A member of the M23 movement looks on during an enrollment of civilians, police officers, and former members of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo who allegedly decided to join the M23 movement in Goma on Feb. 23.MICHEL LUNANGA/AFP/Getty Images
After weeks of inaction, Western governments are taking their first tentative steps against Rwanda for its key role in the rebel offensive that captured a huge swath of eastern Congo, including two of its biggest cities.
The European Union announced on Monday that it is suspending its defence consultations with Rwanda and considering possible sanctions against key players in the conflict, in retaliation for the devastating assault by the Rwandan-backed M23 militia in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
The United States has announced its own sanctions in response to the offensive, including sanctions against a powerful Rwandan official and long-time military chief, James Kabarebe, a close ally of President Paul Kagame.
The M23 attacks, bolstered by Rwandan weapons and thousands of Rwandan troops, have triggered a catastrophe for civilians in eastern Congo, with emergency shelters destroyed, humanitarian aid blocked, relief corridors shut down, mass displacement, soaring food prices and an estimated 7,000 deaths since January.
“In the DRC, we see a deadly whirlwind of violence and horrifying human-rights abuses, amplified by the recent M23 offensive, supported by the Rwandan Defence Forces,” United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said on Monday. “As more cities fall, the risk of a regional war rises.”
Until now, Mr. Kagame has largely been shielded from Western pressure, mainly because his troops have been crucial in military stabilization missions that protect Western investors. But there are signs this is finally changing.
In an announcement by its Foreign Affairs Council on Monday, the EU said it will freeze the defence talks and review a controversial minerals agreement with Rwanda. The EU has also given political approval to sanctions against unspecified officials “depending on the situation on the ground,” it said.
“Territorial integrity is non-negotiable in Congo as well as in Ukraine,” Kaja Kallas, the EU foreign policy chief, said at a press conference. “The UN Charter applies everywhere.”
The EU signed the minerals agreement with Rwanda last year, promising more than $1.3-billion in European funding in an attempt to boost the supply of critical raw materials for European industry. Much of Rwanda’s mineral supply, however, is smuggled across the border from M23-controlled sites in Congo.
Earlier this month, the European parliament called for stronger action against Rwanda, including the full suspension of the minerals agreement.
Marc Botenga, a Belgian member of the European parliament, said the EU’s decision on Monday was too weak. “Vague promises to ‘review’ the agreement, or to suspend military consultations, are nothing more than smoke and mirrors,” he said in a social-media post.
“In the interests of multinationals, European countries have no problem supporting the plundering of the natural resources of the countries of the South,” Mr. Botenga said.
The UN Security Council, in a unanimous vote on Friday, took a much stronger line against Rwanda than it has in the past. It called on Rwanda to halt its support for M23 and immediately withdraw all its troops from Congolese territory “without preconditions.” It also threatened to take “additional measures” – but made no specific mention of possible sanctions, reportedly because of objections from several African members of the Security Council.
Human-rights groups, and the Congolese government itself, are seeking much stronger action against Rwanda. “The muted international response to Rwanda and the M23 has only emboldened them,” Lewis Mudge, Central Africa director for Human Rights Watch, said in a commentary this week. “We continue to receive serious and credible reports of targeted killings in new zones under the M23’s control.”
Some individual Western governments, including Belgium and Britain, have said in recent days that they are considering sanctions against Rwanda or suspensions of aid agreements.
Canada has not announced any steps against Mr. Kagame, who has been on friendly terms with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in the past. But the government is considering action now, according to Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly.
“For peace to be back in DRC, we need to be able to apply pressure,” Ms. Joly told The Globe and Mail in an interview.
“We’re looking at our options, for sure, and we think the best way to do so is by being co-ordinated with other countries.”
She said she has discussed the Congo crisis with G7 officials this month. The issue is also on the agenda for a meeting of G7 foreign ministers next month in the Charlevoix region of Quebec.
The UN’s food agency, the World Food Program, warned on Monday that the crisis in eastern Congo is escalating rapidly. Humanitarian aid warehouses have been looted, food markets are collapsing and 450,000 displaced people have not received any aid for six weeks, it said.
“Nearly half of the shops remain closed, and a recent WFP market assessment found maize flour – one of the region’s staples – has risen in price by almost 70 per cent,” it said.