On March 2, The United States announced sanctions ‌on Rwanda, alleging the Rwanda Defense Force and top military officials supported the M23 rebel group in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Rwanda’s government has denied involvement, saying the true facts of the conflict have been distorted. These sanctions come just three months after Congolese president Félix Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame signed the Washington Accords, driving towards peace. The meeting was hosted by U.S. President Donald Trump. However, since then, the M23 rebel group has taken capture of the city of Uriva in Congo. The United States’ decision to impose these sanctions was due to their belief that the M23 group would not have such strength and power if not from the support of Rwanda’s government. However, the sanctions may only create more conflict; if the U.S. truly wants to help, are sanctions truly the best next step? Should the U.S. attempt to mediate at all? 

The United States is more than familiar with conflicts that do not involve them. If President Trump believes he is attempting to find peace, he should await adequate evidence that the country of Rwanda is truly involved in supporting M23 before directly holding sanctions. This defensive nature is an automatic factor that leads to war. According to AP News, President Trump’s specific desire to be involved in such conflict comes from what Congo’s land can provided. Trump advocated for peace to secure critical minerals. This creates an advantage for Congo, who has a reason to remain allies with a country as strong as the United States—and a disadvantage for Rwanda. Trump arguably has no real desire in maintaining world peace, only maintaining his strength on a global scale. This is why efforts to maintain peace have come to a halt. According to BBC News, during Trump’s Washington According meeting, he also announced that Congo’s critical mineral reserves should be opened to the United States. This is a heavy display of imperialism. Also, Trump’s decision to announce this action is clearly a tactic to represent how strong the United States is continuing to make itself through foreign policy. This most likely was a driving force for the rebel group to reignite conflict.

I believe President Trump holding visa sanctions on Rwandan military officials—and the country itself—is a war tactic. I believe he should withdraw these sanctions and instead hold another meeting prepared with evidence and questions, specifically for Rwanda, to get a better understanding if the country is truly supporting the M23 rebel group and their vicious actions against the people of Congo. Even more so, the U.S. should call for the Rwandan president to directly condemn the group. An even more secure method would be to let the United Nations settle peace talks. The United Nations would be an unbiased, third-party member that is better suited for settling disputes such as this in areas of international law, distancing the settlement from potentially conflicting U.S. interests.