UN / DR CONGO - RWANDA

Rwandan foreign minister Louise Mushikiwabo today (25 June) briefed reporters at UN headquarters to “clear up misinformation” and strongly deny allegations that her country was backing mutinous Congolese soldiers in neighbouring eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The United Nations human rights chief last week expressed deep concern over the safety of civilians living in the eastern DRC, as fighting continues between the DRC national army and the M23 movement.

Claiming that Rwanda was being made a “scapegoat”, Mushikiwabo stated that her country was “not in any way supporting any armed group in the region” and called for all concerned parties to “calm down”.

She warned that allegations of Rwanda’s involvement were having an “extremely dangerous” impact on the people living in eastern DRC, and recounted a recent incident where a group of Rwandan men had been severely beaten and tortured in apparent retaliation.

On the UN peacekeeping mission in eastern DRC known by its French acronym MONUSCO, Mushikiwabo called for its role to be re-examined, considering that after thirteen years of operations volatility was still prevailing in the region.

On a recent letter submitted by the Congolese government to the United Nations accusing Rwanda of involvement in destabilizing that region, the foreign minister said she was aware of the letter and seemed miffed that it had been sent just as she finished meeting with Congolese government officials in Kinshasa. However, she still hoped that “the DRC is as interested, if not more, in having a stable eastern DRC as we are.”

The minister was joined by a security adviser to the Rwandan president, Patrick Karuretwa in denouncing the role of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the region. Singling out Human Rights Watch in particular, Karuretwa said such human rights groups were “pushing every button that prevents people to sit and talk about the real issues”, and that “maybe they are the problem”.

The DRC’s eastern provinces of North and South Kivu have witnessed increased fighting between government troops and the M23 movement following a mutiny by soldiers in April. The renegades had formerly belonged to armed groups which were integrated into the DRC armed forces (known by the French acronym FARDC) following a 2009 peace agreement.

Earlier this month, the Security Council strongly condemned the soldiers’ mutiny, as well as the killing and abuse of civilians, mostly women and children, carried out by armed groups such as M23. The fighting has displaced more than 200,000 people in eastern DRC, including many who have fled to neighbouring Rwanda and Uganda.