Source: European Parliament
Question for written answer E-002210/2025/rev.1
to the Commission
Rule 144
Jorge Martín Frías (PfE), Jorge Buxadé Villalba (PfE), Hermann Tertsch (PfE), Margarita de la Pisa Carrión (PfE)
In February 2024, the EU signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Rwanda on sustainable raw materials value chains under the Global Gateway initiative, promising over EUR 900 million in investment. This agreement aims to ensure the supply of minerals that are critical for the energy transition (tin, tungsten, tantalum, gold, niobium, lithium and rare earths).
Many reports have indicated that some of these resources are mined in territories in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) that are controlled by the Rwandan-backed armed group M23, which has been accused of serious human rights violations, such as kidnappings, torture, rapes and killings, including systematic attacks on Christians.
In view of this, could the Commission answer the following questions:
Does it guarantee that this agreement does not, either directly or indirectly, contribute to financing or legitimising M23’s activities or to exacerbating the persecution of Christians and other human rights violations in DRC? If yes, what measures is it taking to ensure that this is so?
Submitted: 3.6.2025