Kinshasa, June 8th, 2025 (CPA) – Rwanda, indexed by the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) for its aggression, decided on Saturday to leave this organization, according to a statement from its Ministry in charge of Foreign Affairs relayed on Sunday by the media. ‘Rwanda denounces the instrumentalisation of ECCAS by the Democratic Republic of Congo, with the support of certain member states (…) Consequently, Rwanda sees no justification for remaining within an organization whose current operation runs counter to its own founding principles’, the document noted. After the Equatorial Guinea presidency, Kigali was due to take over the rotating presidency of the sub-regional organization. But the DRC had announced that it would ‘strongly oppose’ the transfer of the rotating presidency to Rwanda, an aggressor country that has been blamed for massive human rights violations in the eastern part of Lumumba’s country. ‘The Conference deferred the transfer of the rotating presidency of the Community to the Republic of Rwanda to another time and consequently decided to maintain His Excellency Obiang Nguema Mbasogo as acting president of the Community for a further period of one year’, concluded the final communiqué of the 28th summit attended by seven ECCAS heads of state. ‘The summit was held against the backdrop of UN Security Council Resolution 2773, which explicitly cited Kagame’s country as a ‘direct supporter’ of M23 and demanded its withdrawal from Congolese territory. In February 2025, ECCAS called for the ‘immediate withdrawal of the Rwandan Defense Forces from Congolese territory’, and reiterated its support for the Luanda and Nairobi peace processes. The DRC’s recent appointments include a place as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and a post as Vice-President of the 80th Session of the UN General Assembly, which begins on 9 September this year.
Until Kigali’s decision to walk out, ECCAS comprised Angola, Gabon, Congo Brazzaville, Cameroon, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Central African Republic, Sao Tome and Principe, Burundi, Rwanda and the DRC.