For three decades, the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has been the scene of one of the world’s worst genocides, with over six million deaths, nearly half of whom were under the age of five, and seven million people displaced. A country rich in minerals such as gold, copper, diamonds and coltan (used in the manufacture of mobile phones), whose citizens live in poverty and in a state of war and constant, widespread human rights abuses.
Currently, the occupation of the cities of Goma and Bukavu by the armed group M23 has led to summary executions, systematic sexual violence and forced labour. Reports from the UN and Human Rights Watch point to the direct involvement of the Rwandan army in M23 operations, as well as the forced recruitment of children for combat and mining duties. Mineral extraction continues to fuel the conflict. 90% of Congolese gold is smuggled into Rwanda and Uganda, and control of the Rubaya mines, which produce 15% of the world’s coltan, nets the M23 some $800,000 a month in illegal taxes.
The international community maintains a silent complicity with the Kagame regime, considered a strategic ally of the West. The agreement signed by the US government in February 2026 facilitates access to coltan and tantalum deposits in the Congo, minerals essential to the technology industry. Companies such as Apple, Tesla and Microsoft depend on these materials, extracted under conditions of modern slavery in mines controlled by armed groups. Rwanda, which has no significant reserves of these minerals, has become the world’s leading exporter of coltan thanks to smuggling from Congolese territory.
In the face of Western governments’ complicity, the people must take action. A strategic boycott of Apple, Tesla and Microsoft over their extractive practices in the Congo has the potential to cost them millions, as was the case with the boycott of companies complicit in the Palestinian genocide. The demand for our governments to sever trade ties with Rwanda and impose sanctions must be heard on the streets. One example of collective action against the Congolese genocide was the international “Don’t Visit Rwanda” campaign, which succeeded in exposing the Rwandan government’s image laundering, as it sponsored European football clubs such as Arsenal, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain. In November 2025, Arsenal terminated its contract with the Rwandan tourism brand following pressure from organised citizens.
References
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World Without Genocide. Democratic Republic of the Congo.
worldwithoutgenocide.org/genocides-and-conflicts/congo -
Human Rights Watch. World Report 2026 – Democratic Republic of Congo.
https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2026/country-chapters/democratic-republic-congo -
The Oakland Institute. Shafted: The Scramble fuere Critical Minerals in the DRC.
https://www.oaklandinstitute.org/report/shafted -
Naciones Unidas (ONU). Informes del Grupo de Expertos sobre la RDC (2025–2026).
https://www.un.org/securitycouncil/sanctions/1533 -
Cambridge University Press. (Don’t) Visit Rwanda: Rwanda’s Sportswashing and Its Western Facilitators
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/african-studies-review/article/dont-visit-rwanda-rwandas-sportswashing-and-its-western-facilitators/A4B0637D5E9A79990D61AC476D7B1781
