IPIS welcomes University of Antwerp Summer School for workshop on artisanal diamond mining
September 2, 2019On August 28th, 2019, 21 students from the University of Antwerp’s ‘Mine to Finger’ Summer School on diamonds were engaged on “The use of digital maps and open data in the analysis of artisanal mining” with a case-study of the Central African Republic (CAR). The students, with diverse backgrounds, engaged in critical and nuanced discussions on artisanal diamond mining. The workshop kicked-off with
Launch of the second “Voices from Tanzania” series: Business and Human Rights studies with a focus on land rights and environment
July 31, 2019In 2019, Business and Human Rights Tanzania (BHRT), the Tanzanian Commission of Human Rights and Good Governance (CHRAGG) and the International Peace Information Service (IPIS) will collaborate again with Tanzanian civil society organisations in its partner series “Voices from Tanzania”. In its the first volume , the “Voices from Tanzania” publication covered a diverse range of human rights topics
Mapping ASM sites in the Central African Republic: An update from our field teams
July 2, 2019Since February 2019, IPIS is partnering with the Artisanal Mining and Property Rights (AMPR) project from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to increase awareness and understanding of the opportunities and challenges of establishing responsible gold supply chains in the Central African Republic (CAR). As part of this project, IPIS is supporting the Ministry of Mines in mapping a
“All eyes on the Kimberley Process for desperately needed reform on conflict diamonds”
June 24, 2019Civil society calls on Participants to take their responsibility in preventing diamond-related conflict This week saw the end of the 2019 intersessional meeting of the Kimberley Process (KP) chaired by India. The week-long conference was the scene of discussions among delegates on the possibility of expanding the Kimberley Process’ scope to ensure that the scheme addresses modern day conceptions o
Kimberley Process must progress reform talks on diamond violence or risk irrelevance and diamond revenue losses
June 14, 2019Kimberley Process must progress reform talks on diamond violence or risk irrelevance and diamond revenue losses “Kimberley Process reform failure hurts us all”, say civil society and African communities As India prepares to host the last intersessional of the Kimberley Process (KP) reform cycle in Mumbai (17-21 June), the Kimberley Process Civil Society Coalition (KPCSC) urges states to prog
Artisanal and small-scale mining Incident Tracker in eastern DRC
June 5, 2019Since the end of 2018 witnesses and victims of incidents and accidents related to artisanal small-scale production, transport and trading of minerals in the provinces of South-Kivu and Ituri can be reported. IPIS, in collaboration with the Bukavu based Expertise Centre on Mining Governance (CEGEMI) and Ulula,has developed a new, anonymous reporting system. View the ASM Incident Tracker The tool al
Working on conflict mapping through GIS – A goodbye from our latest GIS intern
May 29, 2019I arrived at IPIS in January of this year with the purpose to further improve my GIS skills and work on the topic of conflict mapping. Entering the IPIS premises and meeting the staff, my first impression of IPIS was that of a friendly and professional organization. They are lucky enough to be housed in an old monastery which seems like a small oasis in the middle of the loud and crowded city. Tha
Data sharing on the socio-economic and human rights impact of mining in Tanzania
May 15, 2019Tanzania, May 2019 Since January 2017, IPIS has been working on a project to map the socio-economic and human rights impact of mining in northwest Tanzania. This project is supported by the Belgian development cooperation under a programme on human rights and digitisation. By using mobile technologies such as mobile data collection, GIS mapping, mobile incident reporting and phone surveys throug
Pastoralism in the Central African Republic conflict: new IPIS research launched
May 10, 2019With thorough conflict mapping and analysis of the drivers and actors of conflict in the Central African Republic, IPIS has contributed to a better understanding of the Central African Republic conflict. In 2019, IPIS will be focussing on one particular activity that generates conflict on the one hand, but is fundamental for strengthening peace on the other: Pastoralism. This research will t
New project of mapping artisanal and small-scale mining sites in the Central African Republic
May 2, 2019Following a successful training in Bangui with members from civil society organizations and field officers from the Kimberley Process focal point at the Ministry of mines and geology of the Central African Republic (CAR), IPIS will start field based research to map artisanal and small-scale gold and diamond mining sites in Western CAR. This study will focus on quantitative research through Mobile
