As renewed fighting erupts in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo just days after a U.S.-brokered peace and critical minerals agreement was signed on December 4, Congolese democracy leader Dr. Justin B. Mudekereza is warning that Washington’s minerals-for-security strategy may be dangerously misreading the realities on the ground.
“The West continues to misunderstand the mineral ecosystem in the DRC,” Mudekereza says. “You cannot extract stability from a system built on conflict, corruption, and exclusion — no matter how strategically important cobalt and copper may be.”
Mudekereza, a former 2023 DRC presidential candidate and founder of Rescue Democracy International, argues that the Trump administration’s deal with the DRC and Rwanda risks intensifying regional instability, undermining democratic legitimacy, and threatening the very supply chains it aims to secure.
His warning comes as armed violence resurges in South Kivu despite the newly signed agreement, global demand for Congolese cobalt and copper accelerates amid intensifying U.S.–China competition, and lingering allegations over the legitimacy of Congo’s 2023 elections remain unresolved, raising serious questions about whether political instability is being baked into the world’s most critical mineral supply chains.
“Critical minerals are being treated as neutral commodities,” Mudekereza says. “In the Congo, they are political weapons. Any deal that ignores governance and human rights will fail and it will fail violently.”
The DRC supplies over 70% of the world’s cobalt, a mineral essential to electric vehicles, defense systems, and advanced electronics. Mudekereza warns that instability in Congo does not stay local, it ripples through global manufacturing, energy transitions, and national security planning.
In a newly released analysis drawing on his experience inside Congolese politics, Mudekereza outlines:
How mineral-backed security deals historically fuel elite capture and militia financing
Why external guarantees cannot substitute for domestic democratic legitimacy
The long-term risks to U.S. companies relying on Congolese supply chains
Alternative approaches centered on governance reform, transparency, and civilian protection
“The United States is betting on minerals to deliver security,” he says. “History shows the opposite happens in the Congo.”
About Dr. Justin B. Mudekereza
Dr. Mudekereza is a Congolese human rights activist, former presidential candidate, and President & Founder of Rescue Democracy International. A survivor of torture who fled the DRC in 2006, he has spent nearly two decades documenting governance failures, election manipulation, and the human cost of resource exploitation. He is the author of multiple works on democracy and human rights and has been recognized by Marquis Who’s Who for his humanitarian leadership.
His latest book, Critical Minerals, Dangerous Ties, expands on these warnings and is available for policymakers, journalists, and researchers seeking deeper analysis.
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Dr. Justin B. Mudekereza
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Website: https://justinmudekereza.com