|
APPG Vice-Chair calls attention to illegal logging in the DRC |
 |
 |
 |
|
Written by APPG Administrator
|
|
Monday, 21 November 2011 00:39 |
|
On 13th September, APPG Vice-Chair Lord Chidgey made a contribution to an oral debate on the human and environmental impact of logging operations in Africa, Asia and South America. Talking about the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lord Chidgley stated that the country produces about a million tonne of timber each year, half of which is produced illegally. He pointed out that existing UK technology to track the supply chain of timber could help the Congolese government enter into traceability agreements and facilitate its negotiations with the European Union on the Forest Law Enforcement, Government and Trade agreement. APPG members Lord St John of Bletso and Lord Avebury also contributed to the debate, respectively raising questions about investigations into money-laundering of the proceeds of timber corruption and the cost-effectiveness of the UN-REDD initiative.
The entire debate can be read here. |
|
|
APPG Vice-Chair tables debate on DRC elections |
|
|
|
|
Written by APPG Administrator
|
|
Monday, 21 November 2011 00:31 |
|
On 18th July, APPG Vice-Chair Lord Chidgey tabled a parliamentary debate on the presidential and legislative elections due to be held in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in November. Lord Chidgey raised concerns over the feasibility of the electoral calendar and the threat that Lord Resistance Army 's (LRA) activities in the northeast pose to the electoral process. APPG member Lord Alton of Liverpool similarly emphasised the important security threat posed by the LRA and called for the perpetrators of attacks against civilians to be brought to justice. In turn, APPG member Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead expressed concerns about the more limited engagement of the international community in these elections compared to the 2006 polls and the risk of a repeat of the situation experienced in Ivory Coast. APPG member Lord Avebury also contributed to the debate by pointing out the risk of a constitutional vacuum if the electoral calendar is not respected. He also stressed the importance of the respect of freedom of speech and freedom of assembly in the electoral context.
The entire debate can be read here. |
|
Last Updated on Monday, 21 November 2011 00:38 |
|
APPG Chair calls attention to lack of transparency in some UK-listed mining companies' dealings |
|
|
|
|
Written by Administrator
|
|
Tuesday, 02 August 2011 06:30 |
|
APPG Chair Eric Joyce MP made a contribution to the Summer Adjournment Debate on 19th July 2011, and raised the issue of UK-listed mining companies operating in Africa. Eric Joyce, while underlining that most of these companies acted responsibly, warned against the risks deriving from a lack of transparency in payments made to Governments, in particular in the case of sales of states’ assets.
The full contribution can be read here. |
|
Last Updated on Tuesday, 02 August 2011 09:30 |
|
|
APPG Chair tables parliamentary debate on the Great Lakes region |
|
|
|
|
Written by Administrator
|
|
Tuesday, 02 August 2011 06:26 |
|
On 5 July, APPG Chair Eric Joyce MP tabled a Westminster Hall debate on the Great Lakes region, focusing on the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The APPG Chair and contributing APPG members Stephen Twigg MP, Anas Sarwar MP and Paul Uppal MP expressed their concerns over the current electoral process, the ongoing insecurity in the eastern part of the country – in particular in relation to the persistence of gender-based violence – and the necessity to push for greater transparency in the sector of extractive industries. Stephen Twigg MP recently visited the DRC with an APPG delegation.
The full debate can be read here. |
|
Last Updated on Tuesday, 02 August 2011 09:31 |
|
APPG Chair calls for UK Government's vigilance over FTSE 100 companies' governance |
|
|
|
|
Written by Administrator
|
|
Tuesday, 02 August 2011 06:16 |
|
APPG Chair Eric Joyce MP made a contribution to the Adjournment Debate of 23 May 'FTSE 100 Companies (Governance)'.
Eric Joyce stressed the need for the UK Government to intervene when a FTSE 100 company appears to have failed to abide by the fundamental standards of good governance expected from them. Mr Joyce cited the case of the Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (ENRC), which procured mining assets that had been expropriated from a Canada-listed company in the DRC.
The full debate can be read here. |
|
Last Updated on Tuesday, 02 August 2011 09:36 |
|
|
|
|
<< Start < Prev 1 2 3 4 Next > End >>
|
|
Page 1 of 4 |
APPG Delegation Visit DRC Report
Oral Parliamentary Questions and Debates July 2011
The OECD Guidelines and the DRC cases
JOHANNESBURG 03 February 2012 (IRIN) - The belief that the end is nigh for Joseph Kony’s Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) - a small but ruthless transnational armed group operating in four African states - underestimates its resilience and overestimates the unity and capability of the forces ranged against it, say analysts. 
NAIROBI/KINSHASA 02 February 2012 (IRIN) - The lives of thousands of HIV-positive people in the Democratic Republic of Congo are at risk as the country faces declining donor funding and a severe shortage of HIV treatment, according to Médecins Sans Frontières. 
BUJUMBURA 27 January 2012 (IRIN) - There are fears of a looming food shortage in Burundi after heavy rains damaged two successive harvests, say officials. 
NAIROBI 28 December 2011 (IRIN) - Launched in 2004, IRIN’s film unit has won numerous awards for its productions, several of which have been aired by prominent international broadcasters. Here is a list of the unit’s most-watched films in 2011. 
KAMPALA 02 December 2011 (IRIN) - Brandishing a plea for developed countries to make good their promises to reduce carbon emissions, 300 farmers, youths and activists took the scenic route to the COP17 conference in Durban, travelling more than 7,000km from Burundi in 17 days, through 10 eastern and southern African countries, aboard a convoy of buses draped in various national flags. 
POINTE NOIRE 25 January 2012 (IRIN) - Forced child labour remains rampant in Central Africa, where poverty fuels the trafficking of children from poorer countries to oil-rich states such as Gabon, Equatorial Guinea and the Republic of Congo, according to experts. 
LONDON 26 January 2012 (IRIN) - Breast cancer continues to be misunderstood, under-diagnosed and fatal, particularly in developing countries, say researchers, despite more than one million official annual diagnoses and almost half a million recorded deaths annually. 
KIGALI 09 January 2012 (IRIN) - This will be a busy year for Rwanda's health centres as the country attempts to reach its goal of medically circumcising 50 percent of men by June 2013 as part of HIV prevention efforts. 
JUBA/KAMPALA 30 January 2012 (IRIN) - Petty traders from Uganda, South Sudan's largest trading partner, crowd into Konyo Konyo market in Juba selling used clothes, vegetables and household wares. Lacking economic prospects at home, they come in the hope of finding better opportunities in Juba's booming post-war economy. 
BUNDIMASOLI 26 January 2012 (IRIN) - The marginalized western Ugandan Basua community is fighting extinction; forcibly removed from their forest home two decades ago, they have struggled to cope with modern life and have been ravaged by health crises, including HIV. 
ISIOLO, 3 February 2012 (IRIN) - Politically motivated violence in the northern Kenyan town of Moyale, which has left dozens dead and tens of thousands displaced in recent weeks, shows little sign of abating and there are fears that the clashes could continue until elections are held for new local government positions. 
LAGOS, 3 February 2012 (IRIN) - A month after an angry public launched protests across Nigeria over skyrocketing fuel prices due to the removal of a government subsidy, a measure of calm has returned and people seem to have settled into accepting a compromise. 
HARARE, 3 February 2012 (IRIN) - With global funding for HIV/AIDS on the decline, Zimbabwe's innovative AIDS levy - a 3 percent tax on income - has become a promising source of funding for the country, with a dramatic increase in revenue collected in the past two years. 
