This week, Canada and Germany announced punitive measures against Rwanda, accusing it of supporting the AFC/M23 rebels in eastern DR Congo. The Canadian government suspended the issuance of permits for the export of controlled goods and technologies to Rwanda, halted new government-to-government business engagements, and withdrew proactive support for private-sector business development. Similarly, Germany’s foreign ministry announced a freeze on new financial commitments to Rwanda and a review of ongoing bilateral relations. These actions, misguided as they are, seem to be driven by the flawed assumption that cutting financial ties with Rwanda will miraculously resolve a decades-long crisis in DR Congo. This reflects a blatant disregard for the deeper, systemic issues at play. For years, Rwanda has demonstrated goodwill in efforts to find a lasting solution to a conflict that has not only affected its own security but also destabilised the Great Lakes region at large. Despite having no direct obligation to fix Kinshasa’s internal failures, Rwanda has actively participated in every peace process, including the Luanda and Nairobi dialogues, at times shouldering the blame that was entirely unjustified. Yet, time and again, the Congolese government has ignored or outrightly violated the agreements reached through these processes, with zero consequence. M23 has been clear in articulating their raison d’etre. They have repeatedly stated that their struggle is rooted in the fight for the rights and security of its people, Kinyarwanda-speaking Congolese, who have faced systemic discrimination, violence, and state-led marginalisation. If financial sanctions were truly the solution to this crisis, the suffering of eastern DR Congo’s population would have ended long ago. But Western governments, making decisions from Berlin and Ottawa with little understanding of the conflict’s history, continue to act in favor of Kinshasa without addressing the fundamental injustices fueling instability. The reality is that these decisions are not about peace, they are about securing economic interests. Western powers have a long history of leveraging African conflicts to maintain access to the DRC’s vast mineral wealth. In truth, many of them benefit from the very chaos they claim to want to resolve. Freezing financial assistance will do nothing to fix DR Congo’s governance failures, nor will it bring meaningful change to the lives of the millions caught in the crossfire. Real solutions require addressing the historical injustices at the heart of this crisis, not just making convenient diplomatic gestures.
