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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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).
African Parks and the Enough Project commend the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for passing the Global Anti-Poaching Act out of committee earlier today. We hope this significant bi-partisan legislation will soon become law and are thankful for the leadership in the House by Chairman Royce (R-CA) and Ranking Member Engel (D-NY) and in the Senate by Chairman Corker (R-TN), Ranking Member Cardin (D-MD), Senator Coons (D-DE) and Senator Flake (R-AZ).
On Thursday, April 14, a crowd gathered in Washington DC for a private screening of the new documentary, Merci Congo, hosted by the Enough Project and Intel. Following the screening, the filmmaker Paul Freedman led a panel discussion featuring subjects from the film: Congolese activist Neema Namadamu, former UW - Madison Conflict-Free Campus Initiative leader Katy Johnson, and Enough’s Associate Director of Policy, as well as Intel’s Director for Global Supply Management, Carolyn Duran. The discussion focused on moving the lessons of the film from inspiration to action.
Last Wednesday, the United Nations Security Council unanimously passed Resolution 2277 (2016), renewing the mandate until March 31, 2017 to maintain current force levels of 19,815 military personnel in its stabilization mission in the DRC, the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO).
This week, Apple released a new report that revealed the company had taken several groundbreaking steps to combat the deadly in trade in conflict minerals. Four minerals used in electronics, jewelry, and other products – gold, tin, tantalum, and tungsten – have helped fund armed conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo, in which over 5.4 million people have died since 1994.
A resolution passed on March 10 in the European Union Parliament and a letter addressed to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry from 25 student leaders in the U.S. have called for increased policy action on President Joseph Kabila of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to hold national elections freely, fairly, and on time. The two public notices particularly call on the U.S. and E.U. to place targeted sanctions on Kabila’s inner circle. These statements have come at a time when democracy activists are increasingly being jailed in Congo, for example the arrest of 18 LUCHA activists following a peaceful demonstration on March 15.
On Monday, the International Criminal Court (ICC) ruled Jean-Pierre Bemba guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Experts at the Enough Project have been following the case, and are available for comment and analysis.
On Monday, the International Criminal Court (ICC) is scheduled to deliver a verdict in the war crimes trial of Jean-Pierre Bemba. Experts at the Enough Project have been following the case, and will be available for comment and analysis.
Thursday, March 3rd 2016 is World Wildlife Day. This year, the theme centers on protection of elephants in particular. Recognizing the links between wildlife trafficking and the perpetration of atrocities in central and eastern Africa, Enough is calling on U.S. Congress to pass critical anti-wildlife trafficking legislation.
As tomorrow marks World Wildlife Day, the Enough Project speaks out against the slaughter of wild elephants across Africa. Enough has documented in recent reports an out-of-control ivory trade that is deadly for both elephants and people, and urges support for critical anti-poaching legislation now gaining momentum in the US Senate, following passage of parallel legislation in the House late last year.