
Artisanal and small-scale mining Incident Tracker in eastern DRC
June 5, 2019Since the end of 2018 witnesses and victims of incidents and accidents related to artisanal small-scale production, transport and trading of minerals in the provinces of South-Kivu and Ituri can be reported. IPIS, in collaboration with the Bukavu based Expertise Centre on Mining Governance (CEGEMI) and Ulula,has developed a new, anonymous reporting system. View the ASM Incident Tracker The tool al

Mapping artisanal mining sites in Runde district, Zimbabwe
June 3, 2019In 2018, the Zimbabwean Lawyers Association ZELA started a pilot project of mapping artisanal mining sites in the Runde district (midlands province) of Zimbabwe. ZELA engaged IPIS to provide technical assistance on mobile data collection tools, questionnaire design and to create a printed map and an interactive webmap. A first training was conducted in Harare with the ZELA’s team in November 2018

Data sharing on the socio-economic and human rights impact of mining in Tanzania
May 15, 2019Tanzania, May 2019 Since January 2017, IPIS has been working on a project to map the socio-economic and human rights impact of mining in northwest Tanzania. This project is supported by the Belgian development cooperation under a programme on human rights and digitisation. By using mobile technologies such as mobile data collection, GIS mapping, mobile incident reporting and phone surveys throug

New project of mapping artisanal and small-scale mining sites in the Central African Republic
May 2, 2019Following a successful training in Bangui with members from civil society organizations and field officers from the Kimberley Process focal point at the Ministry of mines and geology of the Central African Republic (CAR), IPIS will start field based research to map artisanal and small-scale gold and diamond mining sites in Western CAR. This study will focus on quantitative research through Mobile

Assessing the impact of due diligence programmes in Eastern DRC: A baseline study
April 24, 2019Over 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 impact of due diligence

Mapping artisanal mining areas and mineral supply chains in eastern DRC (2019)
April 9, 2019In a new report and webmap, IPIS presents its updated data on armed conflict and armed interference in eastern DRC’s artisanal mining sector. Building on extensive data, gathered over the last ten years, IPIS assesses the impact of responsible sourcing initiatives in DRC, designed to address armed interference in mineral supply chains. The report illustrates that responsible sourcing efforts have

ASM Incident Tracker
April 5, 2019Welcome to Kufatilia, the ASM Incident Tracker developed by IPIS in collaboration with the Expertise Centre on Mining Governance (CEGEMI) based in Bukavu, and powered by Ulula. The ASM Incident Tracker is a tool for Congolese civil society organisations to report and monitor incidents in Eastern DRC in a transparent, independent and participatory way. The reported incidents, in line

Mapping artisanal small-scale mining in eastern DRC
March 3, 2019News Story Map of ASM Sites in the DRC October 6, 2020 Explore IPIS’ eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) webmap with a guided narrative. In its new story map, IPIS presents data gathered on eastern DRC’s artisanal mining sector and Training and workshop on mapping artisanal mining in Eastern DRCFebruary 9, 2018(French version below) 2373 Mining sites visited, including 470 visits in the

Ground-based incident reporting in eastern DRC – Progress Report 2
February 15, 2019In 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 contribute to improving transparency around follow-up and resolution of incidents in cooperation with relevant stak

Mapping artisanal and small-scale mining in northwest Tanzania
January 25, 2019IPIS has undertaken an unprecedented mobile data collection campaign, mapping 450 artisanal and small-scale mining and processing sites in northwest Tanzania. This serves to improve the evidence based on the sector, and contribute to a balanced understanding of its nature, scope and impact in Tanzania. Download the Report Visit the Interactive Webmap Download the full resolution static map (A0)

Capacity Building for a Responsible Minerals Trade
December 20, 2018With the support of the Capacity Building for Responsible Minerals Trade, IPIS developed and implemented a methodology aimed at assessing the responsible sourcing potential of gold mining areas in South-Kivu. IPIS conducted field missions in seven gold trading hubs and their surrounding mines in South-Kivu: Shabunda centre (Shabunda territory), Katchungu (Shabunda territory), Mapimo (Shabunda terr

