The (new) M23 offensive on Goma: Why this long-lasting conflict is not only about minerals and what are its implications? – Q&A
By the morning of January 29th, the rebels largely controlled the strategic city of Goma. To provide a quick and understandable explanation of the causes of this humanitarian crisis, the role of natural resources, and in particular minerals, is often overemphasized. While mining and mineral trade inevitably play an important role — being a vital part of the local economy — it is important to assess economic assets more broadly, as well as political interests and social grievances.
Shifting frontlines: Visualizing the evolution of the M23’s territorial influence in early 2024
In early 2024, IPIS, ASSODIP, and DIIS published a report on the stakes and motivations of the “March 23 Movement” (M23), a rebellion causing serious insecurity and humanitarian suffering in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The movement took up arms again in 2021, and it rapidly seized vast territories in the south-east of North Kivu province in 2022, with military support from the Rwandan army. The IPIS-ASSODIP report included several maps, displaying the areas influenced by M23 up to 2023 […]
Mining and conflict in the eastern DRC: An interactive story map
Conflict-financing, armed interference, and sources of insecurity beyond the ‘conflict minerals’ paradigm In this story map, IPIS presents its findings on the linkage between mining and conflict-financing in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Based on a survey conducted between 2021-2023 of 829 active mining sites (representing over 132,320 artisanal miners), IPIS’ research […]
Mapping the political economy of checkpoints in Somalia
The maps inform users on the locations of roadblocks across Somalia, the distribution of violence at checkpoints as well as the density of checkpoints per administrative region. Different maps also identify varying characteristics of the roadblocks, including their operator, location on a primary/secondary road and the amount paid at the checkpoint as toll.
Responsible mining scorecard in eastern DRC
Over the years, IPIS has systematically collected mine site and trade hub level data on artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) in eastern DRC. This data collection has enabled IPIS to generate a sizable database of more than 3,000 ASM sites that draws both on sites visited by IPIS and data from third party sources including the Congolese mining cadastre and the Ministerial qualification teams. This database is the point of departure of the Responsible mining scorecard (RMS).
Maps of artisanal and small-scale mining in eastern DRC
IPIS has created large format maps of known past and present ASM sites in eastern DRC. These A0 maps cover the provinces of Haut Uele, Maniema, Ituri and North and South Kivu. Each map details the type of minerals, the qualification status by official authorities, the mining titles and provide with an overview of armed […]
Maps of checkpoints in South Sudan
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 […]
Webmap “Business and Human Rights in Tanzania”
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 […]
Story map of ASM sites in the DRC
Explore IPIS’ web map of the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) with a guided narrative In its new story map, IPIS presents data gathered on eastern DRC’s artisanal mining sector and highlights key information from its reports investigating the interactions between natural resources and conflict dynamics in the region. Data was gathered on […]
Dashboard of incidents in eastern DRC – Kufatilia
The Kufatilia platform (“to track” in Swahili) is an SMS based incident reporting and follow-up mechanism that has been launched in 2019 to increase transparency of minerals supply chains in Eastern DRC. Developed by IPIS in partnership with the Centre for Expertise on Mining Governance (CEGEMI) based in Bukavu, and powered by Ulula, Kufatilia is […]
Maps of conflict minerals in Eastern DRC (2020)
IPIS created maps of conflict minerals in eastern DRC, more particularly on Haut Uele, Ituri and North and South Kivu. These maps detail the type of minerals, the qualification of the mines, the mining titles and give an overview of armed presence in and around the mines. d Download the North Kivu map in full […]
Story map of ASM sites in Central African Republic
Discover a new approach to IPIS’ interactive webmap of artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sites in the Central African Republic through this interactive story map. In partnership with national authorities in Central African Republic (CAR) and USAID’s Artisanal Mining and Property Rights project, IPIS mapped and analysed the artisanal mining sector in the western part […]
Transparency and Formalization of Gold Supply Chains in Eastern DR Congo
Advancing incident reporting and community participation in responsible sourcing From January 2018 till December 2019, IPIS and its partner CEGEMI (Catholic University of Bukavu) carried out a capacity enhancement project in the gold mining sector in Eastern Congo, financed by the European Partnership for Responsible Minerals (EPRM). The project was composed of two complementary parts: […]
Mapping artisanal mining sites in the Western Central African Republic (2019)
This report presents an analysis of the artisanal mining sector in western Central African Republic (CAR) and outlines some of the challenges surrounding gold and diamond mining, trade and export. From April to July 2019, the International Peace Information Service (IPIS), in partnership with national authorities, carried out a mapping of artisanal mining sites in […]
Defence-related companies in Africa
Africa’s domestic defence industry remains relatively unknown. Therefore, the International Peace Information Service (IPIS) and Omega Research Foundation have compiled a database of the main entities comprising this industry, including companies that manufacture, assemble or maintain: arms and ammunition; aeronautical components; vehicles; as well as importing and management companies. This data has been mapped to […]
Ground-Based Incident Reporting in eastern DRC – Progress Report 3
In January 2018, the European Partnership for Responsible Minerals (EPRM) granted IPIS funds to implement an independent, transparent and participatory platform for incident reporting and community empowerment in responsible sourcing in the eastern DRC gold sector. This platform will have to contribute in improving transparency around follow-up and resolution of incidents in cooperation with relevant […]
Map Pastoralism Ouham Pendé (2019)
Each year the annual migration of transnational transhumance through the prefecture of Ouham-Pende, in northwestern Central African Republic (CAR), uproots a deep-seated mistrust between nomadic and sedentary communities. Escalating militancy and environmental pressures in the region has only amplified these issues in recent years.In partnership with Concordis International, IPIS hopes to enhance understanding of transnational […]
Dissecting the social license to operate: Local community perceptions of industrial mining in northwest Tanzania
Discussions on industrial mining often revolve around the sector’s contribution to domestic revenue generation. The local impact on the rural communities wherein most of these companies operate receives much less attention. To bring the voices of these communities to the centre of the debate, IPIS conducted surveys on community perspectives in 32 villages nearby six […]
Artisanal and small-scale mining mapping in the Runde Rural District of Zimbabwe
IPIS and the Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association (ZELA) collaborated to map artisanal and small-scale mining in the Runde Rural district of Zimbabwe. Following a training on Mobile Data Collection (MDC) tools organized by IPIS in November 2018, ZELA conducted a pilot study on Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining (ASM) in the area. Five groups of enumerators […]
Assessing the impact of due diligence programmes in Eastern DRC: A baseline study
Over the past decade, various legislative and due diligence programmes (DDP) have been developed to improve mining communities’ livelihoods and reduce human rights abuses in conflict affected and high- risk areas, with a special focus on the African Great Lakes region. Despite significant growth and investments in minerals certification and traceability schemes, data on the […]
