Amnesty’s report marks a turning point for miners in eastern DRC: the M23’s grip on coltan is now under scrutiny
A devastating new report from Amnesty International has exposed a turning point in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group stands accused of horrific human rights abuses against artisanal miners. The findings reveal a system of exploitation that has enriched the group while devastating local communities.
- Published on 21-09-2026 at 14:24
- in Kinshasa, Congo Kin
Since its resurgence in 2021, the M23 has seized vast swaths of territory in the mineral-rich eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), including the mining town of Rubaya, which alone accounts for 15% of global coltan production—a strategic mineral essential to the electronics industry worldwide.
According to United Nations experts, the armed group has imposed a tax on the production and trade of minerals in Rubaya, a claim the M23 has consistently denied.
In a report released on Monday, Amnesty International documents a pattern of abuses by M23 fighters, including summary executions, torture and other ill-treatment, arbitrary detention, forced labor, and forced recruitment at mining sites under the group’s control.
The organization gathered testimony on the summary execution of 18 artisanal miners in Rubaya, located in North Kivu province, and at the Lomera artisanal gold mine in neighboring South Kivu province.
According to witnesses and victims’ families, ten of the miners were beaten to death, two were shot, and six were abducted and later found dead.
Miners told Amnesty International they were beaten if they asked for breaks, refused to hand over their ore, or disobeyed orders—even for the slightest infractions.
More than 20 miners in Rubaya were held in underground cells and beaten three times a day by M23 fighters, the report details.