The five recommendations of the Civil Society of Ituri and Haut-Uélé against illegal mining in the DRC

The Coalition of Civil Society Organizations of Haut-Uélé and Ituri for the Governance of Natural Resources recently published its latest report on mining in these two provinces.

According to the report, more than 3/4 of gold mining sites are controlled by armed groups and millions of US dollars escape the Treasury.

According to the report, allowing these armed groups to operate and mine gold would constitute a sign of sabotage of state authority.

To this end, the EITI-DRC Executive Committee calls on the authorities to take more responsibility to put an end to the occupation of armed groups in gold mining sites.

To do this, the Coalition makes five key recommendations to the various stakeholders:

1° To the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of the Environment: it is recommended that he issue an interministerial decree obliging artisanal miners to rehabilitate the environment destroyed by the facts of exploitation;

2° To the National Minister of Mines: it is suggested to establish viable ZEAs (Artisanal Mining Zones) in the two provinces after technical field surveys and assign them to mining cooperatives legally constituted and respectful of mining legislation;

3° Stop all works of cooperatives operating in violation of the Congolese Mining Law;

4° To the Minister of Justice: to order the courts of the provinces of Haut-Uélé and Ituri to initiate legal action against defaulting operators in accordance with Articles 299 to 311 of the Mining Code;

5° To the Minister of Defence: to take appropriate measures for the effective cessation of the activism of armed groups in the province of Ituri in general and mining sites in particular.