Tag: D.R. Congo

U.S. Begins Targeted Sanctions on Kabila Regime, Should Continue Until Timely Elections Scheduled

Today, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) placed General Célestin Kanyama, the Police Commissioner of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s capital city Kinshasa, on its Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) List. General Kanyama has been linked to at least three police operations that used excessive force, including “Operation Likofi” in which police summarily killed at least 51 youth and forcibly disappeared 33 others during an anti-crime campaign from November 2013 to January 2014, as well as deadly attacks on peaceful protestors in October 2015.

Foreign Affairs Op-ed: Congo's Kabila Problem

In July of last year, U.S. President Barack Obama gave a landmark speech at the African Union (AU) headquarters in Addis Ababa, criticizing leaders who undemocratically change their constitutions to stay in power and emphasizing that the United States would call out such behavior. He pointed to Burundi where a few months earlier, President Pierre Nkurunziza pressured the courts to change the constitution’s term limits so that he could run for a third time. Obama warned that such a tactic could trigger “instability and strife,” as well as hamper “Africa’s democratic progress.” But his words seem to have fallen on deaf ears.

The Hill Op-ed: Why the House Must Stop the Last-second FSGG Rider on Conflict Minerals

Yesterday, Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-Mich.) filed an 11th hour amendment to the financial services appropriations bill to de-fund enforcement of the conflict minerals provision in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The amendment was adopted by the House Rules Committee and will go to the House floor for a vote today.

New Congressional Resolutions: U.S. should use Financial Tools to support Free and Fair Elections in Congo

On June 13, key Members of the House of Representatives introduced a Resolution calling on the Obama Administration to impose targeted sanctions and leverage other financial pressure as one way to support  the constitution of the the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

“Historic”: ICC sentences Jean-Pierre Bemba to 18 years in prison

Today, the International Criminal Court (ICC) sentenced Jean-Pierre Bemba to 18 years in prison for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Experts at the Enough Project have been following the case and are available for comment and analysis.

New Report: How an Illegal Charcoal Trade is Threatening Africa’s Oldest National Park

Based on extensive field interviews with UN officials, charcoal traders, leading Congolese conservationists and whistleblowers, and local and international law enforcement officials, Enough's newest report explains how the illegal trade works and offers specific policy recommendations aimed at ending the trade and providing alternative fuels.

Gold, Kidnapping, and Silence on Gender-based Violence: the UN Group of Experts Releases its Newest Report on Congo

Late last week, the UN Group of Experts -- a panel of investigators mandated by the UN Security Council with monitoring implementation of the arms embargo and sanctions in place on Congo and with providing public updates on the security situation in Congo -- released its annual final report. 

The Mafia in the Park: A charcoal syndicate is threatening Virunga, Africa’s oldest national park

An illegal charcoal cartel is helping to finance one of the most prominent militias in central Africa and destroying parts of Africa’s oldest national park. Nursing alliances with Congolese army and police units and operating remote trafficking rings in the sanctuaries of Congo’s protected forests, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) is a kingpin in Africa’s Great Lakes region’s organized crime networks and a continuing threat to human security. 

Charcoal 101

The illegal charcoal trade in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (Congo) has become one of the most lucrative enterprise for Congo’s most notorious and stalwart rebel group, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR). In addition to financing ongoing armed conflict, the charcoal trade is threatening Virunga, Africa’s oldest national park and a protected UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

Multi-Million Dollar Criminal Charcoal Syndicate Destroying Swathes of Virunga Park

A groundbreaking new report by the Enough Project, an atrocity prevention policy group, reveals wide swathes of ancient forest in Virunga, Africa’s oldest national park, are being destroyed by a violent “mafia-like” operation profiting from an illegal, multi-million dollar charcoal business. 

Une organisation criminelle multimillionnaire détruit de vastes étendues du parc des Virunga pour son charbon de bois

Un rapport fracassant de l’Enough Project révèle les opérations mafieuses d’un groupe rebelle congolais : un commerce transfrontalier illégal de charbon de bois marqué par des meurtres abominables, des réseaux d’espions et la complicité de la police et de fonctionnaires, au rythme du saccage de forêts anciennes.

