Democratic Republic of the Congo
Travail des enfants dans le site minier d’exploitation artisanale de Bisie en territoire de Walikale. Une crise oubliée en République Démocratique du Congo
November 19, 2013Plus de deux décennies après l’entrée en vigueur de la Convention relative aux droits de l’enfant (1989) en République Démocratique du Congo (RDC), la situation des enfants dans le territoire de Walikale demeure critique. Certes, le travail des enfants est un problème mondial, mais c’est essentiellement dans les pays en développement qu’il compte la grande majorité. L’expérience montre que le défi
Analysis of the interactive map of artisanal mining areas in Eastern DR Congo (2013)
November 13, 2013In August 2009 the ‘International Peace Information Service’ (IPIS) published a first map of militarised mining areas in Eastern DR Congo. By 2012, the international interest in the issue had grown but the map was out-dated. To find a structural solution, IPIS sat down with the Congolese mining cadastre (CAMI) and agreed to set up a permanent system to monitor artisanal mining activities and the i
‘Conflict Minerals’ initiatives in DR Congo: Perceptions of local mining communities
November 12, 2013The exploitation of minerals is an important source of income for many communities in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Yet this mineral wealth also plays a significant role in the continuation of insecurity in parts of the country. Revenues from mineral trade have given armed groups the means to operate, and provided off-budget funding to (often poorly paid) state security forces. Whils
IPIS Insights: Why businesses should assess human rights impacts from the outset of projects. SOCO International Oil Company in Virunga National Park, DRC
August 5, 2013SOCO International, a British oil company, is prospecting for oil in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Virunga National Park – a World Heritage Site. For the past year, their presence has been criticised for putting a fragile environment at risk. However, more recently, their impact on human rights has also been questioned. Below, IPIS looks at why it is so vital for companies to employ rights-re
Strijd tegen conflictmineralen: sleutel tot conflictresolutie in Oost-Congo?
July 24, 2013De PDF van dit artikel is met toestemming van de redactie overgenomen uit de /Internationale Spectator, Clingendael Magazine voor Internationale Betrekkingen/, uitgegeven door de Koninklijke Van Gorcum, te Assen namens het Nederlands Instituut voor Internationale Betrekkingen ‘Clingendael’ te Den Haag. Download in pdf of open met issuu reader. http://issuu.com/ipisresearch/docs/20130700_is_art_mat
Upstream Implementation of the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas. Final Report on one-year pilot implementation of the Supplement on Tin, Tantalum, and Tungsten
January 1, 2013Final Report on one-year pilot implementation of the Supplement on Tin, Tantalum, and Tungsten. This report is the final in a cycle of three reports on the pilot implementation by upstream companies of the “Supplement on Tin, Tantalum and Tungsten of the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas”. The goal of the report is to p
The formalisation of artisanal mining in the DRC and Rwanda
December 29, 2012This report describes and evaluates initiatives to formalise the artisanal mining sector in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwanda, in order to locate lessons learned. We hope that these perspectives will support the formation of well-informed policy and regulatory options – both by the EU and by harvesting countries – concerning the formalisation of timber production in tropical co
Exploitation minière industrielle et artisanale au Sud-Kivu. Possibilités d’une cohabitation pacifique ?
