Critical Minerals and Contested Sovereignty: Inside the US–DRC Agreement
Publisher: Public Citizen, Friends of the Congo, United Methodist Church General Board of Church and Society, and Earthworks
Date: 2026
Topics: Conflict Causes, Economic Recovery, Extractive Resources, Governance
Countries: Congo (DRC), United States
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has endured escalating violence and upheaval since the 2022 revival of a historic regional conflict. Rwanda-backed M23 and other militias have killed thousands and displaced millions as they battled Congolese security forces and captured swaths of land. Attacks on civilians, including systematic sexual violence, are well documented, and experts agree that the violence is driven in large part by competition over the DRC’s cobalt and other “critical mineral” resources.
Amid this crisis, U.S. President Donald Trump has pressed for overreaching “minerals for security” deals to secure preferential access to those resources. In December 2025, the DRC, the United States, and Rwanda signed three agreements that the governments involved describe as a milestone for peace and economic integration. But, at the center of these deals is a far-reaching US-DRC Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA) that fundamentally reshapes who controls access to some of the world’s most important minerals and on whose terms.
While framed as supporting peace, development, and responsible mining, the SPA’s core purpose is to secure long-term US access to critical minerals essential to defense, energy, automotive, and advanced technology supply chains, as well as to block China’s further advancement in this space. Meanwhile, local communities continue to suffer from violence and human rights violations that have continued unabated.