“Véhicules civils militarisables” and the EU arms embargo on Sudan
The ongoing humanitarian crisis in Darfur has been overlooked recently because the international community has been focusing on the popular revolts in North Africa in the first half of the year and South Sudan’s peaceful referendum on secession from northern Sudan, and the subsequent violence in and over the contested Abyei region, In December 2010, […]
Kenya’s role in the trade of gold from eastern DRC
On 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 […]
The Arms Flyers. Commercial Aviation, Human Rights, and the Business of War and Arms
In the last decades, the “business of war” has attracted thousands of civilian transport and logistics companies, especially in the aviation sector. State and non-State actors engaged in armed conflicts or in military operations that require substantial logistic support have increasingly resorted to the services of civilian transport operators to fulfill their transport and logistics […]
Guide to Current Mining Reform Initiatives in Eastern DRC
US 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. […]
The complexity of resource governance in a context of state fragility: The case of eastern DRC
A 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 […]
The Karamoja Cluster of eastern Africa: Arms transfers and their repercussions on communal security perceptions
Nomadic peoples are often, if not universally, perceived as a problem by the governments of the nation states who have responsibility for them; this is particularly so in the case of the three nations with which this report is concerned, viz: Kenya, Uganda and (southern) Sudan. The pastoralist societies within the Karamajong cluster have been […]
The complexity of resource governance in a context of state fragility: An analysis of the mining sector in the Kivu hinterlands (2010)
The 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), […]
Mapping the Labyrinth: more on the strange weapons flight of 4L-AWA
This research report is the third in a series about the case of a IL-76 aircraft used for an apparently clandestine arms flight in provenance from Pyongyang – in contravention of the United Nations arms embargo on North Korea -, which was impounded by Thai authorities during a technical stop in Bangkok December 12, 2009. […]
Mapping Conflict Motives: ‘Province Orientale’ (DRC) (2010)
The districts of Ituri, Haut-Uele, Bas-Uele and the territory of Bafwasende continue to suffer from armed groups. Generally speaking, the strength of the armed groups throughout Orientale is limited and their effectives are few. Moreover, there is a considerable presence of the Congolese army. The Uele districts are the two most northern districts of Orientale […]
From deceit to discovery: The strange flight of 4L-AWA (update)
A joint IPIS/Transarms publication. Download in pdf or open with issuu reader.
Exceptions in dual-use export licenses
The European Commission (EC) presented in December 2008 a Proposal for a Council Regulation amending Regulation (EC) No 1334/2000 setting up a Community regime for the control of exports of dual-use items and technology. This proposal has been set up to achieve ‘uniform and consistent application of controls throughout the Community’, to ‘simplify the current […]
Accompanying note on the interactive map of militarised mining areas in the Kivus (2009)
The MiMiKi map is a snapshot of the situation as it was in the period May-July 2009. All the armed groups deployed in the region profit directly from the mining activities. Armed groups have positions at more than half of the sites listed on the MiMiKi map where they obtain an (extra) income. The FARDC […]
Le plan STAREC du gouvernement congolais: une analyse préliminaire
Début juillet le gouvernement congolais a établi un plan de stabilisation pour l’Est de la RDC. L’initiative est restée sans écho dans les médias et le plan même n’a pas été rendu public. Néanmoins, après quelques recherches, IPIS à pu obtenir le document. Nous avons jugé que, dans le cadre des efforts congolais et internationaux […]
Africa’s natural resources in a global context
While, on the one hand, it is widely acknowledged that Africa has great natural resource potential, on the other hand, one cannot but regret that the complex interplay between political and economic factors at the national and international level appears to make it impossible to use a more substantial part of the revenues from the […]
Zimbabwe – Arms and Corruption: fuelling human rigths abuse
The following examples of irresponsible arms transfers involving Zimbabwe and other actors should be of great concern to the international community. The examples cited below are intended to illustrate further the need to ensure that the proposed international Arms Trade Treaty is as comprehensive as possible, and fully reflects the obligations of States to prevent […]
The impact of the global financial crisis on mining in Katanga
This report examines the impact of the global financial crisis on the mining sector in Katanga, the southeast province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. As far as the industrial mining sector is concerned, it is shown that the crisis exacerbated the uncertainty of mining companies that were waiting for the results of the […]
Culprits or scapegoats? Revisiting the role of Belgian mineral traders in eastern DRC
Ever since the eruption of the second Congo war in August 1998, the mining sector in eastern DRC has been under scrutiny of UN Sanctions Committees, academics, NGOs, and local and international media, who have been worried and disturbed by the links between natural resource exploitation and armed conflict in the region. It has been […]
An analysis of Finexpo’s and Ducroire/Nationale Delcrederedienst’s support practices in comparison to the EURODAD principles on responsible financing
In 2007, Belgian exports generated 89,3% of Belgium’s gross domestic product. The exports created employment as well as fiscal and parafiscal revenues. Because of the importance that exporting holds in the Belgian economy, Belgium has several public instruments in place to encourage and support the export of goods and services. At the federal level, there […]
Mapping Conflict Motives: Central African Republic (2009)
Not many areas in the Central African Republic are really secure. Although the country is scarcely populated, it is tormented by a multitude of armed actors. These belligerents use their weapons for a diversity of reasons but they have one thing in common: each of them would be a weak opponent for any well-organised state, […]
Rechercher la problématique des ressources naturelles dans la République Démocratique du Congo. Syllabus sur le cadre juridique
Ce syllabus a été rédigé dans le cadre du projet ‘Renforcement de capacité d’ONG congolaises qui travaillent autour les ressources naturelles : méthodologies de recherche et rédaction de dossiers de haute qualité servant de base aux activités de campagne et de lobbying’. Ce projet est éxécuté par l’ONG belge International Peace Information Service (IPIS) et […]
