Rwanda gains nothing from insecure DRC

Author: Samson Kasujja

• 2023-10-23 05:30:00

In June 2022, Tshisekedi suspended all prior agreements with Rwanda, and accused the latter of supporting the M23 rebels. Kigali has denied the allegations but Kinshasa, being in denial about what ails it, refuses to look inward and confront its demons – endemic bad leadership, corruption, and more.

Rwanda’s foreign policy has, for long, been clear on the need for good relations with other countries, especially neighboring ones.

The country engages other sovereign states with mutual respect, equality and complementarity, good neighborliness, respect of territorial integrity of other states, noninterference in internal affairs of other countries, promotion and protection of mutual national interests, among other considerations.

Unfortunately, one neighboring country, the  Democratic Republic of Congo – marked by political instability for almost three decades – has continuously opted to blame Rwanda for its own failures.

From the presidency of Mobutu Sese Seko, Laurent-Désiré Kabila, Joseph Kabila, to the incumbent Félix Tshisekedi, bilateral relations between Kinshasa and Kigali have always been bad or on and off.

Does Rwanda gain from an insecure DRC? No! Insecurity in eastern DRC has affected Rwanda in various ways. First, insecurity there created a safe haven for the FDLR genocidal militia which aims at destabilizing Rwanda. From there, the FDLR plotted and applied attacks on Rwandan soil on different occasions, killing civilians and damaging properties.

The FDLR uses its base in eastern DRC to spread genocide ideology in the great lakes region. This has fueled hate speech and resulted in the persecution of the Congolese Tutsi. The FDLR is a security threat to both countries and the region in general.

Rwanda wants a safe and secure eastern DRC, without the threat of the genocide ideology.

The existence of FDLR and more than 260 other armed groups in eastern DRC has led to continuing influxes of Congolese refugees to Rwanda. Over 80,000 Congolese refugees live in Rwanda. Some have spent more than 20 years in Rwandan refugee camps. Rwanda would be happy to see these refugees returning to their homeland, but they cannot go back while their security concerns remain unsolved.

Rwanda and neighboring DRC have lots of common interests including trans-border trade and investment, among others. The 2022 World Bank report observed that the DRC was a growing trade opportunity for Rwanda; DRC is Rwanda’s biggest regional trading partner.

By 2019, Rwanda had exported more goods to DRC than to other East African Community countries. The main exports to DRC included livestock and food crops, but cross-border trade in services, such as finance, transportation, and wholesale trading, were also important according the report.

Insecurity has been a serious hindrance to this growing trade opportunity, ruining interests of the populations from both countries.

Rwanda gains nothing from an insecure DRC and has reaffirmed its steadfast support for regional mechanisms.

Before the current conflict in eastern DRC erupted, the two neighboring countries had a bilateral air service agreement in the aviation sector, facilitating RwandAir flights to Kinshasa. Kigali and Kinshasa had also started discussions focused on extending aviation services and a standard gauge railway project.

The Rwandan government fully understands the peace dividend, having worked so hard to develop the country after suffering the loss and destruction caused by the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.

Kigali craves for peace and security in the region so that it can consolidate its development gains, and make faster progress.