Multi-stakeholder dialogue on Business and Human Rights in Tanzania identifies ‘land rights and environment’ as priority topic
April 17, 2019Dodoma, 21 March 2019. Over 60 key stakeholders from civil society, business and government agencies from Tanzania mainland and Zanzibar gathered at the Royal Village Hotel, Dodoma for the first annual multi-stakeholder dialogue on Business and Human Rights. This event was organized by the Tanzanian Commission for Human Rights and Good Governance (CHRAGG), Business and Human Rights Tanzania
UN must help Kimberley Process to live up to its conflict prevention mandate
March 1, 2019The Kimberley Process Civil Society Coalition (KP CSC) participated in a panel discussion entitled “From blood diamonds to peace diamonds: conflict prevention through the Kimberley Process” on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly on Thursday 28th February 2019. The KP CSC urged the UN to engage more in the Kimberley Process and secure oversight to further the much needed reform agenda. The UN
Kufatilia: a new Incident Monitoring Mechanism for Gold Supply Chains
December 4, 2018“Today a man was killed in a pit collapse in an artisanal mining site near Numbi.” Civil society organizations, working to improve living conditions of artisanal and small-scale miners in Eastern DR Congo, regularly receive this kind of text message. Capture d’écran du système de Suivis des Incidents de l’Or (SIOr) Since a few weeks, incidents linked to the production, transport and selling of mi
KP Civil Society disappointed by resistance to reform in the Kimberley Process
November 16, 2018The Kimberley Process (KP) Civil Society Coalition (CSC) pushed hard for reform in the 2018 KP Brussels Plenary, with very concrete proposals, amongst others on changing the definition of conflict diamonds beyond the limited and outdated scope of rough diamonds financing rebel movements. The CSC, together with industry (World Diamond Council) and Canada made a realistic proposal for a wider defini
Kimberley Process Civil Society Coalition calls on all Members to deliver on improving global diamond governance
November 14, 2018Reform is high on the agenda of this year’s Kimberley Process Plenary under EU Chairmanship. The Kimberley Process – once a pioneering tripartite effort to stop diamonds from financing rebel groups – is struggling to provide an adequate answer to numerous human rights challenges associated with the diamond sector today. Aware of these enormous challenges, it was decided at the 2017 Plenary meeting
22 November – IPIS panel discussion on the Central African Republic
October 19, 2018Central African Republic: A Conflict Mapping IPIS kindly invites you to a panel discussion on the conflict in the Central African Republic on Thursday November 22, 4:30pm at the Jacqmotte Conference Center, Hoogstraat/Rue Haute 139 in Brussels. Please register at events@ipisresearch.be Programme 4:30 – Welcome Honorary Ambassador Johan Swinnen, Chair IPIS 4:40 – Keynote speech
IPIS welcomes UA Summer School students for workshop on responsible sourcing using IPIS maps
September 10, 2018On September 6th, 30 students from the University of Antwerp ‘Mine to Finger’ Summer School on diamonds participated in a responsible sourcing workshop organised by IPIS. They explored the upstream context of the diamond supply chain in Central African Republic (CAR) and the Democratic Republic Congo (DRC) using IPIS webmaps. They engaged in a critical and nuanced discussion on various due dilig
Strengthening local voices: discover IPIS’ partner publication series “Voices from the South”
September 3, 2018Since 2017, IPIS has been closely collaborating with civil society actors from central and east Africa who want to share their perspective on subjects related to IPIS’ work. Their hands-on experience, unique knowledge and access to information offer local insights relevant to a large audience. With the editorial support from IPIS, local partners are encouraged to write down their research. This ha
Training workshop: “Field Research and Report Writing on Business and Human Rights”
August 22, 2018At the start of August 2018, five Tanzanian civil society organisations gathered in Dar es Salaam for a three-day training on field research and report writing. The training forms part of the EU-funded project ‘Improving monitoring, research and dialogue on Business & Human Rights in Tanzania’ which is implemented by IPIS, the Tanzanian Commission for Human Rights and Good Governance (CHRAGG),
Kimberley Process intersessional meeting: civil society coalition calls for meaningful reform on definition of conflict diamonds
June 29, 2018At the Kimberley Process Intersessional Meeting, held in Antwerp from 18-22 June, the KP civil society coalition (KP CSC) called for meaningful reforms, on the scope of the definition of conflict diamonds, on the KP’s governance structures, and on internal controls on governments to ensure a clean, conflict-free and legal diamond supply chains. The KP CSC is dismayed over the lack of progress
