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International conference on "Illegal Trade in Natural Resources. What can Brussels do?"
Fatal Transactions member BICC (Germany) co-organized an international conference "Illegal Trade in Natural Resources. What can Brussels do?" in Brussels from 29–30 September 2010. The conference assessed the problems for the environment, development, peace and security created by illegal trade in commodities and explored policy options for the European Union with researchers and practitioners. The lively discussions revealed the prospects and limitations of initiatives that base themselves on notions of legality. The two-day event was organized by the Institute for Environmental Security (IES) in cooperation with BICC, EESC, GLOBE EU and Europe, International Alert, IISD, Madariaga, College of Europe Foundation, SIPRI, Transparency International and Worldwatch Institute.
Panel I shed light on the complexities in fighting conflict minerals from DRC and illegal timber trade that the European Union has just imposed a ban on. Panel II discussed how illicitly extracted resources are legally traded on the international market, taking the example of diamonds from the Marange fields in Zimbabwe. Necessary government measures were proposed. onpanel III. On panel IV, "Solutions and Gaps. International, legal and voluntary initiatives", Marie Müller, International Coordinator of Fatal Transactions, discussed regulatory gaps with Ian Smillie (DDI), Pekka Isosomppi (Nokia) and Mark van Dorp (IFAW): http://www.envirosecurity.org/pathfinder/conference/index.php.
For more information contact Marie Müller from BICC at
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Web Map of Mining Concessions in the DR Congo
Fatal Transactions member IPIS (Belgium) has produced an interactive web map of all mining concessions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo – a tool for policy making and advocacy organizations. The current map follows a concession map IPIS published in August 2009 (as an addition to their Interactive Map of Militarised Mining Areas in the Kivus - MiMiKi), which shows concession areas in the Kivu provinces. The idea for an extended and updated version of the map came about during exchanges IPIS had with civil society organisations and policy makers, who frequently expressed the need for a concession map of the whole of the DRC. IPIS is exploring how to make the map available in areas without internet connection. The data on the map is official and public data from the Cadastre Minier (CaMi) of the DR Congo shows the situation as it was on 27 July 2010.
To view the map click here. For more information contact Steven Spittaels from IPIS at
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Conference on Corporate Social Responsibility with Congolese researchers
Fatal Transactions member OCIPE, the Jesuit European Office (Belgium), organized a conference on Corporate Social Responsibility of European companies in the Congolese mining sector on 20 September 2010. Ferdinand Muhigirwa SJ, Director of CEPAS, a Jesuit Social Center based in Kinshasa, elaborated upon what is needed for good governance in the mining sector in DRC. Jean- Pierre Kabulu Djibu, also from CEPAS, spoke on environmental issues in Katanga. The conference was organized in the framework of the Relational Peace Advocacy Network that seeks to further the social responsibility of extractive companies in developing countries.
For more details click here or contact Emmanuelle Devuyst of OCIPE at
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Research project: How mining companies view their own social responsibility in DRC
Fatal Transactions member OCIPE, the Jesuit European Office (Belgium), undertook research on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practices of mining companies in Katanga with Josep Maria, lecturer in Business ethics at ESADE Business School in Barcelona, and Christian Bwenda, Director of Premi-Congo, an environmental Congolese NGO. The researchers visited several mining companies to compare the companies’ visions on Congolese and international CSR obligations and to investigate differences according to their country of origin and their size, professional experience and statutes. The results of this scientific research will be published soon.
For more information contact Emmanuelle Devuyst from OCIPE at
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Workshop on the revision of mining contracts in the DRC
From 22-23 September 2010, the Congolese Réseau Ressources Naturelles organized, with the support of Fatal Transactions member Broederlijk Delen and the Flemish network of development organizations 11.11.11, a workshop in Kinshasa on the revision of mining contracts in the DRC. During the workshop, a number of experts joined local civil society groups to discuss the technical aspects of the contract revision, the model mining contract, and fiscal policy. The second day of the workshop was dedicated to discussion among the civil society groups in order to deepen cooperation, elaborate common positions, and investigate possibilities for further action on behalf of civil society. The conclusions and report of this workshop will soon be available on the website of Broederlijk Delen.
For more information contact Tamira Gunzburg from Broederlijk Delen at
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FairPhone from DRC: a campaign by NIZA
Fatal Transactions member NIZA (Netherlands) has started a new project called the FairPhone. FairPhone will be the first fair mobile telephone for consumers to purchase. NIZA and two other Dutch organisations are making the first step in building this phone by purchasing fair extracted minerals (copper & cobalt) in DR Congo and offering them to the manufacturers. Anyone can join FairPhone and help NIZA in building it. On the website www.fairphone.org you will find the steps for how to get involved. For instance, you can come along with NIZA to DR Congo or help to design the look and feel of the first model.
For more information contact Nathalie Ankersmit from NIZA at
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MakeITfair: DRC Report
Finnwatch and Swedwatch. 2010. Voices from the Inside. Local Views on Mining Reform in Eastern DR Congo. October 2010.
Fatal Transactions member IPIS contributed to the report.
For more information contact Steven Spittaels from IPIS at
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Read the proposal (French)
APPG Delegation Visit DRC Report
Oral Parliamentary Questions and Debates July 2011
The OECD Guidelines and the DRC cases
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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. 
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