EU aligns Congo sanctions with UN list, freezing assets of four figures

The Council of the European Union has aligned its sanctions regime on the Democratic Republic of the Congo with the United Nations list of 14 July 2026, adding four persons and one entity to its main sanctions annexes. The measures were adopted on 28 September 2026 in Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/2191 and Council Implementing Decision (CFSP) 2026/2172, published in the Official Journal of the European Union, L series, of 29 September 2026.

The two acts implement Regulation (EC) No 1183/2005 of 18 July 2005 and Decision 2010/788/CFSP of 20 December 2010, the legal framework for EU restrictive measures in view of the situation in the DRC. They follow the decision of the UN Security Council Committee established pursuant to UNSC Resolution 1533 (2004), which on 14 July 2026 added six persons and two entities to the UN list. Four of those persons and one of those entities were already listed in the EU’s secondary annexes — Annex Ia to the Regulation and Annex II to the Decision — and are now removed from those annexes and included in Annex I of both instruments. The acts were adopted on a proposal from the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and signed by the Council President, K. Kallas, in Brussels on 28 September 2026.

Four individuals added to the main list

The persons now listed in Annex I, with the designations given in the official annexes, are:

• Charles Sematama (alias Sebanyana), a colonel and commander and military leader of Twirwaneho, a Congolese armed group cited for atrocities in South Kivu, including the killing of civilians and the recruitment of children.
• Gustave Kubwayo (aliases Sirkoof, Surcouf, Surkof), a colonel and commander of FDLR-FOCA, cited for planning and supporting activities including targeting civilians, kidnapping for ransom and illegal exploitation of natural resources.
• Corneille Nangaa Yobeluo, leader of the Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC), a politico-military movement allied with the UN-sanctioned M23/ARC.
• John Imani Nzenze, a colonel described as M23 intelligence chief.

One entity and the annex reshuffle

The entity added to the main list is the Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC), described as a politico-military movement operating in eastern DRC, established in 2023 and allied with M23/ARC.

The same acts delete the corresponding entries from the secondary annexes: persons numbered 20, 30, 35 and 39 and entity number 1 in Annex Ia to Regulation (EC) No 1183/2005, and the same entries in Annex II to Decision 2010/788/CFSP. Both instruments enter into force on the day following publication, that is 30 September 2026, and the Regulation is binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Why it matters

By moving these names from the secondary to the main annexes, the EU brings its DRC regime into line with the UN list, so that the restrictive measures attached to the main annexes — Articles 2 and 2a of the Regulation and Article 3(1) of the Decision — now apply to the four individuals and to the AFC. The alignment also confirms Brussels’ continued focus on armed groups active in eastern DRC, including Twirwaneho, FDLR-FOCA and M23/ARC, and on the political-military structures that support them.

Source: Official Journal of the European Union, L series, No 2026/2191 and 2026/2172, 29 September 2026 (official references: Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/2191; Council Implementing Decision (CFSP) 2026/2172).