Author: Sasha Lezhnev

An important but under-reported piece of news on the Democratic Republic of Congo over the last few months is the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) decision not to provide a loan to the country until the Congolese government enacts key transparency and anti-corruption reforms. IMF loans are critically important for the Congolese government. If they move forward, they open the door for other, much larger amounts of aid money from donors such as the World Bank and the African Development Bank. The World Bank has already said that it could provide Congo with up to $5 billion in aid over the ...

Today, the International Criminal Court (ICC) sentenced Congolese warlord Bosco Ntaganda, also known as the “The Terminator,” to its harshest ever punishment: 30 years in prison. The long sentence handed down today sends an important signal to current armed commanders in Congo and elsewhere in the region that if they order mass killings or sexual violence, or commit other grave crimes, they will be held accountable for their actions ...

Consumers can play a role to help end the conflict gold trade and promote a responsible gold trade.  ...

Download the full report here. Countries that act as transit hubs for international wildlife trafficking are a critical, highly profitable part of the illegal wildlife smuggling supply chain, but are frequently overlooked. While considerable attention is paid to stopping illegal poaching at the chain’s origins in national parks and changing end-user demand (e.g., in China), countries that act as midpoints in the supply chain are critical to stopping global wildlife trafficking. They are needed way stations for traffickers who generate considerable profits, thereby driving the market for poaching. This is starting to change, as U.S., European, and some African policymakers ...

There may still be hope yet to bring the Democratic Republic of Congo back from the brink. Senior Congolese politicians, western diplomats, and French television are reporting that Joseph Kabila and the political opposition are getting closer to signing a deal on a democratic transition, brokered by the Catholic bishops in Congo, CENCO ...

Testimony of Sasha Lezhnev, Enough Project Associate Director of Policy, given on November 29, 2016 before the U.S. Congress’ Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission hearing on “Democracy and Human Rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.” ...

The Democratic Republic of Congo is not a failed state—for everyone. It is a failure for the vast majority of Congolese who suffer from abysmal security, health care, and education services. However, it is an efficient state for ruling elites and their commercial partners who seek to extract or traffic resources at the expense of Congo’s development ...

Testimony of Sasha Lezhnev, Enough Project Associate Director of Policy, before the House Foreign Affairs Committee's Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations hearing on “Ridding Central Africa of Joseph Kony: Continuing U.S. Support,” given on September 30, 2015 ...

Over the past three years, teams of business persons, government officials, and civil society members have been traveling to mines in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo to assess whether or not the mines are conflict-free. Out of a total 180 mines assessed so far, 141 have now been validated as conflict-free ...

The foundation for a viable, comprehensive peace process for the deadly war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is finally starting to emerge. A new Enough Project report analyzes the changing dynamics of Congo's peace process and outlines steps ahead for building momentum for peace in Congo ...