Kigali, 28 February 2025

Yesterday, Minister of State Gen. (Rtd) James Kabarebe met with the European Union (EU) Special Envoy for the Great Lakes region, Ambassador Johan Borgstam, who is on a working visit in Kigali. The meeting was productive and  allowed a frank exchange in which Rwanda raised the following points:

• The situation in Eastern the Democratic Republic of Congo (EDRC) is not comparable to the conflict in Ukraine. Any attempt to draw such comparisons is politically motivated and serves only to divert from the real issues at hand. EU member states are well aware of the historical context of recurring insecurity in the EDRC –  including the DRC government’s internal issues, the presence of over 200 armed groups, the systematic persecution of Congolese Tutsi communities, hate speech, and, most importantly, the presence of the FDLR genocidal militia—a UN and US-sanctioned group made up of perpetrators of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. Some bear direct responsibility and should take their fair share of the blame.

• Rwanda faces an existential threat, which  should not be trivialized, from the presence at our border of the DRC’s international military coalition composed of the FDLR genocidal militia, Burundian forces, Wazalendo ethnic militias, SAMIDRC and European mercenaries.

• Rwanda will continue to insist on having security guarantees including the withdrawal of all foreign forces near our borders, the resolution of the M23 question, and the neutralization of the FDLR, once and for all.

• The principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity, often cited by the EU, must apply to Rwanda as well. Rwanda’s sovereignty has been violated over 20 times since 2018 with well-documented reports. Defensive measures were put in place precisely to stop these attacks from occurring and will remain until these threats are fully addressed.

• It is regrettable that domestic EU politics and vested interests in the region influence EU foreign policy decisions over facts. Punitive measures that infringe upon the rights of targeted countries do nothing to solve the situation, in this case it undermines African-led peace efforts.

• The DRC cannot continue to mislead the international community by calling for sanctions on Rwanda to mask its governance failures, grave human rights abuses against its own citizens, well documented and rampant corruption - including profiteering from arms deal further fueling its appetite for war.

• Rwanda encourages EU member states to participate positively in regional peace efforts and avoid mixing politics in matters of peace and security.

END