Rwandan Parliament Condemns European Parliament Resolution on Eastern DRC Crisis

21 February 2025 – Kigali, Rwanda: The Rwandan Parliament has strongly condemned the European Parliament’s resolution (2025/2553 (RSP)) of 13 February2025, criticizing what it describes as a prejudiced and incomplete narrative regarding the ongoing security crisis in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

In a resolution passed on 21 February 2025, Rwandan lawmakers denounced the European Parliament’s failure to acknowledge the root causes of instability in eastern DRC and Rwanda’s legitimate security concerns, particularly in relation to the activities of the Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda (FDLR), a militant group composed of those responsible for the1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.

According to the Rwandan Parliament, the crisis in eastern DRC is deeply rooted in colonial legacies, including arbitrary border demarcations and forced displacements that left many Kinyarwanda-speaking communities within Congolese territory.

Governance failures, the lawmakers argue, have exacerbated existing ethnic tensions, particularly against Congolese Tutsi populations, who continue to face displacement, massacres, and persecution.

“The Congolese Government has failed to protect these communities, instead fostering hate speech and supporting armed groups that have carried out atrocities against them,” the resolution states.

Rwanda is currently hosting approximately 100,000 Congolese refugees who fled this violence.

Rwanda’s Parliament outlined serious security threats posed by the DRC Government, accusing Kinshasa of forming a coalition aimed at destabilizing Rwanda. This coalition, it says, includes:- FDLR militants, who are reportedly now integrated into the Congolese army (FARDC).- Ethnic militias known as Wazalendo.- Burundian forces.- European mercenaries.- The Southern African Development Community Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (SAMIDRC).

The resolution highlighted incidents of cross-border attacks allegedly orchestrated by the FDLR with the complicity of the DRC Government, including deadly shelling in Rubavu on 26 January 2025, which killed 16 people and left 177 injured.

The Rwandan Parliament also warned of an increasing militarization of the Congolese side of the border, citing reports that the Kinshasa coalition had:

1. Stockpiled heavy weaponry, including drones, guided missiles, and mortars.

2. Dug trenches facing Rwanda in anticipation of a military confrontation.

3. Developed battle plans for a large-scale attack on Rwanda.

The lawmakers specifically criticized the EU for failing to condemn the FDLR and overlooking atrocities committed against Congolese Tutsi communities, including acts of lynching, cannibalization, and hate speech.

“The European Parliament’s silence on these atrocities is deeply troubling and only serves to embolden those responsible for ethnic persecution and violence,” the resolution stated.

Rwandan lawmakers emphasized that resolving the crisis in eastern DRC primarily requires political will from the Congolese Government. They called for regional solutions grounded in accountability and good governance rather than external influence that, they argue, exacerbates tensions.