F.M. ON DRC CRISIS: 'RWANDAN EXCEPTION TO INT'L LAW'

Is there a 'Rwandan exception' to international law? According to the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC) foreign minister, Therese Kayikwamba Wagner, there seems to be one at the UN Security Council.

Her remarks came just a day before Rwandan-backed M23 forces entered North Kivu province’s capital city of Goma in the DRC’s mineral-rich east on 27 January. The United States has long maintained that Rwanda backs the M23 rebels, and a June 2024 UN report produced by experts who conducted ‘on-site inspections’ points to solid evidence of the Rwanda-M23 connection.

But, if Rwanda is behind M23, then who is behind Rwanda? That would be the United States, a UNSC permanent member with veto rights. The US gave Rwanda $175 million in aid in 2023 alone. Meanwhile, the world's eight-wealthiest person, billionaire Warren Buffett, has been close with Rwandan President Paul Kagame for years, spending $435 million to support the country since 2000 through the Buffett Foundation.

So, why do billionaires and imperialist states support Rwanda? Well, Kagame admitted in 2022 that Congolese minerals are smuggled into Rwanda, largely through warfare, and then get exported to companies based in powerful industrialised countries. Or in Kagame's direct words, ‘Some people go through Congo, whether they smuggle or go through the right channels. They bring minerals. But most of it goes through here. It does not stay here. It goes to Dubai. It goes to Brussels. It goes to Tel Aviv. It goes to Russia. It used to go to Russia. I don't know if it still goes there.’

In other words, the US, other countries, the billionaire class, and other major players back Kagame’s Rwanda. In turn, Rwanda arms and trains M23 rebels, who wreak havoc in the DRC. In the midst of the fighting, resources are funnelled into Rwanda and from there, they are distributed worldwide and into the hands of billionaires.

So, this might be the Rwandan exception to international law.

Sources:

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckgyzl1mlkvo

https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2022/08/05/confidential-un-report-provides-solid-evidence-of-rwanda-s-involvement-in-the-east-drc_5992599_4.html

https://usun.usmission.gov/remarks-at-a-un-security-council-briefing-on-the-situation-concerning-the-democratic-republic-of-the-congo-3/

https://www.usaid.gov/rwanda/history-usaidrwanda

https://www.fpri.org/article/2024/10/toward-a-balanced-approach-how-should-the-us-engage-with-an-increasingly-powerful-rwanda

https://science.time.com/2013/12/19/q-and-a-with-rwandan-president-paul-kagame-and-howard-buffett/

https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2022-8-9-inside-the-howard-g-buffett-foundations-big-bet-on-rwanda

https://www.forbes.com/real-time-billionaires/#588200c93d78