December 29, 2012Le secteur minier en République Démocratique du Congo (RDC) en général et au Sud-Kivu en particulier alimente toujours les débats tant au niveau international qu’au niveau national. Présenté sous plusieurs facettes, ce secteur au Sud-Kivu a été dans le temps industriel, puis artisanal et aujourd’hui il est en même temps artisanal et industriel. Le retour en force, ces dernières années, des société
Mapping Conflict Minerals (2012)
December 28, 2012How GMES supports the International Peace Information Service (IPIS), in: Window on GMES, Special Issue: Discover the “S” in GMES, pp. 82-88 Exploitation of natural resources has, in most cases, a strong impact on the environment, often even spoiling natural habitats and affecting people’s way of life. The exploitation and trade of minerals can also fuel armed conflicts, as it is the case in the E
Mapping Conflict Motives: M23 (2012)
November 30, 2012In light of the recent occupation of Goma by M23 and the renewed risk of large-scale armed conflict in the DRC, IPIS publishes an update to its 2007-2010 ‘mapping conflict motives’ report series focussing specifically on the intentions of M23. The M23 rebels show a clear political ambition and a tendency to establish political control over territory and challenge Kinshasa’s authority – strategic i
Upstream Implementation of the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas. Cycle 2 Interim Progress Report on the Supplement on Tin, Tantalum, and Tungsten
June 20, 2012Cycle 2 Interim Progress Report on the Supplement on Tin, Tantalum, and Tungsten. The following report is the second in a cycle of three on upstream companies’ implementation of the Supplement on Tin, Tantalum and Tungsten to the OECD’s Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas. The objective of the following is to report on progres
‘If you resist, we’ll shoot you’: The Democratic Republic of the Congo and the case for an effective Arms Trade Treaty
June 7, 2012IPIS contributed to the research for this AI report. In July 2012 UN Member States are to agree the final text of a comprehensive Arms Trade Treaty. The experience of arms proliferation and abuse in the Democratic Republic of the Congo should help to persuade States to establish strict rules consistent with States’ existing responsibilities under international law. This report focuses on several c
Bisie. A one-year snapshot of the DRC’s principal cassiterite mine (2011)
November 28, 2011Much has happened in the mining sector of Eastern DRC over the last year. President Kabila imposed a ban on all mining activities last fall, during which production fell considerably. As soon as the suspension was lifted in the spring of this year, the major global electronic companies stopped buying minerals from the region, provoking a de facto embargo on Congo’s minerals with detrimental effect
Violence against women in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Whose responsibility? Whose complicity?
November 1, 2011IPIS contributed to the research for and writing of this ITUC report. Summary: Eastern DRC has been ravaged by war and violence since the mid-1990s. Civilians carry the greatest burden of the conflict. Women and girls are especially vulnerable to such attacks. Hundreds of women and girls get sexually violated in their homes and at their workplace. Fuelled and motivated by Congo’s minerals, rebel a
Upstream Pilot Implementation of the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas
November 1, 2011Baseline Report on the Supplement on Tin, Tantalum, and Tungsten IPIS executed the research for and the writing of this OECD report. The present baseline report is the first in a cycle of three reports on the implementation by upstream companies of the Supplement on Tin, Tantalum and Tungsten of the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and Hi
Kenya’s role in the trade of gold from eastern DRC
August 5, 2011On 11 September 2010, the Congolese Ministry of Mines put out a statement in which it announced President Kabila’s decision to suspend all exploitation and export of minerals from the provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu and Maniema until further notice. The statement explained that the ban was intended to put a stop to the illegal exploitation of natural resources in eastern DRC. In the decree est
Guide to Current Mining Reform Initiatives in Eastern DRC
April 17, 2011US legislation has brought on a variety of initiatives aiming at mining reform in EDRC. This paper describes the basic elements of these initiatives, their genesis, the current state of affairs, the inkages between the initiatives and the main challenges they face. Further, the paper briefly evaluates the initiatives while focussing on the steps ahead. Download in pdf or open with issuu reader. ht
The complexity of resource governance in a context of state fragility: The case of eastern DRC
April 4, 2011A host of publications over the last decade have highlighted the important role played by artisanal and small-scale mining of coltan, gold and cassiterite in the ongoing conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), yet there is still little awareness of the modus operandi of the various actors involved in the exploitation and trade of these minerals. It is vitally important that initiatives
Simplified maps illustrating the link between natural resources and armed conflict in the DR Congo (2011)
January 17, 2011Simplified maps illustrating the link between natural resources and armed conflict in the DR Congo (in French) (January 2011) At the request of different users of the IPIS web maps, and with the support of the Belgian Development Cooperation (DGD), IPIS has produced a series of six simplified and printable PDF maps illustrating the link between mineral resources and armed conflict in the Democrati
The complexity of resource governance in a context of state fragility: An analysis of the mining sector in the Kivu hinterlands (2010)
November 30, 2010The report ‘Mining activity and mineral trade in the Kivu hinterland’ was commissioned by the Directorate General for Development (DG DEV) of the European Commission and aims to fill an information gap by identifying the principal mining sites and analysing the trade networks of the ‘eastern hinterland’ of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), located in Maniema, North Katanga and Orientale