The sanctions being imposed by Western countries on the AFC/M23 rebellion and Rwanda could derail the ongoing regional mediation processes that are aimed at restoring peace in eastern DR Congo, warns the Rwanda Civil Society Platform (RCSP), an apex body for civil society organisations in Rwanda.
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Brussels, which Kigali severed diplomatic ties with on Monday, has especially been leading calls for European countries to sanction Rwanda over the latter's alleged support for AFC/M23 rebels, a Congolese politico-military alliance fighting for governance that supports basic human rights, secures all Congolese citizens, and addresses the root causes of conflict. The rebellion's leaders have vowed to uproot tribalism, nepotism, corruption, and genocide ideology, among other vices, widespread in DR Congo.
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The rebels have, in the past two months, made rapid territorial gains, including the seizure of key towns after defeating a vast Congolese army coalition that includes FDLR, a DR Congo and Belgium backed terrorist militia founded by remnants of the masterminds of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, much to the annoyance of some Western countries and organisations.
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The ongoing conflict which was initially between the Congolese army coalition - hundreds of FDLR fighters, over 10,000 Burundian troops, 1,600 European mercenaries, South Africa-led SADC forces, as well as UN peacekeepers - against M23 rebels, started in 2021. The Congolese government claims that Rwanda supports the rebels, an accusation Kigali has dismissed. Despite their Rwandese heritage or culture, majority of the M23 rebels were initially people from the Kinyarwanda-speaking Congolese community which has been oppressed by its own government for decades.
The M23 rebels are now part of a larger rebel coalition, Alliance fleuve Congo (AFC) - created in December 2023 - that is led by Corneille Nangaa, the former president of the Congolese national electoral commission (CENI).
Following heavy fighting triggered by constant violations by the Congolese army coalition, of an earlier set ceasefire, on January 27, the rebels captured Goma, the capital of North Kivu Province, and restore order there. The rebels integrated into their ranks hundreds of government soldiers who surrendered after they captured Goma. As the security situation in South Kivu deteriorated amid reports of violence, looting, and abuses propagated by the Congolese army coalition, the rebels moved again. They first captured the strategic airport of Kavumu, before moving south to capture the regional capital, Bukavu, on February 15.
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On Monday, the EU sanctioned three Rwandan military officers, citing connections to the Congolese rebellion.
The sanctions, which include the freezing of assets, were also applied to the Chief Executive Officer of Rwanda Mines, Petroleum and Gas Board. The EU accused the agency of exploiting DR Congo's conflict in order to extract valuable minerals from the poorly governed country's east.
'Sanctions can complicate mediation efforts'
On Monday, the AFC/M23 rebellion expressed "its deep regret that certain international institutions are deliberately working to sabotage peace efforts" in DR Congo and make the long-awaited talks impossible.
"The successive sanctions imposed on our members, including those adopted on the eve of the Luanda discussions, seriously compromise direct dialogue and prevent any progress."
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Consequently, the rebels withdrew from the peace talks with the Congolese government, hours before negotiations could start in the Angolan capital, on Tuesday, March 18.
In a joint statement, RCSP said: "Indeed, compelling and authoritative research suggests that sanctions can complicate mediation efforts by fostering exclusion, emboldening non sanctioned parties, closing mediation space, undercutting mediator's impartiality.
"Sanctions are of little help in breaking stalemates, incentivizing cooperation and ensuring broad participation in talks and facilitating the onset of talks. Sanctions can exacerbate conflict by inadvertently strengthening hard-liner actors leading to increased resistance to a negotiated resolution and ultimately prolonging the conflict."
The RCSP argued that sanctions can disproportionately harm civilian populations, leading to economic hardship, potentially fuelling instability and resentment, in addition to generally straining international cooperation and undermining the principle of collective action, which can be crucial for effective conflict resolution.
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The civil society group called upon all concerned global leaders to revisit the sanctions regime and rethink them in the framework of the nexus of humanitarian, peace and development that requires a holistic approach to address the complexity of the regional conflict issues.
The RCSP also noted that it supports the joint EAC-SADC efforts that started in February and urged regional leaders and appointed facilitators to establish a staged process to bring about peace by obtaining a lasting and respected cease fire between the warring parties and mediating honest, transparent and comprehensive discussions that address once and for all the root causes of the conflict.
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Peaceful resolution of the conflict in eastern DR Congo through the Luanda and Nairobi peace processes, was one of the key resolutions of the joint East African Community and Southern African Development Community leaders meeting held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, on February 8.
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Another key element was the leaders' call for the implementation of an earlier approved harmonised plan for the neutralisation of FDLR. The genocidal militia poses an existential threat to Rwanda, the entire region, and especially the Congolese Tutsi communities it has been persecuting in eastern DR Congo, resulting in the ongoing crisis in the region.
The RCSP statement added: "A mere cease-fire without addressing the genuine concerns of all the parties would be postponing problems that may erupt again later with far more devastating consequences."
It recommended that the mediation team should make every effort to address the root causes of the conflict beyond rhetoric.
