Rwanda is in “command and control” of M23 rebels in the eastern
Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda has “unilaterally
doubled its military presence” in the DRC, and armed groups –
including those aligned to the Congolese government – are
committing rights violations against civilians, according to a
group of United Nations experts.
An as-yet unpublished report from UN experts on DRC that was
leaked to the media and seen by Al Jazeera describes violations
by all parties to the conflict and blames neighbouring
governments for allegedly exploiting and escalating the current
crisis.
The report was submitted to the UN Security Council in May, the
Reuters news agency reported. It is expected to be released
soon, a UN expert who contributed to the report told Al Jazeera
on condition of anonymity, without specifying a date.
While analysts see these reports as an essential tool of
accountability, Kigali and Kampala have called the experts
biased.
Neither government replied to Al Jazeera’s request for comment
about the contents of the report, but both have repeatedly
denied the accusations levelled against them.
Meanwhile, the new findings risk putting a damper on the
cautious optimism garnered by the signing of a peace deal
between Rwanda and the DRC in the US last month, and ongoing
Qatar-mediated peace talks between Kinshasa and M23.
For years, M23, which the UN says is backed by Rwanda – a
charge Kigali denies – has been embroiled in conflict with the
Congolese army and its allied militias known as Wazalendo.
Early this year, M23 made rapid advances, seizing control of
Goma and Bukavu, the capitals of North Kivu and South Kivu,
respectively, which it still holds today.
The latest UN experts report – the first since M23’s advance –
offers a stark assessment of the conflict, placing blame on
Rwanda for facilitating the rapid expansion of the rebel
forces.
Rwanda is providing “critical support” to M23, which takes
“instructions” from Rwanda’s government and intelligence
services, said the report.
In previous reports, the UN experts found there were some
3,000-4,000 Rwandan troops fighting alongside M23 in the DRC.
“One week prior to the [M23] Goma attack, Rwandan officials
confidentially informed the Group [of experts] that President
Paul Kagame had decided to imminently take control of Goma and
Bukavu,” the new report alleged.
Rwanda has repeatedly denied backing M23, while Kigali has
sharply criticised the UN experts.
“These reports were written long ago,” President Paul Kagame
said at a news conference in Kigali on July 4, after the
contents of the report started circulating in international
media.
“They come here just to confirm a narrative they already had,”
the Rwandan leader said about the UN panel of experts.
Kagame likened the experts to an arsonist who torches a house
but also acts as both judge and prosecutor. “The very ones who
burned the [house] are the ones in the seat to judge and
prosecute.”
The report by UN experts, however, only reasserted its
criticism of Kigali.
The Rwandan army’s “de facto direction and effective control”
over M23’s operations “render Rwanda liable for the actions” of
the group, the report said, arguing that Rwanda’s conduct meets
the threshold for international sanctions.
Last month’s US-brokered deal between the DRC and Rwanda does
not include M23, but it stipulates that all parties should
comply with the Qatar peace process. It also highlights that
the Congolese government should facilitate the disengagement of
the armed group, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of
Rwanda (FDLR), which was established by Hutus linked to the
killings of Tutsis in the 1994 Rwanda genocide. Rwanda should
then lift its “defensive measures” inside the DRC, the
agreement said.
While Kigali has often argued that its actions in the DRC are
aimed at addressing longstanding security threats posed by the
FDLR, the UN experts assert that its actions went far beyond
legitimate security concerns.
The experts noted that “the final objective of Kigali was to
control the territory of the DRC and its natural resources.”
Their report details how minerals, including coltan, were
looted from mines in towns seized by M23, then smuggled into
Rwanda. “Once in Rwanda, the looted minerals were mixed with
local production, effectively laundering them into the
downstream supply chain under the guise of Rwandan origin,” the
report said.
Part of the minerals smuggled to Rwanda were purchased by Boss
Mining Solutions Inc, represented by Eddy Habimana, who has
previously been implicated in the illegal trafficking of
minerals from the DRC, the report added.
Beyond Rwanda, the report also outlines violations of
international law by another neighbour, Uganda.
Amid the Rwanda/M23–DRC fighting, there was a “rapid military
build-up” by the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) in North
Kivu and Ituri provinces, the report said.
Troops significantly increased this year “effectively doubling
Uganda’s footprint in the country”, it added.
The Ugandan army, which has conducted joint operations with the
Congolese military against the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF),
a rebel movement with origins in Uganda, since 2023,
“unilaterally” increased its troop presence in eastern DRC, the
report added.
“The DRC government confirmed that the new UPDF deployment was
executed without its prior approval, and that UPDF was
undertaking unilateral initiatives outside the framework of
joint operations with the [Congolese army],” the report read.
The deployment, according to the panel of experts, raised
questions about Kampala’s motives, particularly given past
allegations of UPDF support to M23. While Uganda claimed the
troop movements were defensive and aimed at securing its
economic interests, the report says their positioning created a
de facto buffer zone that shielded M23 from northern
counterattacks.