Kufatilia: a new Incident Monitoring Mechanism for Gold Supply Chains
December 4, 2018“Today a man was killed in a pit collapse in an artisanal mining site near Numbi.” Civil society organizations, working to improve living conditions of artisanal and small-scale miners in Eastern DR Congo, regularly receive this kind of text message. Capture d’écran du système de Suivis des Incidents de l’Or (SIOr) Since a few weeks, incidents linked to the production, transport and selling of mi

Capacity building for responsible mineral trade – Gold in South Kivu, DR Congo
December 3, 2018With the support of the USAID program Capacity Building for Responsible Minerals Trade, IPIS developed and implemented a methodology aimed at assessing the responsible sourcing potential of gold mining areas in South-Kivu.IPIS conducted field missions in seven gold trading hubs and their surrounding mines in South-Kivu: Shabunda centre (Shabunda territory), Katchungu (Shabunda territory), Mapimo (

KP Civil Society disappointed by resistance to reform in the Kimberley Process
November 16, 2018The Kimberley Process (KP) Civil Society Coalition (CSC) pushed hard for reform in the 2018 KP Brussels Plenary, with very concrete proposals, amongst others on changing the definition of conflict diamonds beyond the limited and outdated scope of rough diamonds financing rebel movements. The CSC, together with industry (World Diamond Council) and Canada made a realistic proposal for a wider defini

Kimberley Process Civil Society Coalition calls on all Members to deliver on improving global diamond governance
November 14, 2018Reform is high on the agenda of this year’s Kimberley Process Plenary under EU Chairmanship. The Kimberley Process – once a pioneering tripartite effort to stop diamonds from financing rebel groups – is struggling to provide an adequate answer to numerous human rights challenges associated with the diamond sector today. Aware of these enormous challenges, it was decided at the 2017 Plenary meeting

22 November – IPIS panel discussion on the Central African Republic
October 19, 2018Central African Republic: A Conflict Mapping IPIS kindly invites you to a panel discussion on the conflict in the Central African Republic on Thursday November 22, 4:30pm at the Jacqmotte Conference Center, Hoogstraat/Rue Haute 139 in Brussels. Please register at events@ipisresearch.be Programme 4:30 – Welcome Honorary Ambassador Johan Swinnen, Chair IPIS 4:40 – Keynote speech

Central African Republic: A Conflict Mapping (2018)
September 16, 2018In a new report and webmap on the longstanding crisis in the Central African Republic (CAR), IPIS points out that access to resources remains the predominant driver of both armament and conflict in CAR. All armed groups operating in CAR are engaged in predation on one or more economic sectors. Such predation is not only a key determinant of an armed group’s movements and activities, but prov

IPIS welcomes UA Summer School students for workshop on responsible sourcing using IPIS maps
September 10, 2018On September 6th, 30 students from the University of Antwerp ‘Mine to Finger’ Summer School on diamonds participated in a responsible sourcing workshop organised by IPIS. They explored the upstream context of the diamond supply chain in Central African Republic (CAR) and the Democratic Republic Congo (DRC) using IPIS webmaps. They engaged in a critical and nuanced discussion on various due dilig

Strengthening local voices: discover IPIS’ partner publication series “Voices from the South”
September 3, 2018Since 2017, IPIS has been closely collaborating with civil society actors from central and east Africa who want to share their perspective on subjects related to IPIS’ work. Their hands-on experience, unique knowledge and access to information offer local insights relevant to a large audience. With the editorial support from IPIS, local partners are encouraged to write down their research. This ha
Open data – Getting started using Excel
August 27, 2018Since 2009, the International Peace Information Service manages a database on mining site visits in eastern DR Congo. Since January 2017, IPIS publishes the data it has collected over the last decade on its Open Data page. This tutorial explains how to get started with the IPIS Open Data if you are using Microsoft Excel. Other documentation to this data includes an Open Data FAQ & Dictionary p