Briefings
IPIS Briefing October 2019 – Guiding companies on Human Rights Duties
The IPIS briefing offers a selection of articles, news and updates on natural resources, armed conflict, Business & Human Rights and arms trade. Every month, an editorial and related publications shed a light on a specific topic in IPIS’ areas of research. In focus: Guiding companies on their human rights duties. In the news: new Cold War in Africa?; Tshisekedi interview; Russia and Central A
2 – 15 February 2017
Due to funding constraints on the Weekly Briefing, IPIS has suspended the publication of our weekly news digest indefinitely. We are currently exploring options to secure structural funding for this service. Our surveys indicate that the Briefing has proved itself a valuable resource for a wide spectrum of researchers, policy makers, journalists and other practitioners closely following developmen
19 January – 1 February 2017
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, fears continue to grow about the alleged reappearance of ex-M23 rebels in the eastern part of the country. The DRC again witnessed a lot of armed group activity over the past weeks. […]
5 – 18 January 2017
Congolese authorities are concerned about rumours that hundreds of ex-M23 elements came from Uganda to resettle in east of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Meanwhile, negotiations continued between the Alliance of the Presidential Majority and the Rassemblement about what the Congolese government should look like. […]
22 December 2016 – 4 January 2017
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, government, opposition and civil society parties resumed negotiations under mediation of the Catholic Church (CENCO) to assuage the country’s political crisis. Over the past few weeks, dozens of people were killed and several hundreds arrested during protests. […]
15 – 21 December 2016
On Monday, December 19, President Joseph Kabila’s second term ended in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Earlier mediation efforts by the Catholic Church (CENCO) between ruling and opposition parties did not yield any results, meaning Kabila remains in power. […]
8 – 14 December 2016
On Thursday, December 8, the Catholic Church (CENCO) initiated a new attempt at mediating a national dialogue between presidential majority and opposition in the Democratic Republic of Congo. On Tuesday, December 13, about a dozen youth activists were arrested during the negotiations in Kinshasa, according to Human Rights Watch. […]
1 – 7 December 2016
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the alliance behind current President, Joseph Kabila, left the mediation efforts by the National Episcopal Conference of Congo (CENCO) between the alliance and the opposition coalition “Rassemblement”. […]
24 – 30 November 2016
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, political tensions persist. The term of current President Joseph Kabila will come to an end on December 19. With the elections being postponed, Kabila will stay in power beyond his term. […]
17 – 23 November 2016
On Thursday, November 17, Samy Badibanga was appointed as the new Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The opposition platform “Rassemblement” called for nationwide demonstrations on Saturday, asking President Joseph Kabila to respect the end of his term. […]
10 – 16 November 2016
In line with last month’s conclusion of the national dialogue between President Kabila’s government and a small segment of the opposition in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the country’s Prime Minister, Augustin Matata Ponyo, announced his resignation on Monday, November 14. The majority of opposition parties, organised within the Rassemblement umbrella, do not acknowledge and boycotted the afor
3 – 9 November 2016
On Saturday, November 5, the riot police broke up a demonstration by opposition (“Rassemblement”) supporters in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, by firing tear gas. Along with the United Nations, a coalition of civil society organisations called for lifting the ban on manifesting in the capital, which has been in place since September this year. […]
27 October – 2 November 2016
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, political tensions persist in the wake of the national dialogue’s resolution regarding the organisation of presidential elections. Last Wednesday, October 26, the Great Lakes region’s heads of state expressed their endorsement of the deal between Congolese government and participating opposition to postpone elections until April 2018. […]
13 – 26 October 2016
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the national dialogue between the Congolese government and participating opposition has resulted in an accord on Tuesday, October 18. The parties agreed that elections would be postponed until April 2018 and that the post of Prime Minister would be accorded to an opposition representative. […]
6 – 12 October 2016
This week, The UN expressed its concerns over the fragile political situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo, fearing it could lead to large-scale violence. Some good news was also announced, when the government stated that the number of cases of sexual violence in the country dropped by over 50 per cent over the past two years. […]
29 September – 5 October 2016
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, riots erupted in Kinshasa on September 19 and 20. Opposition supporters took to the streets to protest against the postponement of presidential elections and ruling President Joseph Kabila’s refusal to step down. During confrontations with the authorities, dozens of people died. […]
8 – 14 September 2016
On Monday, September 12, the few opposition members who took part in the national dialogue in the Democratic Republic of Congo walked out of the meeting due to irreconcilable differences of opinion with the government on the sequence of elections. Whereas current President Joseph Kabila proposed to hold local elections first, the opposition wanted presidential elections to be the priority. […]
1 – 7 September 2016
On September 1, facilitator Edem Kodjo initiated the national dialogue in the Democratic Republic of Congo, bringing together government, opposition and civil society members to discuss the organisation of peaceful elections. However, several leading opposition figures, such as Etienne Tshisekedi, Moïse Katumbi and the Lucha movement, refused to engage. […]
18 – 24 August 2016
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, preparatory talks for a national dialogue were started by facilitator Edem Kodjo on August 23 in order to relieve the political tensions in the country. However, few key members of the opposition attended and the “Rassemblement” umbrella called for a nationwide “ville-morte”. […]
4 – 17 August 2016
Over the past two weeks, the President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Joseph Kabila, visited his counterparts in Uganda and Rwanda. Security appeared to be high on the agenda and both neighbouring countries committed to greater security and intelligence cooperation with the DRC. During a bilateral meeting between Ugandan and Rwandan police forces, the need for closer cross-border cooperation