The Democratic Republic of Congo has filed a case against Rwanda at the International Court of Justice, accusing Kigali of plundering its mineral wealth and fuelling decades of violence in the eastern provinces. The case, lodged on Monday at the Peace Palace in The Hague, alleges that Rwanda has violated the UN Charter and several international treaties by supporting rebel groups, including the M23, which controls lucrative coltan and gold mining areas in North Kivu.
Congo’s legal team, led by the country’s minister of justice, argued that Rwanda has exploited the region’s instability to extract resources worth billions of dollars, directly contributing to the deaths of over 6 million people since 1996. The filing demands reparations and a permanent halt to what it calls “systematic looting” and “aggression.”
Rwanda has denied all allegations, calling the case a “diversion” from Congo’s failure to secure its own borders. Kigali’s foreign ministry stated that the ICJ has no jurisdiction and that Congo is deflecting from its own human rights abuses and collusion with the FDLR, a Rwandan Hutu rebel group operating in eastern Congo.
The case invokes the 1948 Genocide Convention and the 1965 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, reflecting the complex history of ethnic violence in the Great Lakes region. Congo’s lawyers presented satellite imagery and UN reports showing Rwandan troop presence on Congolese soil, as well as smuggling routes for conflict minerals used in smartphones and electric vehicles.
This marks the first time the ICJ has been asked to adjudicate a dispute tied directly to the global supply chain for critical minerals. Legal experts suggest the case could set a precedent for holding states accountable for resource wars, though it may take years to reach a verdict.
The hearings are expected to last until Friday, with Rwanda scheduled to present its preliminary objections on Wednesday. Meanwhile, fighting continues in eastern Congo, where the M23 has seized large swathes of territory this year, displacing hundreds of thousands of civilians.
Congo has also sought a parallel military intervention from the Southern African Development Community, but its primary strategy is now judicial. The outcome of this case will be closely watched by mining companies, human rights groups, and governments whose tech industries depend on Congolese minerals.
