Global Witness - Breaking the links between natural resources, conflict and corruption
This page is also available in French
Global Witness has reported on the links between the mineral trade and the armed conflict in eastern DRC for several years. Global Witness investigations in the provinces of North and South Kivu revealed that armed groups and the national army are directly benefiting from the trade in cassiterite (tin ore), gold and other minerals.
For more information, please contact Daniel Balint-Kurti on +44 207 492 5872.
Soldiers of the Congolese national army at a military base 12km north of Goma, November 2008 © Kate Holt 2008
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4 / 9 / 2009 - Credibility gap in due diligence claims
New evidence highlights how international mineral trading companies may still be funding armed groups. Read the press release
18 / 8 / 2009 - Bisie killings show minerals at heart of Congo conflict
Read the press release following Global Witness visit to DRC
21 / 6/ 2009 - 'Faced with a gun, what can you do?'
New Global Witness report on the militarisation of mining
13/5/2009 - NGOs Welcome the U.S. Congo Conflict Minerals Act of 2009
Read the statement by Global Witness and the ENOUGH Project.
14/4/2009 - BBC Newshour report on mining and conflict in eastern DRC
Listen here to a report by BBC correspondent Mark Doyle from a rebel-held mining area of eastern DRC and to Carina Tertsakian, Lead Campaigner on DRC for Global Witness, participating in a follow-up discussion.
16/2/2009 - Metals in mobile phones help finance Congo atrocities - Annual industry meeting highlights need for due diligence on supplies
Read the full press release.
5/2/2009 - Correspondence between the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General to the DRC and Global Witness
Read the letter from the SRSG (MONUC) to Global Witness, 12 January 2009.
Read the letter from Global Witness to the SRSG (MONUC), 5 February 2009.
23/1/2009 - DR Congo: Arrest of CNDP commander Laurent Nkunda
Read the full statement.
7/1/2009 - UN Security Council resolutions addressing natural resource trade in eastern Congo a major step forward, says Global Witness
Read the full press release.
15/12/2008 - Act on Group of Experts' findings on mineral trade funding Congolese armed groups, Global Witness tells governments
Read the full press release.
25/11/2008 - Global Witness briefing for UN Arria meeting on eastern DR Congo
Read the full briefing.
21/11/2008 - UK government must back EU peacekeepers for Congo says new coalition (joint statement)
Read the full press release.
18/11/2008 - A Plea from Local Organizations and Civil Society in North Kivu, Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, to the United Nations Security Council and Other International Leaders
Read the full letter.
14/11/2008 - Recommendations on due diligence for buyers and companies trading in minerals from eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and for their home governments
Global Witness is asking companies trading in minerals from eastern Democratic Republic of Congo to ensure that any minerals they buy neither finance armed groups or military units, nor contribute to human rights abuses at any point along the supply chain. If such guarantees cannot be provided, companies should refuse to buy the minerals.
Read the full recommendations.
1/11/2008 - Resource plunder still driving eastern Congo conflict
Read the full press release.
25/09/2008 - DR Congo: Humanitarian Crisis Deepens as Peace Process Falters (joint NGO statement)
Read the full press release.
10/09/2008 - Control of mines by warring parties threatens peace efforts in eastern Congo
Read the full press release.
28/08/2008 - UK company Afrimex breached the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises by purchasing minerals from a war-torn region of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the British government has found
Global Witness press release
Read the full press release.
Final statement of the UK National Contact Point for the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises
Read the final statement.
Complaint against Afrimex (UK) Ltd under the Specific Instance Procedure of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises
Read the full complaint.
23/04/08 - NGO coalition urge international players to appoint a high level independent special advisor on human rights for eastern Congo (joint NGO statement)
Read the full press release.
30/06/2005 - "Under-Mining Peace: Tin - the Explosive Trade in Cassiterite in Eastern DRC"
Global Witness report highlighting the funding from the cassiterite trade to armed groups in eastern DRC
Read the full report.
Latest Publications
March 2010
DR Congo: ex-rebels take over mineral trade extortion racket
Former rebels from the Congrès national pour la défense du peuple (CNDP) have established mafia-style extortion rackets covering some of the most lucrative tin and tantalum mining areas in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Global Witness reported today following four weeks of research in the region.
Landmark oil and mining transparency initiative faces credibility test as key deadline passes
The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), a pioneering initiative to bring more openness to the world's oil and mining industries, faces a major credibility test after 20 out of 22 countries failed to meet a key deadline today.
Global Witness urges Cambodia’s donors to condemn sponsorship of military units by private businesses
Aid donors to Cambodia, including the US, EU, Japan, China and the World Bank, should send a strong message to the government that they will not countenance the bankrolling of Cambodia’s military by private businesses. This call follows the announcement last week by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen of the formation of 42 official partnerships between private businesses and Cambodian military units.
February 2010
A near miss? Lessons learnt from the allocation of mining licences in the Gola Forest Reserve in Sierra Leone
Between 2005 and 2007, two mining licences were issued in the Gola Forest Reserve in Sierra Leone, even though the area was a proposed national park. This new report identifies weaknesses in Sierra Leone's natural resource governance and attempts to draw lessons for the future.
Parliamentary committee report on libel, privacy and press freedom not strong enough to defend public interest reporting
A report on press standards, privacy and libel makes broadly sensible recommendations but does not go far enough to allay fears that England's laws are a barrier to public-interest campaigning.
Campaigners criticise proposals to define palm oil plantations as forests
The Ecosystems Climate Alliance today criticised the EU and Indonesia for attempting to reclassify palm oil plantations as forests, saying this would be a step backwards in efforts to halt climate change though preventing deforestation.
28 countries accused of facilitating money laundering … but key offenders missing
An international financial crime watchdog has named and shamed countries that are failing to stop dirty money entering the financial system, a move welcomed by Global Witness. However, conspicuously absent are major financial centres and secrecy jurisdictions, many of which also have serious weaknesses in their anti-money laundering regulations.
Metals in mobile phones financing brutal war in Congo
Metals found in everyday electronics items, such as mobile phones and computers, are being mined illegally in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and funding a conflict that has caused millions of deaths, said Global Witness on the opening day of the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
