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MEPs demand to freeze support to Rwanda

Posted by Europe correspondent on

Strasbourg 16.02.2025 Rwandan-backed M23 fighters have entered Bukavu, the second-largest city in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo, taking under control the regional governor’s office.

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It is the second city after Goma, the major urban agglomeration in North Kivu provnice, to fall to the attack of the M23 group. The Congolese government has acknowledged its fall and urged residents to stay inside “to avoid being targeted by the occupying forces”.

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The advancement occurred just a few days after the UN have warned that the latest offensive, which has seen hundreds of thousands of people forced to flee from their homes, could spark a wider regional war.

Along with the UN the Members of the European Parliament(MEPs) demanded Rwandan government to withdraw its troops from the Democratic Republic of Congo’s territory and cease support of the M23 rebels.
In a resolution adopted on Thursday, 13 February, MEPs strongly condemn the occupation of Goma and other territories of the DRC by M23 rebels in cooperation with the Rwandan defence forces as an unacceptable breach of the DRC’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

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MEPs denounced the indiscriminate attacks involving explosive weapons, unlawful killing, rape, and other atrocious war crimes in populated areas of North Kivu. They deplore the use of forced labour, forced recruitment, and other abusive practices conducted by the M23 with the support of Rwanda’s troops, and by the Congolese Armed Forces (FARDC).

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Calling for an immediate end to the violence, particularly the mass killings and the use of sexual assaluts as war tactic, Parliament urges the DRC and Rwanda to investigate and prosecute those responsible for war crimes, including sexual violence, under the principle of command responsibility. MEPs also reiterated that any attack on United Nations peacekeepers is inexcusable and might be regarded as a war crime.

MEPs are extremely concerned about the critical humanitarian situation in the DRC, and demand the immediate reopening of Goma airport and creation of humanitarian corridors to re-establish humanitarian operations in eastern region of the country.

Parliament regrets the European Union’s failure to produce a relevant reaction to address the crisis and pressure Rwanda to end its support for M23. It urges the European Commission and the Council to immediately suspend the EU’s Memorandum of Understanding on Sustainable Raw Materials Value Chains with Rwanda, until the country ceases all interference in the DRC, including exporting minerals mined from M23-controlled areas.

MEPs also call on the EU Commission, EU member states and international financial institutions to freeze direct budget support for Rwanda until it allows for humanitarian access to the crisis area and breaks all links with M23. The Commission and EU countries should also halt their military and security assistance to the Rwandan armed forces to avoid contributing directly or indirectly to abusive military operations in eastern DRC.

MEPs are concerned about the consequences of Russian interference in the conflict, as well as the increasing presence of Chinese actors in the DRC’s mining sector and in wider region and working without respect for economic and social responsibility.

Parliament welcomes the joint SADC and EAC peace summit held in Dar es Salaam on 8 February and expresses its full support for the Luanda and Nairobi peace processes. MEPs call on all countries in the Great Lakes region, in particular the DRC and Rwanda, to urgently pursue negotiations under these frameworks.

The resolution was adopted with 443 votes in favour, 4 against and 48 abstentions.

Anna van Densky from Strasbourg

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