered overwhelming evidence that Rwanda is actively supporting and directing M23’s offensive in Eastern DRC. It has also been widely documented that Rwanda is a key actor in the illicit extraction of eastern DRC’s minerals, driven by demand from companies and governments of the global North. Extraction and misappropriation has been a major driver of the war for three decades, continuing a long history of exploitation and plundering of the country started in the colonial period.

Considering their extensive economic, political and aid support to Rwanda, we, the undersigned organizations, call on the US, the EU, its member states and the UK to:

• Put pressure on the government of Rwanda to halt the offensive in Eastern DRC and call for an immediate cessation of the violence.
• Reconsider their financial aid to Rwanda until it withdraws its support to M23 and its soldiers from DRC’s territory.
• Halt all support to Rwanda that may contribute to the offensive. This includes the current €20 million EU grant for military assistance to RDF’s operations in Mozambique, which was signed in the context of insurgent movements threatening the interests of Total Energies in Mozambique, and constitutes political and material support to the Rwandan army.

We also call on the EU to immediately cancel its Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Rwanda to cooperate on the supply of critical minerals, which gives a green light to the Government of Rwanda to plunder the minerals of Eastern Congo and therefore contributes to regional instability and the escalating human suffering there.

M23, FDLR, and other armed groups

The primary driver of violence in eastern DRC is the aftermath of Rwanda’s 1994 genocide that killed up to one million people – mainly Tutsis. Over 100 armed groups operate in DRC, among them are M23 and FDLR.

M23 (Mouvement du 23 Mars), a Tutsi rebel group supported by Rwanda, claims to protect Tutsis in Congo from attacks.

FDLR (Forces Démocratiques de Libération du Rwanda), a Hutu rebel group backed by DRC, was founded by perpetrators of the Rwandan genocide who fled to Congo. It seeks to overthrow Rwanda’s government.

Other significant militias include Uganda’s Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) and Congo’s Coopérative pour le Développement du Congo (CODECO).

Armed mobilization often becomes self-sustaining as rebels profit or seek safety within groups.

Even Virunga National Park rangers are armed participants in the conflict. Over 200 rangers have been killed on duty while being accused of attacks on civilians. In 2014, park director Emmanuel de Merode survived an assassination attempt.

Rainforests in the Congo Basin

The Congo Basin is home to Earth’s second-largest rainforest after the Amazon. It contains over 600 tree species, 450 mammal species, 1,000 butterfly species, 1,200 bird species, and 700 fish species. Great apes such as chimpanzees, gorillas, and bonobos inhabit these forests; bonobos are found nowhere else.

As most rainforests lie within DRC borders, the country bears special responsibility for their preservation.

Virunga and Kahuzi-Biega National Parks

Virunga National Park spans 7,900 square kilometers– an area five times the size of Greater London – and shelters a quarter of all mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei). Grauer’s gorillas (Gorilla beringei graueri) inhabit Kahuzi-Biega National Park nearby. Due to threats like poaching and conflict, both parks are listed by UNESCO as “World Heritage in Danger”.

Human rights violations in national parks

Virunga and Kahuzi-Biega exemplify neo-colonialist “fortress conservation,” which excludes local Indigenous populations while violently oppressing them.

In the Congo Basin alone, establishing protected areas displaced communities without compensation in 26 out of 34 cases.

During Kahuzi-Biega National Park’s creation in the 1970s – primarily for gorilla protection – the Indigenous Batwa were forcibly removed from their ancestral forests. Many now live impoverished lives near park boundaries while enduring extreme violence. A 2022 Minority Rights Group report revealed that park rangers and soldiers killed at least 20 people, raped numerous women, and displaced hundreds who re-entered park grounds out of desperation.

Study: “From Abuse to Power”

In August 2024, Oakland Institute published From Abuse to Power – Ending Fortress Conservation in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The study examines links between human rights abuses tied to protected areas, violence by militias, mining and smuggling of “blood minerals”, militarized conservation and failures in environmental protection efforts.

To: EU institutions and governments of the member states

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo is shocking. A driving force behind this is Rwanda under its President Paul Kagame.

In February 2024, the European Union concluded a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Rwanda on cooperation in the supply of critical minerals. We call for this Memorandum of Understanding to be terminated immediately in order to put pressure on Rwanda. Otherwise, the agreement gives the Rwandan government the green light to continue plundering minerals in eastern Congo, thus contributing to regional instability and escalating human suffering there.

EU statements have expressed “deep concern” and “strongly condemn” the violence, but diplomatic language is not enough.

The EU must therefore terminate its partnership on critical raw materials at once.

Yours faithfully,