Civil Society Groups Call for Greater Governance in Global Diamond Industry

Representing the United Arab Emirates, which has come under significant scrutiny from a number of NGOs for its practices as a diamond trading hub, the Chair chose to attack and try to undermine the Civil Society Coalition. The Coalition provides an essential voice in the work of the initiative established to prevent trade in conflict diamonds, and today a number of organizations inside the Coalition and outside the KP entirely -- including the Enough Project -- issued a joint statement in response.

Companies File Third Round of Conflict Minerals Reports, SEC, Government Agencies Must Follow Through

May 31st marks the third annual deadline for electronics, manufacturing, and other companies to file conflict minerals reports with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), as part of their obligation under Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. With three years of reporting now completed, the SEC must follow through on its responsibility to hold companies accountable for the content of these reports by ensuring that companies have filed complete and accurate reports that meet regulatory requirements.

Number of Certified Conflict-Free Mines in Congo Increases by 31%: 204 Mines Certified

The number of officially certified conflict-free mines in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has increased by 31% since June 2015, according to recent data from the German Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) and Congo's Mining Ministry. Multi-stakeholder teams made up of business persons, government officials, and civil society members have validated that 204 mines in eastern Congo are now free of armed groups, the military, and the worst forms of child labor.

Enough Project Statement on May 26th Congo Democracy Protests, Need for Targeted Sanctions

The Enough Project is deeply concerned about the growing political crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo. For over a year, citizens have been calling on President Kabila to indicate his intentions to step down, resulting in dozens of arbitrary arrests and detentions. Government security forces are continuing this trend of violent response to the country-wide demonstrations using tear gas, beatings, and bullets. 

Companies File Third Round of Conflict Minerals Reports, SEC, Government Agencies Must Follow Through

May 31st marks the third annual deadline for electronics, manufacturing, and other companies to file conflict minerals reports with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), as part of their obligation under Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

The Hill Op-ed: Global Magnitsky's Power to Protect

Like the endangered wildlife he helps protect, Congolese environmentalist Bantu Lukambo is being hunted. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, conservation is dangerous work because it threatens the interests of powerful groups. Several of Congo’s national parks – including Africa’s oldest, Virunga – are under siege. Armed groups and poachers have used these remote areas as sanctuaries and business headquarters, trafficking in ivory, minerals, and charcoal made from old-growth forest. 

Foreign Affairs Dispatch: Virunga's Charcoal Cartel

On the southwestern flank of Virunga, a protected national park in the Democratic Republic of Congo, there was once a thick rainforest. Today it looks like the surface of the moon, barren and smoking. A resident in the area told me that ten years ago he could walk up the road and see elephants. Now the elephants are gone. In their place are violent militias operating an illegal charcoal trade, cutting and burning Virunga’s rare forests to the ground.

STUDENTS - APPLY NOW! Campus Organizer, Enough Project's Conflict-Free Campus Initiative 2016-17

The Conflict-Free Campus Initiative (CFCI), a joint initiative of the Enough Project and STAND, draws on the power of student leadership and activism to support peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo. By encouraging school officials and stakeholders, both of which are large purchasers of electronics and powerful spokespersons, to commit to measures that pressure electronics companies to invest responsibly in Congo's minerals sector, students are voicing the demand for conflict-free products from Congo. As a Campus Organizer for CFCI, you will be an essential part of strengthening the conflict-free movement on your campus. APPLY NOW!

Human Rights Groups at OECD: Need for Mandatory Due Diligence on Minerals

National and international civil society organisations working to advance transparency and accountability in supply chains welcome this 10th Joint Forum on Responsible Mineral Supply Chains. The Forum represents a commitment by governments and companies to engage in more responsible sourcing and trading in line with applicable laws and standards, such as the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs).