Today, the United States is taking action against networks smuggling conflict minerals out of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to support the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group. The two individuals and four entities sanctioned in this action include Gasabo Gold Refinery LTD and its chairman Jean Malic Kalima, along with three other Rwandan mining companies. M23 and its backers exploit the DRC's vast mineral resources - wealth that rightfully belongs to the Congolese people - to fund weapons, pay fighters, and sustain a destabilizing insurgency that has triggered a severe humanitarian crisis.
Today's action directly supports implementation of the Washington Accords for Peace and Prosperity, the historic agreement President Trump brokered between the DRC and Rwanda. The Accords chart a new course for Africa's Great Lakes region, including through transparent, traceable, and fully licit mineral supply chains outlined in the Regional Economic Integration Framework. Ensuring the region's mineral wealth drives growth rather than violence will unlock greater opportunity for legitimate companies to invest in the region and will secure access to critical minerals vital to U.S. industries.
The United States calls on all actors to halt the illicit trade of conflict minerals, which finances armed groups, enables forced and child labor, and perpetuates sexual violence in mining communities. All mineral supply chain actors, including end-users and financial institutions, should ensure they consistently implement responsible practices and leverage their role to incentivize development of a fully licit, transparent minerals sector.
These designations are the latest in a series of U.S. actions, including sanctions on conflict mineral traffickers in August 2025, that demonstrate the United States will impose consequences on those who profit from eastern DRC's suffering. The United States remains committed to a peaceful and prosperous Great Lakes region with a minerals sector free of illicit flows or conflict financing, that contributes to local economic growth and secure, fully licit global supply chains and markets.
