Publicaties
Unconditional cash transfers in the DRC: A comparative baseline study in an artisanal mining zone in Maniema Province
- Erik Gobbers, Thomas Muller | 1 maart 2022
A controlled impact study will be conducted by IPIS to evaluate the net effects of Unconditional Cash Transfers (UCT) on the socio-economic well-being of recipients. A controlled study approach allows potential effects of the intervention to be assessed by monitoring specific indicators in the group of people receiving cash transfers (inhabitants of the UCT village), in comparison with a comparabl
Report of high-level workshop on the fight against fraud and smuggling of rough diamonds in Central Africa
- Didier Verbruggen, Mieke Thierens | 14 februari 2022
Regional Cooperation to Enhance the Implementation of the Kimberley Process in Central Africa In December 2021, the Working Group on Artisanal and Alluvial Production (WGAAP) of the Kimberley Process (KP) and the Cameroonian government hosted the second Central African regional cooperation workshop in Yaoundé to build understanding, share experiences and formulate recommendations on the fight agai
Comparative analysis of the fiscal regimes and implications for mineral trade of ASM 3TGs in Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi and the DRC
- Levin Sources | 14 februari 2022
This briefing paper looks at the relationship between mineral fiscal regimes and the smuggling of minerals in the Great Lakes Region, both within and between countries. It presents an overview and comparative analysis of the fiscal regimes applicable to the artisanal and small-scale (ASM) production of tin, tungsten, tantalum and gold (3TGs) in Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and the DRC, looking at the p
Voix du Congo: Misisi gold, a polluted supply chain. Causes and consequences.
- APDE, Julien Mapenzi | 24 januari 2022
In this Voix du Congo publication, the Congolese civil society organisation Action for Peace and Development (APDE) analyses mining-related incidents reported via the “Kufatilia” platform between July 2020 and June 2021 in the mining region of Misisi.
Maps of checkpoints in South Sudan
- Ken Matthysen, Peer Schouten, Thomas Muller | 14 december 2021
A selection of key maps that accompany the 2021 publication “Checkpoint economy: the political economy of checkpoints in South Sudan, ten years after independence”. Interactive webmap of road-and river checkpoints in South Sudan: A static overview map of all road- and river checkpoints in South Sudan (2020 – 2021 data): A static map with details of all checkpoints, per route (2020 – 2021 data): A
Checkpoint economy: the political economy of checkpoints in South Sudan, ten years after independence
- Ken Matthysen, Peer Schouten | 10 december 2021
Ten years after independence, the world’s youngest country is home to an entrenched political economy of conflict premised on checkpoint taxation. Humanitarian aid is not exempt, reveals a major new mapping report by DIIS and IPIS. When South Sudan became independent ten years ago, oil revenues were supposed to fuel the economy of the world’s newest country. But two years later in 2013, oil prices
Africa armed violence and the illicit arms trade
- Brian Wood, Peter Danssaert | 1 december 2021
Brian Wood and Peter Danssaert recently contributed a chapter on Africa’s illicit arms trade to ‘Gun Trafficking and Violence. From the Global Network to the Local Security Challenge’ edited by David Pérez Esparza, Carlos A. Pérez Ricart, and Eugenio Weigend Vargas (2021). In this chapter the authors consider major structural factors contributing to the illicit trade of small arms and li
Advocating for an improved enabling environment for the production, trade and export of OECD Due Diligence Guidance (DDG)-conformant minerals from eastern DRC
- Levin Sources | 23 november 2021
As part of the Madini project, a review of the current situation, trends and barriers in the production, trade and export of tin, tantalum, tungsten (3T) and gold from eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) was conducted by Levin Sources, with the aim to recommend concrete actions that can improve OECD-conformant sourcing of these minerals from eastern DRC. The link between the exploitation of
The management of lethal materiel in conflict settings: existing challenges and opportunities for the European Peace Facility
- Eric G. Berman | 8 september 2021
This paper, which is a collaboration between Eric G. Berman (Director of the Safeguarding Security Sector Stockpiles (S⁴) Initiative) and IPIS, shows that levels of loss of uniformed personnel serving in peace operations in the Lake Chad Basin region under the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), as well as the seizure of lethal materiel from state stockpiles, are astonishingly high. Reporting
Annual Report 2020
- IPIS | 31 augustus 2021
This annual report provides an overview of all of IPIS’ activities in 2020. The report details the work on the different research programmes, and lists all the publications and briefings of 2020. It also outlines the various events and workshops that IPIS has participated in. Finally, the report gives an overview of the 2020 finances and the networks IPIS is a part of. Download Annual report 2020
