Kufatilia evolves into a civil society network, now equipped with a new platform to follow up on mining incidents

January 19, 2024

First annual meeting of the newly established Kufatilia network In November 2023, IPIS’ Kufatilia partners traveled to Bunia and Bukavu in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to attend the first annual meeting of the newly established Kufatilia network. Consisting of two separate conferences in Ituri and South Kivu, the meeting brought together twenty-two partnered Congolese civil s


IPIS Event: Congolese cobalt, EU regulations, and direct investment

January 9, 2024

On the 30th of November, IPIS hosted its annual panel discussion, this time on current challenges facing the cobalt sector in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the potential impact of European Union (EU) regulations to improve these. Moderated by Lotte Hoex, the panel consisted of Esperant Mwishamali, independent researcher on cobalt artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) in the DRC,


G7 targets Russian diamonds – Q&A

October 28, 2023

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which began on February 24, 2022, has led to an unprecedented proliferation of economic sanctions designed to hit Russia’s economy and drain the resources of the Russian war chest. Among these are efforts to ban Russian diamonds from Western markets. Early October, at a meeting in Brussels with Ukraine’s President Zelensky, Belgian Prime Minister de Croo stated that t


Joint NGO statement: EU Conflict Minerals Regulation failing to reach its goals

October 19, 2023

20 NGOs call on the EU to step up its enforcement and adopt new measures  Download the statement (ENG) Téléchargez la déclaration (FR) Brussels, 19 October 2023 More than six years after it was signed into law, the EU Regulation on the responsible supply of tin, tungsten, tantalum and gold (3TG) originating from conflict-affected and high-risk areas (CAHRAs) is failing to reach its key object


Sharing the results of two years of research into eastern DR Congo’s artisanal mining sector

July 12, 2023

Since 2021 and in partnership with USAID and the Congolese Ministry of Mines (through its technical service SAEMAPE), IPIS has been undertaking a large-scale project to map and analyse artisanal mining supply chains and conflict financing dynamics in eastern DRC. A restitution meeting was held in Goma (North Kivu) on June 21st, 2023 to present and discuss the results produced over the past two yea


EVENT – June 21st: Empowering African artisanal diamond mining communities for a more responsible supply chain

May 23, 2023

IPIS and Diamonds for Peace invite you to a panel discussion on Wednesday 21st June 2023 in Antwerp. Panelists will share their experiences of working with artisanal diamond mining communities and views on how to include artisanal miners for a more responsible diamond supply chain. Speakers will then answer questions from the audience.  Date: Wednesday 21st June 2023


My GIS internship at IPIS – A goodbye from our latest intern Philip Knirsch

March 20, 2023

During the second half of 2022, I had the chance to complete a GIS internship at IPIS in Antwerp. As a student pursuing a degree in both African Studies and Geography, I was eager to apply my existing knowledge from both fields and gather valuable insights and experience.  The main tasks of the GIS and data analysis team, and thus of my internship, included supporting other researchers in col


Kufatilia is now active in the cobalt-producing province of Lualaba, in the Democratic Republic of Congo

March 15, 2023

After a successful implementation in the 3TG-producing provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu, Ituri, and Haut-Uele, IPIS is expanding its incident reporting and monitoring system Kufatilia to the cobalt-rich province of Lualaba.


Feedback session: Sharing the results of the data collected in Walungu, South Kivu

November 18, 2022

Since 2021, IPIS undertakes another large-scale mapping effort of artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sites in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), – in partnership with USAID and the Congolese Ministry of Mines (through its technical service SAEMAPE).  The project aims to provide observers, supply chain actors and policymakers with reliable data to understand artisanal mineral


Joint statement on conflict & due diligence legislation

October 14, 2022

The forthcoming EU due diligence Directive is lacking in its provisions for companies that are active in conflict affected areas and should be amended to align better with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. Together with 50+ signatories, IPIS calls for a heightened, conflict-sensitive due diligence process for high-risk areas that includes compliance with international humanit


IPIS event on Russia’s geopolitical and mining interests in Africa after the Ukraine invasion. Main takeaways

October 6, 2022

On September 29th 2022 IPIS organised a panel discussion with Nina Wilén, the director of the Africa Programme of the Egmont Institute, and IPIS researcher Hans Merket. Key topics were the implications of the Ukraine invasion for Russia-Africa relations. The discussion, moderated by Filip Reyniers, touched upon shifting power balances, the role of Russian mercenaries in Africa and the impact of th


Viktor Bout documents released under Mandatory Declassification Review by the Clinton Library

September 26, 2022

In 2015 IPIS vzw asked for a Mandatory Declassification Review (MDR) of selected documents in relation to Viktor Bout, produced by the Clinton administration between 1999 and 2001, and held in the Clinton Library. MDR “is a means by which any individual or entity can request any Federal agency to review classified information for declassification, regardless of its age or origin, subject to certai


New 5-year project aiming to empower communities and civil society to foster justice and human rights in Tanzania’s natural resource sector

September 16, 2022

In 2022, IPIS launched new work on the human rights impact of the natural resource sector in Tanzania. Our new five-year project “Empowering Tanzanian communities and civil society to foster justice & human rights in natural resource governance” builds on the expertise IPIS has been developing on northern Tanzania’s small- and large-scale mining sector as well as the implementation and monitor


IPIS EVENT – 29 September 2022 – Russia’s geopolitical and mining interests in Africa: implications of the Ukraine invasion

August 8, 2022

IPIS invites you to a panel discussion on Russia’s geopolitical and mining interests in Africa and the implications of the Ukraine invasion. Date: September 29th. Time: 4 – 6 PM Location: Atelier 29, BRUSSELS


Feedback session: Sharing the results of the data collected in Shabunda

May 19, 2022

Since 2021, IPIS undertakes another large-scale mapping effort of artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sites in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), – in partnership with USAID and the Congolese Ministry of Mines (through its technical service SAEMAPE).   The project aims to provide observers, supply chain actors and policymakers with reliable data to understand artisanal mineral


Press release: Universal basic income project expands to more regions in the Democratic Republic of Congo

May 12, 2022

Eight’s basic income project, in collaboration with IPIS, the Belgian Development Cooperation, Fairphone, announces the expansion of its basic income pilot project in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).


Timeline of the conflict in Tigray

April 28, 2022

In February of 2022, Peter Danssaert created a detailed timeline of the conflict in Tigray dating from 1991 to 2022. The timeline was used by participants of a webinar on the Tigray conflict organised by Union Chapel. The webinar took place on April 28th, 2022 but can still be viewed online. October 20, 2022 there will be a new event by Union Chapel on the current situation in Tigray. You can regi


Op-ed: Belgium’s inaction on diamond trade with Russia is not justifiable

April 26, 2022

This op-ed was published in Dutch in De Standaard on April 12, 2022 — Hans Merket The Antwerp diamond hub presents itself as the most ethical in the world. This does not sit well with turning a blind eye on the war in Ukraine. There are no arguments left to justify doing nothing about the flow of income that the Russian regime receives from the diamond trade with Belgium. Both the Antwerp diamond


A goodbye from our latest student assistants in the GIS and data Team

April 7, 2022

At the end of 2021, as part of a university course on peace research, I started diving into the history of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and its current production of minerals. During this research I came across IPIS and its Open Data Dashboard, which impressed me a lot. When I saw that there was a student job opportunity for the GIS and data analysis team, I applied; and beginning of 202


KP CSC Highlights of 2021

January 12, 2022

At the start of this new year the Kimberley Process Civil Society Coalition looks back on the previous one with these highlights from 2021