global witness

05/05/08 The Kilwa Appeal - A Travesty of Justice

The Kilwa trial, which opened before a military court in December 2006, concerned a massacre in October 2004 in which at least 73 civilians were killed by soldiers of the 62^nd Brigade of the Congolese Armed Forces, with logistical support from the Australian/Canadian mining company, Anvil Mining. Anvil Mining has stated that its transport and equipment were requisitioned and that it had no choice in the matter. Read the full press release

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23/04/08 DR Congo: End the Horrific Suffering in Eastern Congo

63 international and Congolese human rights and aid groups are urging the United Nations and the international players that helped negotiate the Goma agreement to appoint a high level independent special advisor on human rights for eastern Congo to focus attention and ensure action on protecting civilians at risk, specifically women and girls threatened by sexual violence. It also urged the international players such as the African Union, European Union, and the United States to support the appointment politically and financially.

Read the full press release. Lire le communiqué de presse.

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23/04/08 DR Congo: Open letter to the Congolese Environment Minister on developments in the forest sector

Given the forthcoming close of the forest title conversion process in the DR Congo, there is a unique opportunity for the government to develop forest policy reforms based on transparency, accountability and the well-being of forest-dependent populations as well as the wider national and international communities. A group of Congolese and international NGOs are calling on the government, with the support of the international donor community, to significantly strengthen the forest title conversion process and to maintain and extend the May 2002 moratorium on new industrial logging titles to include a full moratorium on all industrial-scale logging, until certain criteria are met.

Read the full letter. Lire la lettre.

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03/04/08 Human rights defenders prevented from meeting victims of Kilwa massacre

ACIDH, ASADHO, Global Witness and RAID today condemned blatant tactics by government authorities in Katanga to prevent Congolese human rights defenders from pursuing their legitimate human rights work.In the latest series of obstructions in the search for justice for the victims of the 2004 Kilwa massacre, the Governor of Katanga province, Moïse Katumbi, and the provincial Minister of Interior, Dikanga Kazadi, prohibited a group of Congolese human rights defenders from flying to Kilwa on 1 April 2008. Read the full press release

Lire le communiqué de presse

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28/03/08 Rush to log Liberia’s forests will jeopardise the reform process

Under intense pressure from the timber industry – including many familiar faces from the past – the Forest Development Authority of Liberia has started to issue timber contracts. Yet key legislation on community rights is still in draft. International NGOs fear the rush to allow a timber trade with a poor track record of corruption and trampling on community rights raises the spectre of Liberia’s forests once again undermining stability in this fragile country. Read the full press release

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25/03/08 Publication of Congo mining contract review welcome; renegotiations should be fair and transparent

Congolese and international non-governmental organisations today welcomed the publication of the review of mining contracts by the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and called on the government to ensure that the renegotiation of contracts is conducted openly and fairly.

Read the full press release

25/03/08 Accueil favorable à la publication du rapport de revisitation des contrats miniers congolais; les renégociations se doivent d’être équitables et transparentes.

Des organisations non gouvernementales congolaises et internationales saluent aujourd’hui la publication de l’examen des contrats miniers par le gouvernement de la République démocratique du Congo (RDC) et demandent à ce dernier de veiller à ce que la renégociation des contrats se déroule ouvertement et de manière équitable.

Lire le communiqué de presse

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22/03/08 Global Witness condemns arrest of Congolese human rights activist

Global Witness today condemned the arrest of Congolese human rights activist Hubert Tshiswaka on 21 March 2008 and appealed to the government to stop intimidating members of civil society.

Read the full press release

22/03/08 Global Witness condamne l’arrestation d’un défenseur des droits de l’homme congolais

Global Witness a aujourd’hui condamné l’arrestation du défenseur des droits de l’homme congolais Hubert Tshiswaka qui a eu lieu le 21 mars 2008, et demandé instamment au gouvernement de cesser d’intimider les membres de la société civile.

Lire le communiqué de presse
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20/03/08 Un an après l’accord de Ouagadougou, les rebelles FN continuent de percevoir des taxes

Une mission de Global Witness en Côte d’Ivoire en février 2008 a constaté que le groupe des rebelles des Forces Nouvelles (FN) continue de percevoir des taxes sur le cacao et les diamants, malgré le processus en cours de réunification du pays.

