Diplomatic sources say the bloc is facing calls to suspend its wide-ranging minerals agreement with Rwanda amid fears it is inflaming the escalating conflict in eastern DRC.
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00:00Why is the EU under pressure to suspend its mineral deal with Rwanda?
00:08As conflict grips the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo,
00:13the EU executive in Brussels is being asked to reconsider its mineral deal with neighbouring
00:19Rwanda. If we fail to respond decisively, we will not only betray the people of Congo,
00:26but also weaken Europe's own strategic interests.
00:30Over the past days, a rebel group known as M23 that is backed by the Rwandan armed forces
00:36advanced on the city of Goma in eastern DRC in an incursion condemned by the international
00:43community. Ethnic tensions and armed conflicts have plagued the region for the past 30 years.
00:48The DRC's borderland areas of north and south Kivu are extremely rich in resources and dense
00:54with mines. M23 rebels have reportedly been illegally plundering materials from DRC territory
01:01and exporting them to Rwanda. This is an extract from a UN report in July last year which says that
01:07M23 established a parallel administration controlling mining activities, fraudulently
01:14exporting at least 150 tons of coltan, a critical raw material, to Rwanda. The EU's role has come
01:22under the spotlight because in February last year it signed a memorandum of understanding with
01:28Rwanda intended to boost the supply of critical raw materials used to produce things like smartphones
01:35and electric cars. But experts told us that there is overwhelming evidence to show that Rwanda
01:40exports more raw materials and minerals than it mines. Critics say the EU is turning a blind eye
01:48to illicit activities. Belgium is leading calls for the deal to be suspended until Rwanda ceases
01:54its support to the rebels. The EU has so far not responded to those calls.