Amnesty implicates M23 in forced labour and summary executions at coltan mines in eastern DRC

Amnesty International accuses M23 of severe human rights abuses against artisanal miners in eastern DRC

Amnesty International has accused the anti-government armed group M23, which is backed by Kigali, of committing “horrific human rights violations” against artisanal miners in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where the group derives significant revenue from mineral exploitation, according to a report released on Monday.

Since its resurgence in 2021, M23 has seized vast swathes of territory in mineral-rich eastern DRC, including the mining town of Rubaya, which supplies 15% of global coltan production—a strategic mineral for the electronics industry. According to UN experts, the armed group has imposed a tax on mineral production and trade in Rubaya, a claim M23 has consistently denied.

Documented abuses: executions, torture, and forced labour

In its Monday report, Amnesty International says M23 fighters carried out “summary executions,” “torture and other ill-treatment,” “arbitrary detention,” “forced labour,” and “forced recruitment” at mining sites under the group’s control.

The NGO gathered information on the summary execution of 18 artisanal miners in Rubaya, North Kivu province, and at the Lomera artisanal gold mine in neighbouring South Kivu province. “According to witnesses and victims’ families, 10 were beaten to death, two were shot, and six were abducted and later found dead,” the report states.

Miners told Amnesty International they were beaten if they requested breaks, refused to hand over their ore, or disobeyed orders—even minor ones. More than 20 miners in Rubaya were held in underground cells and “beaten three times a day” by M23 fighters, the NGO reports.

M23’s control over Rubaya and its mineral wealth

Rubaya remains central to M23’s economic power, supplying a significant share of the world’s coltan. The group’s taxation of mineral production and trade there has been documented by UN experts, though M23 denies the allegations. The report sheds light on the brutal reality faced by artisanal miners under the group’s control, highlighting a pattern of systematic abuse.

By Claire Mvondo — Security and State Policy Expert