Walikale Territory – A0 Map
December 5, 2014Walikale Territory, North Kivu Province, DRC Walikale Territory, North Kivu Province, DRC (Detail)
Mapping Conflict Motives: the Central African Republic (2012-2014)
November 21, 2014In this study, IPIS analyses the conflict dynamics in the Central African Republic (CAR) since the outbreak of the latest crisis in September 2012 up to September 2014. The analysis specifically looks into the motivations and interests of the main conflict parties, Seleka and anti-balaka, and the influence and interests of neighbouring countries. The report covers the following key questions. What
Op 17 november 2014 organiseert IPIS een voorstelling van de documentaire Virunga, in Filmhuis Klappei in Antwerpen.
November 1, 2014Virunga is een nationaal park in het oosten van de Democratische Republiek Congo. Doordat het park tegen de grens van Uganda en Rwanda ligt moeten de Afrikaanse parkwachters een grote strijd voeren. De bijna uitgestorven berggorilla’s worden namelijk bedreigd door stropers, milities en de oprukkende olie industrie. De afgelopen maanden is Virunga al op diverse filmfestivals vertoond en sleepte vij
Supply Chains and Transport Corridors in East Africa
June 1, 2014Transport infrastructure plays a key role in boosting a country or region’s economic development. IPIS and TransArms have ascertained on several occasions that the underdevelopment or degeneration of transport infrastructure is a problematic issue across a number of African countries and regions. This report analyses the current logistics situation in Eastern Africa, and the logistic challenges fa
Analysis of the interactive map of artisanal mining areas in Eastern DRC – May 2014 Update
April 30, 2014In collaboration with the Congolese mining cadastre (CAMI), mining service SAESSCAM and representatives from local civil society organisations, IPIS organised a series of field visits to monitor artisanal mining activities and the involvement of armed groups and criminal networks in mineral exploitation and trade. This resulted in the publication of an interactive web map providing information on
IPIS Insights: The EU draft law on conflict minerals due diligence: a critical assessment from a business & human rights standpoint
April 4, 2014On the 5th of March 2014, the European Commission proposed a responsible trading strategy for minerals from conflict zones. The proposal took place within a specific and timely context. As IPIS has long documented, the exploitation of natural resources can have adverse human rights impacts. Businesses operating in conflict-affected or fragile regions should therefore ascertain whether their direct
Business, Human Rights, and Uganda’s Oil – Part II: Protect and Remedy: Implementing State duties under the UN Framework on Business and Human Rights
December 18, 2013The following is the second in a series of four reports exploring business and human rights issues in Uganda’s oil sector. This series is a collaboration between IPIS vsw and ActionAid Uganda. In accordance with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, this second report assesses the duty of the Ugandan, British, French and Chinese States to prevent, investigate, punish and redress
Initiatives en matière de ‘minerais de conflit’ en RD Congo: perceptions des communautés minières locales
December 16, 2013L’exploitation minière est une importante source de revenus pour de nombreuses communautés dans l’est de la République démocratique du Congo (RDC). Cette même richesse minière joue cependant aussi un rôle majeur dans la persistance de l’insécurité dans certaines parties du pays. Les revenus générés par le commerce des minerais fournissent des moyens d’opération aux groupes armés ainsi qu’un financ
Practice What You Preach: Theory and Practice of China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC)’s Stakeholder Engagement Plan in Chad
December 11, 2013The past decade has seen a staggering increase in Chinese investment flows in Africa, leaping from USD 392 million in 2005 to USD 2520 million in 2012. Although there is a growing understanding that China’s impact on sub-Saharan Africa is far-reaching and complex, and that Chinese investments on the continent are highly diversified, the majority of business & human rights analysts have tended
In search of clean water: human rights and the mining industry in Katanga, DRC
November 26, 2013Today, around 1,8 billion people in the world do not have access to safe water. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the most water-rich country in Africa, 51 million people lack access to potable water; only 26% of the population has access to safe drinking water. This is one of the lowest access rates in the world. In the Katanga province, rich in cobalt and copper, some industrial mining co
IPIS Insights: Kimberley Process: observations from the sidelines. Part I
November 20, 2013Ten years after the launch of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) this paper is the first in a two part series providing an overview of where the Kimberley Process and international efforts to combat the trade in conflict diamonds currently stand. It will analyse some of the present challenges facing the system and some of the potential solutions on the table. This part (Part I) will
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
Business, Human Rights, and Uganda’s Oil. Part I: Uganda’s oil sector and potential threats to human rights
July 12, 2013The following report is the first of a series of four collaborations between IPIS Research and ActionAid International Uganda. The series sheds a light on the oil sector in Uganda, its possible impact on human rights, and how government, companies, and civil society can best enable a positive bond between oil and the welfare of the Ugandan people. This first report opens by providing a situational
Gold and diamonds in the Central African Republic. The country’s mining sector, and related social, economic and environmental issues.
March 29, 2013Gold and diamonds in Central Africa easily conjure up images of conflict, rebel funding, human rights violations, and smuggling. As a country landlocked within an unstable region, neighbouring the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and recently the scene of another coup, the Central African Republic (CAR) might be considered an appropriate candidate for analysis within the conflict-mineral perspe
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
