The Government of Rwanda has announced that it has officially withdrawn from the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), citing manipulation of the bloc by the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) with the support of some member states.
The decision was confirmed in a statement released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The statement said:
“Rwanda is dismayed by the instrumentalization of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) by the DRC, aided by some member countries.”
Rwanda said these concerns were once again evident during the 26th Ordinary Summit of Heads of State held on Saturday in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea.
Rwanda was represented by Prime Minister Dr. Edouard Ngirente and was scheduled to assume the rotating leadership of the bloc from Equatorial Guinea, as provided for under Article 6 of the ECCAS charter. However, this transfer was blocked at the behest of the DRC.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MINAFFET) stated:
“Rwanda had raised these issues in a letter addressed to the Chairperson of the African Union, denouncing the illegal sidelining that occurred during the 22nd ECCAS summit held in Kinshasa in 2023, under the leadership of the DRC. The silence and inaction that followed highlighted the bloc’s inability to uphold its own legal framework.”
The statement added:
“Rwanda strongly objects to the blatant violation of its rights guaranteed by the ECCAS founding charter. As such, Rwanda sees no reason to remain part of an organization whose operations contradict its own principles.”
Rwanda’s exit comes after a meeting held on Thursday in Malabo between the foreign ministers of member states, where Equatorial Guinea’s Minister for Regional Integration, Lucas Abaga Nchama, attempted to mediate tensions between Rwanda and the DRC.
Due to ongoing tensions between the two nations, the DRC reportedly opposed Rwanda’s upcoming chairmanship of the bloc. Rwanda had earlier warned it might quit the organization if this happened, while Kinshasa also threatened to withdraw if Rwanda assumed leadership.
So far, neither the ECCAS Secretariat nor the African Union leadership has issued any comment on Rwanda’s decision.
ECCAS previously had 12 member countries: Angola, Congo-Brazzaville, DRC, Cameroon, Gabon, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Central African Republic, Rwanda, Burundi, and São Tomé & Príncipe.
