On 2 March 2026, US OFAC took an important sep to enforce the joint declaration signed on 4 December 2025 by President Tshisekedi of the DRC and President Kagame of Rwanda. The declaration was supposed to lay the path towards, if not the resolution, then, at least, the reduction of violence in the eastern part of the DRC. The on-going conflict in the DRC is, certainly, one of untold tragedies of modern world.
OFAC designated as SDNs the Rwanda Defence Force as well as its four leading officials. The reason for the designation is their alleged continued support of proxy groups operating in the eastern part of the DRC. This is an important measure as, due to the extra-territorial effect of the SDN designation, it is likely to substantially diminish the capacity of the Rwandan military to procure sophisticated weapons and, accordingly, to continue supporting proxy groups operating in the DRC. It also sends an important political message to the Government of Rwanda that such support need to come to an end.
For the background to various sanctions regimes which aim to resolve the conflict in the DRC, please see our video.
The press-release of OFAC with respect to these designations is available here. The general license for winding-down all operations with the Rwanda Defence Force is available here.