Publications

Children shooting children
- IANSA | June 1, 2022
This paper aims to explain how small arms and light weapons (SALW) proliferation leads to extreme violence by children using guns against other children, a shocking indictment on the failure of governments to ensure strict control of such weapons. The paper will draw on examples from different countries where such incidents have occurred. It will focus on cases relating to school shootings, child

Small arms and light weapons proliferation and violence: Estimating its scale and forms
- Peter Danssaert | June 1, 2022
aSmall arms and light weapons are widely available and easy to use, so they are the most prominent tools in contemporary armed conflicts as well as in armed criminal and interpersonal violence in non-conflict settings. To grasp the global scale of SALW proliferation and the patterns of violence committed with SALW, this briefing paper summarizes the available data which is considered reliable from

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and arms transfers in the framework of international law
- Brian Wood, Peter Danssaert | April 11, 2022
The international crisis and threat to world peace presented by the massive Russian invasion of Ukraine in early 2022 has thrown up difficult questions, not least of which is how the international community can assist the Ukrainian armed forces defend the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. In doing so, it is tempting to think of the situation only in military terms, leaving aside wha

Russian diamonds and the war in Ukraine
- Hans Merket | April 4, 2022
In this Insight, IPIS provides background and analysis on several aspects of the Russian diamond sector, what links it has to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and how the international business and political community is seeking an adequate response to the challenges this raises. The Russian invasion of Ukraine, that started on 24 February 2022, has led to international outrage. Russ

Grassroots research on local diamond mining impact
During 2021, IPIS supported members of the Kimberley Process Civil Society Coalition (KP CSC) in a series of grassroots studies on the human rights, socio-economic and environmental impact of diamond mining in eight African countries. IPIS provided online trainings on field survey methodology as well as editorial support to ten civil society organisations who carried out independent field res

Unconditional cash transfers in the DRC: A comparative baseline study in an artisanal mining zone in Maniema Province
- Erik Gobbers, Thomas Muller | March 1, 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 | February 14, 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 | February 14, 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 | January 24, 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 | December 14, 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 | December 10, 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 | December 1, 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 | November 23, 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 | September 8, 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 | August 31, 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 | August 20, 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 | August 18, 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 | July 26, 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 | June 9, 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 | June 1, 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