In a strongly worded statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Rwanda accused the DRC, supported by certain ECCAS member states, of instrumentalising the regional bloc for its own political agenda. The move, according to Rwanda, became evident during the 26th Ordinary Summit held on Saturday in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea.
Rwanda says that during the summit, its rightful turn to assume the rotating chairmanship of the organisation, as stipulated under Article 6 of the ECCAS Treaty, was deliberately bypassed in favour of the DRC.
Kigali described the development as a continuation of a pattern of exclusion and disregard for the rules governing the community.
'The distortion of the organisation's purpose was once again evident... where Rwanda's right to assume the rotating Chairmanship... was deliberately ignored in order to impose the DRC's diktat,' the statement read.
This is not the first time Rwanda has raised concerns over its treatment within ECCAS. The government referenced a letter previously addressed to the Chairperson of the African Union in which it protested its 'illegal exclusion' from the 22nd Summit held in Kinshasa in 2023, under DRC's presidency. The letter, Rwanda said, went unanswered and no corrective action was taken by the community.
Citing a consistent violation of its rights under ECCAS's constitutive texts and a lack of institutional accountability, Rwanda concluded there is 'no justification for remaining in an organisation whose current functioning runs counter to its founding principles and intended purpose.'
Established in 1983 and headquartered in Gabon, ECCAS brings together 11 countries: Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Rwanda, and São Tomé and Príncipe.
Rwanda's withdrawal marks a major shift in the region's diplomatic landscape, particularly at a time when relations between Rwanda and the DRC remain tense due to broader geopolitical and security concerns in the Great Lakes region. While the M23 rebel movement continues to tighten its grip in North and South Kivu provinces of eastern DRC, Rwanda has repeatedly raised concerns over the Congolese government's collaborations with FDLR, a group formed by the remnants of the perpetrators of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
Kigali maintains that the Congolese army's continued engagement with the FDLR not only undermines regional peace efforts but also contravenes multiple agreements aimed at dismantling genocidal forces operating in the region. Rwanda views this alliance as an existential threat to its national security and stability.
Kinshasa, on the other hand, continues to accuse Rwanda of supporting the M23 rebel group's offensives. Kigali has repeatedly dismissed the allegations, insisting that they serve to deflect attention from the real issue, which is the DRC's failure to address the presence of armed groups within its territory.
Wycliffe Nyamasege
Source : https://en.igihe.com/news/article/rwanda-pulls-out-of-eccas
