WECF strongly condemns the invasion of Goma by the M23 rebels and the violence in North and South Kivu.

The escalation of violence since January 2025 in Eastern DRC is displacing hundreds of thousands of civilians, with women and children facing disproportionate risk from hunger, and sexual and gender-based violence. 

Working in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) with four civil society partner organisations – two of which are based in Goma – we, WECF, stand in solidarity with the Congolese people and express our utter dismay at the unimaginable violence and exacerbated humanitarian crisis. The ongoing conflict in DRC has long been characterised by the use of rape and sexual violence as weapons of war, abductions, recruitment of child soldiers, murder and mutilation. Hundreds of thousands of people in the region have been once again forcibly displaced and lack food, water, access to healthcare and sanitation. A majority are women and girls, who face appalling levels of sexual and gender-based violence. 

It is urgent that all parties take immediate measures to cease the conflict and the serious human rights abuses. This should include measures by trading partners such as the EU and China to exert pressure on Rwanda and other actors in the region to put an end to the violence, respect international human rights commitments, sovereignty and territorial integrity. They must also provide immediate protection and humanitarian aid to all civilians, and in particular to women and girls. 

Much of the violence is driven by competing demand for DRC’s wealth of critical minerals and metals. These materials are crucial to the energy and digital transitions, as they are used in components of electric cars, wind turbines, smartphones and other technologies. Analysts have highlighted that the lack of decisive international action and intervention, in particular from the EU, likely stems from a fear of disrupting that mineral supply chain, with the bloc having signed a controversial agreement with Rwanda for strategic raw materials in 2024.  

Extraction of these minerals carries an immense human cost – not least to marginalised groups including women, children and Indigenous peoples – as well as a huge environmental cost. Besides fueling the conflict, there have been countless cases of fatalities, sexual assault and forced and child labour in illegal mines, and people are subject to land grabbing. Equally, mining is driving catastrophic deforestation in the second largest rainforest on earth, increasing biodiversity loss and having a harmful impact on the climate. 

WECF is deeply committed to the need for the energy transition, working with its global network partners towards feminist and locally-owned just energy solutions. We advocate for a feminist and human rights-based approach towards key EU initiatives such as the Green Deal, Global Gateway, Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) and others. However, it cannot be accepted that trade and investment agreements (supposedly for a just transition) take priority over the lives and wellbeing of people in the North and South Kivu region.  

We call on the EU to take urgent measures and address the negative impacts of its trade and investment agreements; to support the UN and civil society organisations;and to protect the human rights of people in the conflict areas of DRC. As WECF, we will continue to support our partners in Goma and across the DRC in their tireless work to protect Indigenous peoples, women and girls, and we call on all to contribute to local feminist organisations such as CFLEDD which are organising support for the civilian populations around Goma.