Thirst for European net zero technologies fuels humanitarian crisis | World | News

The grasp for European net zero technologies is driving an “intractable humanitarian crisis” in the Congo, experts have warned.

It follows news that Rwanda-backed rebels were continuing to capture territory in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo, where millions have already been displaced following more than a decade of on-off conflict.

The so-called M23 militia claims to have already captured the crucial city of Goma, home to two million people near the Rwandan border in a move which will help to secure rare minerals for Rwandan export to the EU.

New reports suggest that, they have now gone beyond Goma to take towns such as Kalungu, Kanyezire and Mukwinja,

Statements that they intend to set up a new administration in Goma suggest this may be different from the last time they occupied the city in 2012, when they were driven out by international pressure.

Their return to the region last year has brought with it a barrage of unlawful killings, rapes, and other apparent war crimes including the use of explosive weapons populated areas.

​That Goma ​is supposed to be a hub for humanitarian relief simply worsens the fate of those civilians caught in the crossfire.

At the heart of the recent crisis is Rwanda’s desire to increase exports of valuable minerals to Europe following a deal with the EU.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed in February last year to establish a strategic partnership on critical raw materials, and was hailed by Brussels as a key in securing the supply of highly-sought materials needed to power Europe’s green and digital transition.

These minerals include coltan, whose unique properties are essential for devices like smartphones and cars, as well as clean energy technologies like solar panels, wind turbines, and electric vehicles.

The deal listed the “sustainable and responsible production … of critical and strategic raw materials” as one of five areas of cooperation.

But the largest deposits of coltan lays within the DRC, which contains more than 70% of the world’s deposits.

Claims by Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame that he is only exporting domestic materials to Europe are belied by the fact that Rwanda is selling more than it can mine.

And, while he denies all involvement in the invasion, his troops are actively supporting M23.

The March 23 (M23) group, also known as the Congolese Revolutionary Army, is made up of Tutsi factions and has been invading its neighbour for more than a decade.

Using tactics from Russia’s playbook, M23 says it is defending ethnic Tutsis in Congo, where they are alleged to face persecution by Hutus responsible for the 1994 genocide of 800,000 Tutsis in Rwanda. Many Hutus fled into Congo after the genocide.

DR Congo is 90 times larger than Rwanda, but its vastness is working against it. With 200 different languages, Kinshasa struggles to give common purpose to its numerous regions and communities, and Congo’s poorly-paid soldiers have little incentive to put up a fight.

The 8,000-strong UN peacekeeping force has proved ineffective, as have troops form the Southern African Development Community (SADC) who will soon replace them.

And 300 Romanian mercenaries – including former French Foreign Legionnaires and employed by Kinshasa at $5,000 a week – were forced to surrender to M23 forces in Goma when regular forces stopped fighting.

Global rhetoric against the incursion is slowly mounting.

On Sunday Foreign Secretary David Lammy warned that Rwanda was putting $1bn of global aid under threat by supporting M23, including £32m of bilateral UK assistance. adding: “We are clear that we cannot have countries challenging the territorial integrity of other countries. Just as we will not tolerate it in the continent of Europe, we cannot tolerate it wherever in the world it happens.”

Belgian Foreign minister Bernard Quintin has called upon the EU to rethink the deal and Belgium has officially tabled calls for its suspension.

This was backed by the chair of the European Parliament’s Africa delegation, Hilde Vautmans, who urged the EU executive to send a “clear message” to ​President Kagame by suspending its agreement until “Rwanda proves it is ceasing its interference.”

But two seemingly insurmountable issues may mean that more meaningful action is not forthcoming.

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The first problem is that, despite the actions of M23, Rwanda is still seen as a friendly oasis of stability in a region surrounded by Chinese and Russian influence. That’s why Rishi Sunak struck the migrant deal – an idea which EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said she supported as a way of offseting the rise of right wing nationalism. And it’s also why the EU struck the strategic mineral deal last year.

“Kagame has turned Rwanda into a regional economic hub, a place of stability,” said regional expert Benedict Manzin of the Sibylline strategic risk group.

“Some might argue that this stability is secured through significant political repression, but Rwanda doesn’t have widespread unrest, poverty rates are declining and Kigali has become a good city where tech and financial investors.

“So there are economic, social and cultural reasons which make Rwanda an attractive place with which to do business. “

The second is because the DRC has long been compromised by heavy Chinese investment.

Kinshasa and Beijing elevated their relationship in May relations to a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership, and Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi has already declared that he regards Chinese premier Xi Jinping as his most prioritised cooperation partner.

There was a window of opportunity for the West to fill that role, said M​anzin.

“When he came to power​. Tshisekedi regarded China as too closely embedded with the patronage networks of his predecessor, Joseph Kabila, and it seemed he might try and bring someone else in to counterbalance th​a​t – there was a hope we would see a surge in US and European investment.

“But that largely didn’t materialise. Europe simply didn’t have the appetite, and here we are.”

The brutal truth is that minerals not acquired by Rwanda for Europe will simply end up in China, a strategic rival.

“If Europe isn’t the one to buy these minerals from Rwanda, then they will always be able to sell them to China,” said Manzin. “That’s the harsh reality, and European powers know this.”

He added: “Even today, Europe could attempt to outbid China and buy direct from DRC, cutting Rwanda out altogether.

“But they prefer the illusion that they are buying them from an ostensibly better​-regulated environment.

“So Rwanda is allowed to continue to cause an intractable humanitarian crisis.

“This is the inflection point where strategic realities meet and trump Europe’s moral credentials. “