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Daniel Pacham
Rwanda has withdrawn its membership from the 11-nation Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), citing repeated violations of its rights as a member and failure by the regional bloc to adhere to its own foundational principles.
In a statement issued on Saturday, June 7, by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the government said it “sees no reason to maintain its membership in an organisation whose functioning is now contrary to its principles and its usefulness.”
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 rotational presidency, as provided for under Article 6 of the ECCAS Treaty, was deliberately ignored.
According to the new times, Rwanda said this move was intended to “impose DR Congo’s diktat,” suggesting that DR Congo with backing from some member states, is manipulating ECCAS mechanisms for its own political agenda.
“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, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Rwanda and Sao Tome and Principe.
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