DRC: M23 fighters abused miners and trafficked gold and coltan to Rwanda

Key Points:

• Rwanda-backed M23 fighters in eastern DRC have committed severe human rights abuses against artisanal miners, including summary killings, torture, forced labor, and recruitment, potentially amounting to war crimes, according to Amnesty International.
• M23 controls numerous mines in North and South Kivu, tightly restricting access and collaborating with Rwandan individuals who participate in abuses and facilitate trafficking of gold and coltan into Rwanda, fueling illegal profits for Rwanda.
• Amnesty International documents that gold and coltan are smuggled from M23-controlled mining sites in DRC into Rwanda via established routes, implicating Rwanda in the pillage of DRC’s mineral resources and possible international criminal responsibility.
• The organization calls on the African Union, international actors, and corporations to halt purchases of minerals linked to M23 abuses until Rwanda proves it has ended involvement in trafficking and abuses, urging full independent oversight of mining operations.
• Amnesty warns that companies buying minerals from Rwanda risk complicity in war crimes due to the documented abuses and trafficking, emphasizing the need for corporate accountability throughout the supply chain to prevent human rights violations.