Madini – Conflict analysis and stakeholder mapping in the mining regions of South Kivu and Ituri
- Guillaume de Brier | 20 augustus 2021
To ensure that the implementation of the Madini project fits the local context and positively impacts the local population, IPIS conducted a conflict sensitivity analysis in South Kivu and Ituri. The present study highlights that poor governance, along with chronic poverty, are structural causes of violence in mining regions, whereas the presence o
Webmap “Business and Human Rights in Tanzania”
- Laure Gerig, Mieke Thierens, Thomas Muller | 18 augustus 2021
This interactive map presents an overview of the main project activities and output that IPIS and its project partners CHRAGG and BHRT have delivered as part of their project to “Improve monitoring, research and dialogue on Business and Human Rights in Tanzania ”. This project ran from December 2017 until February 2021. The map locates project activities in Tanzania and allows you to find out more
IPIS Due Diligence series – Comparative analysis between cobalt and 3T sourcing from the DRC
- Guillaume de Brier, Hadassah Arian, Lotte Hoex | 26 juli 2021
This report compares the supply chains and traceability of 3T and cobalt ores in order to identify similarities, differences, and lessons learned from the decade of 3T experience in responsible sourcing, for the emerging cobalt initiatives. The experience of regulating responsible sourcing in the 3T sector has taught us the importance of engaging producing countries
Review paper – The EU Conflict Minerals Regulation: Implementation at the EU Member State level
- IPIS | 9 juni 2021
A Coalition of European NGOs working on responsible mineral sourcing, including IPIS, published a review paper discussing the state of implementation of the European Conflict Minerals Regulation across European Union Member States. The report highlights the shortcomings of the Regulation and the general lack of transparency that hinders effective and efficient monitoring of companies.
Contributions to ‘The Arms Trade Treaty. Weapons and International Law (2021)’
- Brian Wood, Peter Danssaert | 1 juni 2021
IPIS is happy to present Peter Danssaert and Brian Wood’s contributions to ‘The Arms Trade Treaty. Weapons and International Law’ edited by Clare Da Silva and Brian Wood (2021). Peter Danssaert co-authored ‘Article 8: Import’ and ‘Article 9: Transit or Trans-Shipment’. Brian Wood co-edited the book and wrote ‘Article 10: Brokering’, and co-authored ‘Article 7: Export and Export Assessment’. Link t
Belgium’s fight against conflict diamonds: an assessment of the country’s diamond sector controls from a global perspective
- Hans Merket | 31 mei 2021
In its new report, IPIS assesses Belgium’s fight against conflict diamonds. The report focusses on the Belgian city of Antwerp, which has played a central role in the global diamond trade for centuries. Yet as the world’s diamond hub, Antwerp not only attracted the best but also the worst of this diverse industry. In no uncertain terms, a series of UN and NGO reports linking Antwerp to bloody civi
IPIS Insights -The artisanal and small scale mining sector in eastern DRC six months after the Covid-19 outbreak
- Guillaume de Brier, Ken Matthysen | 19 april 2021
In April 2020, when the Coronavirus spread around the world, IPIS started monitoring the impact of the pandemic on the production and trade of the artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). IPIS published a report in October 2020 that discussed the results of several rounds of consultations with ASM stakeholders at nearly 90 Tin, Tantalum, Tung
Voices from Tanzania – case studies on Business & Human Rights (Volume 3)
- AJISO, FEMAPO, Governance Links Tanzania, PILIDO, TCCIA | 1 april 2021
The Voices from Tanzania series supports local field-based studies into business and human rights topics in Tanzania. This third volume presents five cases studies that focus on the human rights impact of large-scale infrastructure projects. Download this publication in pdf Pakua muhtasari kwa kiswahili The studies assessed the human rights impact of 3 energy supply projects– the East African Crud
Evaluating Due Diligence Programs for Conflict Minerals
The 2010 Dodd-Frank Act requires that US-listed companies sourcing so-called “conflict minerals” from Africa’s Great Lakes region conduct due diligence. Since January 2021, the EU imposes its 3TG importers to conduct due diligence in line with the OECD Guidelines (for a comparison between the two regulations, see IPIS Insight: Regulating Responsible Sourcing of 3TG Minerals). D
National Baseline Assessment – Business and Human Rights in Belgium
- IPIS | 17 maart 2021
IPIS contributed to the Belgian National Baseline Assessment (NBA). The report covers the findings and recommendations of the NBA. The NBA charts the progress made by Belgian authorities and companies since the launch of Belgium’s first National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights, in June 2017. The research was commissioned by the Belgian Federal Institute for Sustainable Developme