Read the full press release / Lire le communiqué de presse

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11/03/08 Dutch Court of Appeal finds insufficient evidence to convict conflict timber trader

On 10^th March 2008, the Court of Appeal in The Hague cleared Guus Van Kouwenhoven, a "member of [Charles] Taylor's Inner Circle," of breaking the United Nations arms embargo enforced against Liberia. Global Witness is extremely disappointed by the appeal court's decision. "The barbaric regime of Charles Taylor was financed and maintained by the revenues generated from the timber trade, in which Guus Van Kouwenhoven was the biggest player. This decision is a sad day for peace and justice in Liberia and for the ending of impunity," said Alex Yearsley of Global Witness.

Read the full press release

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06/03/08 “MERCHANT OF DEATH” ARRESTED IN THAILAND

The arrest of Victor Bout in Thailand, who has been wanted for years by a number of countries for his role in illegally supplying weapons to conflicts in Africa, Asia and South America, has finally brought an end to the career of the Merchant of Death.

Read the full press release

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18/02/08 Congo Mining Contract Review: Fast Track or False Trail?

DRC Government needs to clarify review process to restore trust.
The Congolese government’s ‘fast track solution’ to its mining contract review may turn out to be a false trail unless it addresses civil society concerns, warns a coalition of Congolese and international non-governmental organisations (NGOs) today

Read for the full press release

Pour lire le communiqué de presse en français, cliquez ici

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05/02/08 Cambodian Embassy in London calls for Regime Change at Global Witness (again)

Following the news that the U.S. government has endorsed travel sanctions on top officials named in Global Witness’ latest report on illegal logging and associated high level corruption in Cambodia, the Cambodian Embassy in London has issued a press release calling for the organisation’s donors to devise an international regulatory framework for Global Witness’ work. Echoing calls made in an August '07 press release the Cambodian Embassy has once again demanded a change in Global Witness' leadership.

Read the February '08 press release

Read the August '07 press release

Read our full response

Read Cambodia's Family Trees report

Find out more about Global Witness' work in Cambodia

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04/02/08 NGOs fear that DRC mining contract review process has been hijacked

At the start of the Mining INDABA conference in Cape Town, an international coalition of non-governmental organizations warns that the DRC’s mining contract review process has been hijacked. NGOs say that it is increasingly apparent that new deals are being struck behind closed doors despite the lack of completion or transparency in the review process. The NGOs cite the announcement on 28th January that rights to two mining concessions previously held by the Katanga Mining Company have been transferred to China’s Sinohydro Corporation and the China Railway Engineering Corporation as part of the deal for the $5 billion loan from China’s Exim Bank. NGOs would like the DRC Government to explain when and how this decision was reached.

Read the full press release

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31/01/08 France must re-open probe into alleged graft by African leaders

A French probe into alleged possession of misappropriated assets by several African Presidents has been shut down, despite uncovering tens of millions of dollars worth of luxury properties and cars, and dozens of bank accounts belonging to the rulers, their family members and close associates.

Read the full press release

Pour lire le communiqué de presse en français, cliquez ici

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28/01/08 Power struggle and illegal logging threaten Sierra Leone’s remaining forests

Whilst illegal loggers are threatening Sierra Leone’s few remaining forests, including the Outamba-Kilimi National Park, a turf war is being waged between key government departments tasked with tackling such issues. Global Witness is calling on new President Ernest Bai Koroma to bring much needed direction and law enforcement to Sierra Leone’s forest sector in order to prevent further destruction.

Read the full Press Release

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22/01/08 U.S. move to ban top Cambodian officials exposes failure of Europe, Australia and Japan to get tough on corruption

Officials involved in natural resource related corruption from other countries may also be banned

Anti-corruption NGO Global Witness today welcomed the news that the United States government has endorsed travel sanctions on top Cambodian officials, and called on other countries to follow suit. Despite giving large amounts of development aid to Cambodia, other countries in Europe, such as the UK, France and Germany, as well as Japan and Australia, have failed to take tough action in response to reports of high-level institutional corruption in Cambodia.

Read the press release