The Democratic Republic of Congo has called on Arsenal, Bayern Munich and Paris St-Germain to end their “blood stained” sponsorship deals with Visit Rwanda amid a worsening humanitarian crisis in the country.
The appeal comes as M23 rebels captured Goma, the largest city in eastern DR Congo, while the United Nations refugee agency estimates more than 400,000 people have been forced from their homes this year.
A group of UN experts maintains the Rwandan army is in “de facto control of M23 operations”.
DR Congo’s Foreign Minister Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner has written to the owners of Arsenal and PSG and to Bayern president Herbert Hainer to “question the morality” of the deals.
She highlighted how Visit Rwanda’s sponsorship could be funded by the illicit mining of blood minerals in the occupied parts of DR Congo, before being transported across the border and exported from Rwanda.
In her letter to Arsenal, Kayikwamba Wagner stated that Rwanda’s “culpability” for the ongoing conflict “has become incontrovertible” after the UN reported that 4,000 Rwandan troops are active in the DRC.
“It is time Arsenal ended its blood-stained sponsorship deals with this oppressor nation. If not for your own consciences, then the clubs should do it for the victims of Rwandan aggression,” she wrote.
Arsenal, PSG, Bayern Munich and Visit Rwanda have been contacted for comment.
Why are the Visit Rwanda deals controversial?
The Visit Rwanda campaign has successfully raised the East African country’s profile but Rwanda’s government has been accused of investing in sport to enhance its global image – a strategy labelled by critics as ‘sportswashing’.
A sleeve partnership with Arsenal began in 2018, with the latest sponsorship reported to be worth more than £10m ($12.39 million) per year.
A sponsorship with PSG was agreed the following year, and Bayern Munich signed a five-year football development and tourism promotion partnership with Rwanda in 2023.
Meanwhile, Rwanda President Paul Kagame has announced a bid to stage a Formula 1 race and Kigali is set to be the venue for cycling’s World Road Championships in September.
On Friday the UCI, cycling’s world governing body, said there were no plans to relocate the event away from Rwanda.
The Central Africa director at Human Rights Watch, a campaign group which investigates and reports on cases of abuse around the globe, says these deals and events help hide Rwanda’s “abysmal track record” on human rights.
“Rwanda has major flaws with due process which violate its own internal laws or international standards,” HRW’s Lewis Mudge told BBC Sport Africa last month.
“Increasingly we’re seeing the space for freedom of expression, for some degree of political autonomy, is actually shrinking.”
The Rwandan government has dismissed accusations of sportswashing, with its chief tourism officer Irene Murerwa calling them “a distraction” from the “amazing and outstanding achievements the country has made”.
What is the latest in eastern DR Congo?
The UN says at least 700 people have been killed in intense fighting in Goma since Sunday.
UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said 2,800 people have been injured, as M23 rebels – backed by Rwanda – captured the capital of North Kivu province.
The rebels are now reported to be moving south towards Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu.
The conflict in eastern DR Congo dates back to the 1990s but has rapidly escalated in recent weeks.
M23, which is made up of ethnic Tutsis, say they are fighting for minority rights, while DR Congo’s government says the Rwanda-backed rebels are seeking control of the eastern region’s vast mineral wealth.
Authorities in Kigali have denied direct military involvement in the conflict, insisting its troops are only stationed along the border to protect its territory and civilians.
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