Rwanda has announced its immediate withdrawal from the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), accusing the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) of distorting the bloc's purpose and manipulating its decision-making with the backing of unnamed member states.
In a statement issued on June 7, 2025, Rwanda's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the decision followed events at the 26th Ordinary Summit in Malabo, where Kigali was denied its rightful turn to assume the rotating chairmanship, a role it claims is guaranteed under Article 6 of the ECCAS Treaty.
"Rwanda deplores the instrumentalization of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) by the Democratic Republic of Congo, with the support of certain Member States," the statement said.
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"This distortion of the organisation's purpose was once again evident... where Rwanda's right to assume the rotating Chairmanship... was deliberately ignored."
Rwanda had previously protested its exclusion from the 22nd Summit held in Kinshasa in 2023 during DR Congo's term as chair.
Kigali said its concerns were communicated in a letter to the Chairperson of the African Union, but it received no response.
"The silence and inaction that followed confirm the organization's failure to enforce its own rules," the ministry noted.
Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe echoed the government's frustration in a post on X, saying it was "unbelievable and unacceptable" that DR Congo continued to accuse Rwanda in international forums while peace efforts were ongoing under other regional and international frameworks.
"The DRC is still whining around in all regional and international organisations accusing Rwanda for its own turpitudes, not to mention crying out for sanctions," he wrote.
Nduhungirehe pointed to recent diplomatic engagements as signs of progress, including a March 18 meeting between Presidents Paul Kagame and Félix Tshisekedi in Doha, a 25 April Declaration of Principles signed in Washington, and ongoing peace negotiations facilitated by the United States.
"Rwanda is engaged in all current peace processes... in good faith and with a sense of responsibility," he said.
"We will never accept the manipulation, by a reckless and hopeless DRC, of regional economic communities such as ECCAS."
He further criticised ECCAS's involvement in the eastern DR Congo crisis, arguing it fell under the mandates of the East African Community (EAC) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), under AU-appointed mediator President Faure Gnassingbé of Togo. "Indeed, ECCAS has no business to deal with the crisis in eastern DRC," he wrote.
In the formal withdrawal statement, Rwanda said the bloc had failed to uphold its "founding principles and intended purpose" and that Kigali saw "no justification for remaining in an organization whose current functioning runs counter" to its original mandate.
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ECCAS, which groups 11 Central African nations, has not immediately responded to Rwanda's decision.
Tensions between DR Congo and Rwanda have deepened over recent years amid accusations from Kinshasa that Kigali supports the M23 rebel group operating in North Kivu.
Rwanda denies the charges. Regional mediation efforts have so far yielded fragile ceasefires but no lasting resolution.
Saturday's move marks a significant diplomatic shift in Rwanda's regional posture and is likely to raise questions about ECCAS's internal cohesion and the future of coordinated regional efforts in central Africa.
