Rwanda withdraws from Economic Community of Central African States

Rwanda has announced its withdrawal from the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), accusing the organisation of being manipulated by the Democratic Republic of Congo with backing from some member states and failing to uphold its core principles. In a statement released on Saturday, June 7, by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the government said “Rwanda sees no justification for remaining in an organization whose current functioning runs counter to its founding principles and intended purpose." The turning point, according to the Foreign Affairs M

Rwanda has announced its withdrawal from the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), accusing the organisation of being manipulated by the Democratic Republic of Congo with backing from some member states and failing to uphold its core principles. In a statement released on Saturday, June 7, by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the government said “Rwanda sees no justification for remaining in an organization whose current functioning runs counter to its founding principles and intended purpose." The turning point, according to the Foreign Affairs Ministry, was the 26th Ordinary Summit of ECCAS held in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, on June 7, where Rwanda’s right to assume the rotating Chairmanship, stipulated in Article 6 of the Treaty, was deliberately ignored in order to impose the DRC's diktat. “Rwanda denounces the questioning of its rights guaranteed by the constitutive texts of ECCAS,” reads part of the statement. Rwanda also recalled its previous protest for being excluded from the 22nd Summit in 2023, held in Kinshasa under the presidency of DR Congo. At the time, the government addressed a letter to the sitting Chairperson of the African Union, denouncing the exclusion as illegal. “The silence and inaction that followed confirm the organisation’s failure to enforce its own rules,” the Ministry noted. “Rwanda deplores the instrumentalisation of ECCAS by DR Congo, with the support of certain member states." Established in 1983 and with headquarters in Gabon, ECCAS brings together 11 countries; Angola, Burundi, Cameroon,  Democratic Republic of Congo , Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Rwanda and Sao Tome and Principe.