Category: Policy One-Pagers

Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act has been a primary driver of corporate and regional policy change on conflict minerals in the Democratic Republic of Congo (Congo), helping create an economic incentive for ending exploitative mining practices and reforming the region’s minerals sector. However, Dodd-Frank 1502 is only one component in a broad set of peacebuilding tools, and it must be accompanied by other initiatives to advance development of a responsible minerals trade that improves the livelihoods and security of people living in eastern Congo. These changes toward peace must include government and corporate ...

South Sudan achieved independence from Sudan in 2011, marking a major milestone and promising to bring with it peace, prosperity, equality, and development. However, in December 2013, a political power struggle unleashed a new and brutal armed conflict that continues today and civilians are paying the highest price ...

The first six months of 2014 have brought devastating death and destruction in Sudan, on par with the height of the genocide in Darfur from 2003-2005. Despite the United Nations Security Council mandating that the Sudanese government disarm its Janjaweed militias a decade ago, it never did. Now, as the International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor says, a new iteration of the Janjaweed have taken the country by storm. A new Enough Project Report, “Janjaweed Reincarnate,” traces the movements of these fighters -- newly trained, heavily armed, and re-branded as “Rapid Support Forces.” ...

This activist brief provides details and talking points on the illicit conflict gold trade and the M23 rebel group's involvement. It explains how M23 and its allies took over took over a profitable part of the conflict gold trade in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

The latest round of violence in Darfur – torching of villages, terrorizing civilians, and systematically clearing prime land and resource-rich areas of their inhabitants – has forced the largest population movement since the height of the genocide in the mid-2000s. This activist brief outlines important facts about the escalating violence and highlights action for U.S. citizens to take in order to advocate for an end to the ongoing conflict in Darfur ...

There has never been a better chance than now for sustainable peace to take hold in eastern Congo since the current phase of conflict began in the mid-1990s. This activist brief looks at the role that the United Nations and U.S. government can play in ensuring that the new peace process brings lasting stability to the Congolese people ...

Gold has emerged as the most lucrative conflict mineral for armed groups in Congo because it is easy to smuggle small quantities for large profits. This activist brief maps out the conflict-gold trade in Congo and outlines steps forward to bring an end to the deadly trade ...

The passage of provisions on conflict minerals from the eastern region of Democratic Republic of Congo (Congo) in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 has brought unprecedented attention to the linkages between trade in minerals crucial to electronics and other industries and the ongoing conflict in DRC. These provisions have been welcomed by the State Department, the Congolese government, a diverse coalition of NGOs, and by leading companies. But the passage of the legislation also raised important questions about how it will be implemented, potential unintended consequences from the law, its linkages with other initiatives ...

Operation Lightning Thunder did not end the threat of the Lord’s Resistance Army, or LRA, and sparked harsh reprisals by the LRA against civilians in Congo. Given the U.S. role in this operation and its appalling consequences for civilians, the Obama administration now has a responsibility to help finish the job and finally bring an end to the LRA’s devastating reign of death and destruction in central Africa ...

From President Obama's appointment of a special envoy for Sudan to the expulsion of 16 aid groups from Darfur, the past several weeks have brought both welcome first steps and the development of a potential humanitarian disaster to the situation in Sudan. Many activists have grown understandably and increasingly frustrated given the seeming lack of urgency and relative silence from the Obama administration in addressing the looming humanitarian crisis in Darfur ...