"'The complicity needs to end': The EU's hand in violence in DR Congo"

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is suffering a fresh wave of violence after Rwanda-backed rebels captured the city of Goma last week. Protestors in Brussels have highlighted Europe's complicity in a seemingly endless saga of violence. [...]

The catastrophe is in the spotlight now, but Belgo-Congolese activist Brenda Odimba of the non-proft Mwasi has been campaigning for an end to bloodshed in the DRC for much of her life.

"We have been talking about genocide and rape as a weapon of war for 30 years," she told the protest, welling up as she spoke. "As a European, it hurts to see the deafening silence from the media and politicians, while the EU in particular is responsible for what is happening. We will not give up until the genocide is over." [...]

One such militia is the M23 group, which says it protects Hutu minorities in eastern Congo but in reality extracts minerals from the region. It then "dumps" them in "dummy mines" in Rwanda to be "remined". This illegal activity is overseen by Rwanda, which is in "de facto control" of the militia according to UN experts.

Nevertheless, the EU signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the country in February 2024 that gives it access to these natural minerals. Protestors and several countries are therefore calling on the bloc to suspend the agreement. [...]

European Commission spokespeople have indicated that there is no intention of scrapping the MoU as it is an essential element to achieving a so-called green and digital transition.

The agreement, in addition to €40 million granted to Rwanda via the European Peace Fund (EPF) and more than €900 million through Global Gateway, is the EU's answer to China's Belt and Road Initiative. This means that the EU is an "active actor in the plundering of the DRC," according to Belgian MEP Marc Botenga (PTB/The Left).

"When you make a deal with a country accused over and over again of violating Congolese sovereignty, destabilising the region and plundering raw materials, you are complicit in what happens afterwards," he told The Brussels Times. "The complicity needs to end."

Does the EU stand for human rights?

Solidarity movements across the world are uniting in their opposition to colonialism, neocolonialism and capitalism. [...]