PARIS (Reuters) – The European Parliament urged the European Union on Thursday to freeze direct budget support for Rwanda until it breaks links with Tutsi-led M23 rebels and allows humanitarian access to areas of the Democratic Republic of Congo where they advanced.
The parliament also called for the suspension of a memorandum of understanding between Rwanda and the EU that aims to support Rwandan supplies of strategic minerals, until Rwanda stops interfering in Congo.
“MEPs strongly condemn the occupation of Goma and other territories in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) by M23 rebels and the Rwandan defence forces as an (unacceptable) breach of the DRC’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the body said in a statement.
The parliament adopted the resolution, an attempt to raise political pressure on the European Commission and EU member states, in a 443-4 vote. Another 48 lawmakers abstained.
Such resolutions are not binding, though the parliament can claim some authority as the EU’s only directly elected institution.
Rwandan government spokesperson Yolande Makolo did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
M23 rebels seized Goma, eastern Congo’s largest city, last month and have been inching south ever since in an advance that a local official has said threatens to trigger a humanitarian catastrophe in an area already housing thousands of displaced people.
Rwanda has been accused by Congo, the United Nations and several Western countries of supporting M23 with its own troops and weapons, a charge Kigali denies.
In comments to a European Parliament panel on Thursday, Rwandan ambassador to Belgium Igor Cesar said: “Rwanda is not the source of this conflict nor is it responsible for solving it alone.”
The conflict has led to concerns of a return to a wider regional war.
At play in the conflict are Congo’s vast mineral reserves, many of which are concentrated in the east. Congo is a top producer of tantalum and has significant tin and gold deposits in the area.
However, Congo is also the world’s most aid-dependent country, though humanitarian operations, which were 70% funded by Washington last year, have taken a big hit since U.S. President Donald Trump imposed a pause on foreign aid last month.
(Reporting by Makini Brice additional reporting by Nairobi newsroom; Editing by Aidan Lewis)
