A window into what we’re reading at the Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security Program
EU Parliament Suspends Rwandan Critical Mineral Pact Over Links to DRC Conflict (Mongabay)
Rwanda and the DRC both have large reserves of critical minerals essential to the clean energy transition. Yet the EU has voted to suspend a cooperation agreement on mineral extraction in the region after the Rwandan-backed rebel group M23 seized key areas in the DRC’s eastern provinces.
The illicit mineral trade has driven persistent conflict and poverty in both countries, with around 6 million deaths occurring there over the past 30 years. Armed groups rely on rural poverty to…