PRESS RELEASE
Geneva, February 27, 2025
In line with its long-standing struggle against (neo)colonialism and for the liberation of peoples throughout the world from the shackles of oppression, CETIM expresses its solidarity with the Congolese people, who are facing an offensive by paramilitary militias directly supported by Rwanda, a satellite country of the imperialist powers in the region.
Following the capture of Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, at the end of January, the military offensive seized and conquered Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu and the second most populous city in the eastern regions of the country, on February 18. It is no surprise that these two regions are home to approximately 80% of the world’s cobalt reserves, 20-30% of coltan, about 38% of the world’s rare earth reserves, not to mention vast reserves of gold, diamonds, copper, lithium, and uranium.
Paramilitary rebels and Rwandan military forces present in the country extract these resources and precious metals from occupied Congolese territories, subsequently smuggling them illegally into Rwanda. In this way, they fuel supply chains controlled by transnational corporations and the Rwandan government, which export these riches to Western countries. In this regard, it is important to highlight that the European Commission has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Rwandan government for the sustainable supply of strategic minerals, which are in reality illegally seized in the DRC. As if this were not enough, the memorandum also allocates funds for the establishment of resource refining infrastructure, while providing cutting-edge knowledge and technologies for extraction and processing.
In occupied areas, the price of basic foodstuffs has surged by over 100% due to supply shortages caused by the war. Among the populations hardest hit by the violence are women and children. More broadly, rural and peasant communities living and working in the coveted areas are also severely affected. On this subject, we invite you to read the statement by La Via Campesina, the global peasant movement, which has member organizations in the region and also in the DRC.
According to figures from the UN humanitarian agency in the DRC, approximately 500,000 people have been forcibly displaced due to atrocities, in an area that already hosts nearly 5 million internally displaced persons. According to the World Food Programme (WFP), 4.5 million children under the age of five and 3.7 million pregnant and breastfeeding women are at risk of acute malnutrition over the next five months in the region.
This latest predatory initiative against the DRC and its people reflects the desire of dominant elites—both regional and international—to control the rich natural resources of the Congolese subsoil. These resources, it must be recalled, are absolutely fundamental to current capitalist accumulation processes, driven by transnational corporations and their political allies. This is especially true in this era of techno-scientific revolutions and the global race for technological and commercial supremacy. It must be said that the major imperialist powers, primarily the United States and the European Union, are complicit in this situation, the massacres, and, de facto, the invasion of one state (Congo) by another (Rwanda).
It should be noted that Rwandan interventionism in no way absolves the responsibility of the Congolese government, which has allowed the situation to deteriorate for many years. Indeed, the current administration, like the previous one, is characterized by anti-social and equally predatory political practices, protecting the interests of corrupt local elites and foreign transnational corporations.
The Congolese people need international solidarity and all relevant advocacy actions to end this (neo)colonial war of plunder and to reclaim their right to self-determination. Transnational corporations must be held accountable for human rights violations and their destructive actions: this is a matter of the country’s state and popular sovereignty. The European Union-Rwanda protocol, which regulates the import of rare earths from a country that does not possess them and plunders them from a neighboring country, must be repealed immediately and unconditionally. Finally, the relevant UN bodies should act and to take effective measures against Rwanda. On this subject, see the resolution adopted by the UN Human Rights Council.
Contacts:
Raffaele Morgantini, CETIM Representative to the UN, raffaele@cetim.ch, +41796606514
