Belgium sees growing pressure for sanctions on Rwanda over war

A growing international consensus is emerging in favour of sanctions against Rwanda’s government over its role in the conflict in eastern Congo, the Belgian government said ahead of a key meeting of European foreign ministers next week.

Rwanda is facing increasing condemnation for backing the M23 rebel group that has seized vast swathes of mineral-rich territory in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, allegations President Paul Kagame’s government has repeatedly denied.

The Trump administration on Thursday sanctioned one of Rwanda’s most powerful officials for his role in supporting M23 in a conflict that has in recent months left thousands of people dead and forced almost a million others to flee their homes.

Rwanda accused Belgium of taking Congo’s side in the conflict and “politicizing development” when Kigali said this week it would reject further aid from Brussels. Prior to Rwanda’s announcement, the Belgian government was already reviewing a €95-million aid package and had been planning to suspend part of it, said Pierre Steverlynck, a spokesman for the Belgian Foreign Ministry.

There’s a “growing consensus” that an even firmer approach is needed than aid suspension, he said. The German government this week summoned Rwanda’s ambassador to discuss the conflict.

“We have expressed it several times that we are in favor of a firmer approach toward Kigali, and for us broader sanctions could be envisaged,” Steverlynck said in an interview on Thursday. “We see that several countries within the EU, but also beyond the borders of the EU, share the opinion that strong measures should be taken by the international community.”

Among punitive measures being considered by European officials is a suspension of the Memorandum of Understanding on Critical Raw Materials that was signed with Rwanda last year, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified as they’re not authorised to speak to the media. That proposal isn’t supported by the European Commission, the people said.

There has also been a call for a halt to all development cooperation with the country, the people said.

The M23 movement, which began its rebellion in 2021, has in the past three weeks captured two major cities in eastern Congo. The unrest has raised concerns of a broader regional war.

M23 says it supports the rights of ethnic Tutsis and other speakers of the Rwandan language in Congo, and is fighting against a Hutu rebel group with links to the perpetrators of the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Congo accuses the rebels and Rwanda of pillaging minerals from the resource-rich region.

EU foreign ministers are scheduled to discuss the continuing escalation of the conflict in eastern Congo and its impact on the broader region at a meeting in Brussels on Monday. Sanctions experts are in the process of drafting a range of measures for EU ministers to ponder.

“The idea is to make Kigali and President Kagame understand that what’s happening in the east of Congo is not acceptable because it violates the UN charter and violated the territorial integrity and international rules based order,” Steverlynck said. “Which sanctions? It’s all on the table.”

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Publish date : 2025-02-21 07:05:00

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