EU Imposes Sanctions On Eight People For Instigating Violence In Eastern DRC

The European Union (EU) has imposed sanctions on eight people for instigating violence and human rights abuses in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), reported The East African.

On Thursday, the EU said it added eight people to its list of sanctions over violence in the conflict-wracked eastern region. It also extended existing sanctions against nine others for one year until December 12, 2023.

The eight listed individuals include five members of various armed groups (M23, ADF, CODECO, FDLR and Mai-Mai Yakatumba), a Congolese politician, a member of the Congolese army, and Belgian businessman Alain Goetz.

Some of them have been sanctioned for serious human rights violations and abuses and for sustaining the armed conflict in the DRC including Willy Ngoma, the military spokesman for the M23. Others have been listed for inciting violence and exploiting the conflict through the illicit exploitation or trade of natural resources.

In total, 17 individuals have come under the European body’s restrictive measures, which consist of a travel ban and an asset freeze. Furthermore, EU citizens and companies are banned from making funds available to those listed.

The EU sanctions have been announced after the United States (US) in March sanctioned Goetz and his Uganda-based African Gold Refinery for the illicit movement of gold valued at hundreds of millions of dollars per year.

The European Union said that its measures are part of an integrated approach to support the DRC authorities’ efforts to establish a lasting peace and stabilise the eastern part of the country.

The Council has said that it will continue to closely monitor the situation in the country and may consider further restrictive measures as and when needed.

In related news, Belgium on Friday told Rwanda to cease all assistance to the M23 rebels fighting in DR Congo, after a UN probe said the group had massacred 131 civilians last month.