Rwanda Cuts Diplomatic Ties with Belgium for Criticisms of Rwandan-Backed Rebel Group Actions in DRC

Protests in Paris against the invasion of the Democratic Republic of Congo by M23, an armed group backed by Rwanda. Source: AFP

In mid-March, Rwandan authorities gave Belgian diplomats 48 hours to leave the country. Rwanda accused Belgium of “neocolonial delusions” for urging international sanctions against Rwanda for their support of M23, an armed rebel group. The severing of diplomatic ties between the two nations represents a culmination of years of rising tensions between the former colonizer and colonized. The sudden break comes amid the recent capture of Goma, the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) capital, by M23 in late January. 

M23 is steeped in the history of the Rwandan genocide of 1994. The group primarily enlists Tutsis, the minority Rwandan ethnic group targeted in 1994. Approximately 800,000 Tutsi people were killed in just a hundred days. The mass killings of ancestors and neighbors still haunt Tutsi Rwandans. M23 claims that some of those responsible for the Rwandan genocide in fled to the Congo and that Tutsis still face persecution. M23 cited the Congolese government’s alleged failure to uphold a 2009 peace agreement as a reason for entering eastern Congo. M23 was launched in 2012 and resurfaced in 2021.  

Rwandan president Paul Kagame vehemently denies backing M23. However, UN experts reported that M23 militants are trained by the Rwandan military and are supplied with Rwandan arms.

The current humanitarian crisis is nothing short of disaster. Of the close to 10,000 reported cases of sexual violence and rape in the DRC in January and February, the UN found that up to 45% of cases may have involved children. This equates to a child being raped every half an hour. More than 86,000 people have fled to neighboring countries. M23’s invasion puts pressure on surrounding countries like Angola, Burundi, the Republic of the Congo, Malawi, South Africa, and Rwanda itself, among others, as people search for refuge. Forced displacement will only exacerbate an increasingly urgent humanitarian situation, with 27 million in need of support at the end of 2024. 

Rwanda understandably faults Belgium for its neocolonial actions. The Rwandan genocide partly emerged out of Belgium’s attaching of artificial superiority to the Tutsi ethnic group. Favoring indirect colonial rule, Belgian forces often elevated Tutsis to leadership positions over Hutus. Ethnic tensions and resentment simmered as Hutus suffered the ousting of their chiefs by Belgian forces and multiple famines. Suffering transformed into a deep hatred of the Tutsi group’s elevated position. The repercussions of Belgium’s colonial involvement still echo throughout Rwanda, in a country where 52% of the population lived below the income poverty line according to 2019/2020 UNDP estimates. The current Rwandan government accused Belgium of only calling for sanctions against Rwanda to covertly gain favorable mining rights. It is true that Belgian mining companies have bulldozed, both metaphorically and literally, over Congolese communities.  

Still, the international community cannot ignore the atrocities committed by Rwandan-backed M23. Rwanda has every right to criticize Belgium’s neocolonial practices, especially in relation to mining companies. Rwanda has no excuse, however, to fund and prop up M23’s violent campaign against the people of the DRC. Food insecurity is rampant and displacement is widespread. Sexual violence is used as a weapon of war. Thousands have been killed, with most recent estimates in late February hitting 7,000 dead since January. 

M23 rebels and the DRC government held private talks in Qatar in early April. The international community hopes these talks may lead to a halt in fighting.