The Government of Rwanda on Friday, January 8, dismissed allegations from the UN Group of Experts (GoE) Midterm report which claimed that there were Rwandan troops on the territory of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The report titled "Letter dated 23 December 2020 from the Group of Experts on the Democratic Republic of the Congo addressed to the President of the Security Council”, alleged that officers of RDF were present and conducted operations in North Kivu from late 2019 to early October 2020 in violation of the sanctions regime.
It said that the Group reviewed documentary and photographic evidence and aerial footage, and spoke to 20 sources about the presence of, and military operations conducted by, RDF in the Democratic Republic of the Congo from late 2019 to early October 2020 in North Kivu.
The publication argued that in a letter dated April 22, 2020, the FARDC Chief of Staff denounced the presence of RDF members in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the Commander of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) Expanded Joint Verification Mechanism.
The letter, it claimed, referred to a violation of the Rwanda-Democratic Republic of the Congo border by RDF soldiers who had set up a camp in Kabara, Nyiragongo territory, North Kivu, earlier that month.
It further alleged that the presence of RDF in Nyiragongo, Rutshuru and Masisi territories was confirmed by defence and security officers, MONUSCO sources, FDLR ex-combatants, members of civil society and researchers.
Among other instances, it argued, on 2 October 2020, 60 RDF soldiers carrying 18 PKM machine guns and four rocket-propelled grenade launchers were observed on Mount Rugomba, in Rutshuru territory, and that RDF soldiers entered the Democratic Republic of the Congo territory around Kabara.
"Rwanda enjoys cordial bilateral relations with the DRC, and there are several existing bilateral cooperation engagements, including military cooperation. However, such cooperation is exclusively limited to intelligence sharing on various armed groups operating in Eastern DRC that are a common threat to both countries,” the Government of Rwanda said in the press release.
Mineral supply chain allegation
On tin, tantalum and tungsten supply chain challenges, the report said that armed groups and criminal networks continued to illegally trade in those minerals from mine sites in Masisi territory.
It argued that untagged tantalum mined from these sites was smuggled to Goma via the same route and means identified earlier by the Group and subsequently smuggled into Rwanda.
But, it said that Rwandan authorities charged with mineral fraud prevention stated that they had not recorded any case of mineral smuggling related to the Democratic Republic of the Congo since the beginning of 2020.
In the above-mentioned press release, the Government of Rwanda said it would like to reiterate its commitment to promote national and regional natural resources governance mechanisms in the fight against illegal exploitation and trade of minerals in the region.
It is against this background, and in a spirit of cooperation and goodwill, that in February 2020, during the last visit of the UN GoE to Rwanda, they were shown various anti-smuggling efforts in place, and witnessed minerals that had been seized by authorities.
The Government of Rwanda said it regrets the shortcomings of the UN GoE report, and the lack of good faith demonstrated by the experts.
"Despite being granted access to various Government institutions, facilitated in meeting witnesses and provided with responses to all issues raised, the UN GoE report omitted key information and clarifications provided by the GoR," it stated.
It said it expresses its deepest concerns towards the lack of rigor from the UN GoE in the fulfillment of its mandate, raising serious concerns about the independence of its reports.