{"id":54419,"date":"2025-06-09T10:27:37","date_gmt":"2025-06-09T10:27:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/drc-s-continued-push-for-sanctions-against-rwanda-undermines-peace-efforts\/"},"modified":"2025-06-11T09:37:52","modified_gmt":"2025-06-11T09:37:52","slug":"drc-s-continued-push-for-sanctions-against-rwanda-undermines-peace-efforts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/drc-s-continued-push-for-sanctions-against-rwanda-undermines-peace-efforts\/","title":{"rendered":"DRC’s continued push for sanctions against Rwanda undermines peace efforts \u2013 Minister Nduhungirehe"},"content":{"rendered":"

Speaking in an interview with the state broadcaster, Rwanda Broadcasting Agency (RBA), on Sunday, Nduhungirehe described the DRC\u2019s actions as \u201cunacceptable\u201d and indicative of a government that \u201cseems not to want genuine peace.\u201d<\/p>\n

The minister\u2019s remarks come on the heels of Rwanda\u2019s withdrawal from the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) on Saturday, June 7, 2025, during the 26th Ordinary Summit in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea. <\/p>\n

Rwanda\u2019s exit was prompted by what it called a deliberate violation of its rights under the ECCAS Treaty, particularly the DRC\u2019s move to block Rwanda\u2019s rightful turn to assume the rotating chairmanship of the organisation. <\/p>\n

According to a statement from Rwanda\u2019s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the DRC, supported by certain ECCAS member states, instrumentalised the regional bloc to impose its \u201cdiktat,\u201d disregarding the treaty\u2019s provision for chairmanship rotation based on French alphabetical order.<\/p>\n

\u201cRwanda\u2019s right to assume the rotating Chairmanship was deliberately ignored,\u201d the ministry\u2019s statement read.<\/p>\n

Nduhungirehe elaborated during the RBA interview, stating that the DRC\u2019s complaint against Rwanda\u2019s alleged aggression was baseless and hypocritical, given the DRC\u2019s own role in regional instability. <\/p>\n

He accused the DRC of supporting the FDLR, a genocidal force linked to the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, using mercenaries in violation of international law, and orchestrating attacks on Rwandan territory, including a January shelling near Goma that killed 16 people and wounded 160.<\/p>\n

The minister highlighted Rwanda\u2019s frustration with ECCAS\u2019s governance failures, noting that the organisation has been dysfunctional for years, with issues of unaccounted finances, lack of audits since 2015, and ineffective leadership. <\/p>\n

He cited a previous incident in 2023, when the DRC, as ECCAS chair, prevented Rwanda from speaking at the 22nd Summit in Kinshasa, an exclusion Rwanda protested in a letter to the African Union that went unaddressed.<\/p>\n

Despite withdrawing from ECCAS, the minister affirmed that Rwanda remains committed to other regional economic communities, such as the East African Community and COMESA, and to peace processes aimed at resolving the conflict in eastern DRC. <\/p>\n

Nduhungirehe emphasised Rwanda\u2019s active participation in negotiations, including a March 18 meeting between Presidents Paul Kagame and F\u00e9lix Tshisekedi in Doha, mediated by Qatar, and an April 25 declaration of principles signed with DRC\u2019s Foreign Minister Kayikwamba in Washington. <\/p>\n

The talks are part of ongoing efforts toward a broader peace agreement to be finalised at the White House in the United States. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s strange and unacceptable that, while we are on the path of peace, the DRC is going around accusing Rwanda and calling for sanctions,\u201d Nduhungirehe said, describing the DRC\u2019s actions as unprincipled and counterproductive to regional stability. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s sad to see a community of 11 member states being manipulated by a single country,\u201d Nduhungirehe added, urging ECCAS members to recognise the organisation\u2019s flawed trajectory. <\/p>\n

He warned that the DRC\u2019s behaviour risks derailing delicate peace negotiations, particularly as tensions persist over the M23 rebellion in North and South Kivu provinces. <\/p>\n

Rwanda has repeatedly denied Kinshasa\u2019s allegations of supporting M23, instead pointing to the DRC\u2019s collaboration with the FDLR as a primary driver of the conflict and a direct threat to Rwanda\u2019s security.<\/p>\n

\"Speaking<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rwanda\u2019s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Ambassador Olivier Nduhungirehe, has accused the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) of undermining ongoing peace efforts by its continued push for sanctions against Rwanda in regional and international forums. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":131,"featured_media":2000088812,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[75],"byline":[192],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-54419","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics-48","tag-homenews","byline-wycliffe-nyamasege"],"bylines":[{"id":192,"name":"Wycliffe Nyamasege","slug":"wycliffe-nyamasege","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":131}],"contributors":[{"id":192,"name":"Wycliffe Nyamasege","slug":"wycliffe-nyamasege","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":131}],"featured_image":{"id":2000088812,"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/63475_1_.jpg","alt":"","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","width":0,"height":0,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/63475_1_.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"medium":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/63475_1_.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"medium_large":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/63475_1_.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"large":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/63475_1_.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/63475_1_.jpg","width":0,"height":0}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54419","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/131"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54419"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54419\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2000088812"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54419"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54419"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54419"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=54419"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=54419"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}