DRC FM Calls on Global Partners to Act Against Rwanda’s War Crimes

As violence escalates in eastern Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo’s top diplomat is turning global outrage into a call for action.

In an interview with Sky News, Foreign Minister Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner urged the United Kingdom and international community to impose firm, targeted sanctions against Rwanda’s leadership, warning that continued inaction risks legitimising war crimes and economic looting.

“We need sanctions, firm sanctions, and nd when we speak of sanctions, we do not speak of sanctions that target the Rwandan population, but sanctions that actually target the Rwandan leadership, the chain of command, and the financial networks behind this aggression.”

Accountability Must Follow the Chain of Command

Minister Wagner outlined the legal basis for international accountability, referencing well-documented UN findings linking the Rwandan Defence Forces (RDF) directly to the M23 rebel group operating in eastern DRC.

“There is clear evidence connecting the Rwandan army to M23, and from M23 directly back to decision-makers in Kigali. There must be accountability along that chain of command. There is legal precedent for that, in the DRC and elsewhere.”

According to Wagner, such accountability is not just moral, but necessary for deterrence:

“If impunity continues, then violence becomes a strategy, not a crime.”

“Rwanda Has No Mines, Only Congo’s Minerals”

The Minister then turned to the economic enablers of war, calling for an international ban on the export of Rwandan minerals.