In response, Uganda’s ambassador to the UN, Adonia Ayebare,
wrote on X that the report “contains falsehoods” and attempts
to undermine the joint military operation with the DRC. He said
Uganda will make an official statement after publication of the
report.
General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, Uganda’s army commander also
posted on X, saying: “While the UN so called ‘Group of Experts’
writes biased reports against us, we (UPDF) continue to save
the lives of human beings in our region.”
The report by the UN experts had called out “repeated
incendiary public statements” by Kainerugaba in which they said
he emphasised close cooperation between the UPDF and the
Rwandan army.
The report also accused Thomas Lubanga, a former ICC convict
living in Kampala, of forming a politico-military movement to
oppose the Congolese government, “with at least moral and
passive endorsement from the Ugandan authorities”.
However, addressing journalists in Kampala on July 16, Lubanga
said he is in forced exile because of persecution by Kinshasa,
and if his movement had been receiving support from Uganda, it
“would find itself on Kinshasa’s doorstep today”.
Kristof Titeca, a professor at the University of Antwerp who
recently published a report on Uganda’s operations in DRC,
urges readers to view the UN report and the backlash it has
provoked in the context of regional dynamics.
Kigali and Kampala share overlapping interests in the DRC –
chiefly concerning security, political influence, and economic
access – but these interests also place them in a complex
relationship of both cooperation and competition, he said.
Titeca argues that the resurgence and rapid expansion of M23
was, in part, triggered by Kigali’s fear that Kampala might
encroach on its influence in eastern DRC after Uganda allowed
its soldiers to enter DRC in pursuit of the ADF.
As M23 gained ground towards the end of 2024, Uganda reacted
with troop deployments, particularly aimed at preventing the
rebels – and by extension, Rwanda – from entering areas it sees
as its sphere of interest.
Titeca says the military manoeuvres were as much a strategic
message to Rwanda as they were about protecting Ugandan
interests.
Drawing from movements and postures observed since late 2024,
Titeca suggests that Kigali and Kampala may have an implicit
understanding of their respective zones of influence.
“Some people think there might be some agreement between
Kampala and Kigali on their area of interest,” he said.
In eastern DRC, “they are friends and also enemies at the same
time,” he added, referring to Uganda and Rwanda.
For the UN experts, Kinshasa bears some responsibility, too. On
the Congolese side, the report paints a picture of a state
under siege, struggling to maintain sovereignty over its
eastern territories.
The government continued to rely heavily on irregular Wazalendo
groups, and on the FDLR, despite the latter being under UN
sanctions, as proxies in its fight against M23 and the Rwandan
army.
While strategic, the report says, this alliance has worsened
the security and human rights situation, contributing to
reprisal attacks, child recruitment and sexual violence.
As it called out M23’s actions during the taking of Goma and
Bukavu, the report also documented a pattern of grave
international humanitarian law and rights violations –
including looting, sexual violence, and killings – by
retreating Congolese soldiers and Wazalendo fighters at the
same time.
“These abuses occurred in a climate of impunity, in the general
context of a weakening chain of command,” it said.
Al Jazeera sought a response to these claims from the Congolese
government, but received no reply.
In dismissing the report, the Rwandan president accused the
panel of perpetuating a biased narrative against Kigali and of
ignoring Congolese government complicity with the FDLR, which
he says continues to spread anti-Tutsi views that led to the
1994 genocide.
“All the reports, 75 percent of them, blame AFC/M23 and
Rwanda,” Kagame said at the July 4 news conference. “You will
find they never write anything comprehensive about FDLR or how
Congolese institutions spread hate and genocide ideology. How
can experts not see that?”
Speaking to Al Jazeera, Rwandan analyst Thierry Gatete echoed
Kagame’s criticisms, questioning the credibility of the UN
panel and alleging that they rarely conduct field research.
“They sit in New York or Paris and rely on testimonies from
Congolese officials or FDLR sympathisers,” he said.
The report notes that Rwanda denied the group of experts access
to Kigali. However, Gatete says Rwanda initially cooperated
with the panel but later gave up because the reports were
consistently biased and, in his view, inconsequential. “Nobody
takes what they write seriously,” he said.
While Rwanda and Uganda view the UN reports as biased, others
see them as essential tools for accountability.
Stewart Muhindo, a researcher with Congolese civil society
group LUCHA, said the panel provides critical evidence that
challenges both state and non-state actors.
“The panel tells hard truths,” he noted, pointing out that the
report also criticises the DRC government for its continued
collaboration with the FDLR, despite promises to end the
alliance. “It’s not just about blaming Rwanda.”
Muhindo also agrees with UN experts that the DRC’s reliance on
Wazalendo fighters has exacerbated the humanitarian crisis.
These irregular forces, though not sanctioned like the FDLR,
have been implicated in atrocities, including attacks on
civilians and the recruitment of child soldiers, he said.
“Despite ongoing peacemaking initiatives, efforts to stabilise
the region continue to face significant challenges,” the UN
experts said in the report. “Civilians bore the brunt of the
conflict, enduring widespread displacement, insecurity, and
grave violations of international humanitarian and human rights
law.”