International Conference on the Great Lakes Region Status of the Regional Initiative against the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources IGF Regional Meeting; Cape Town, February 2014 Genaral propblem: The illegal exploitation and trade of natural resources is one of the sources of funding for armed groups and contribute to instability and insecurity in the Great Lakes region.
Response from ICGLR Member States: Lusaka Declaration (2010) on the Regional Initiative against the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources (RINR) recognition of the problems resulting from the illegal exploitation and trade of natural resources; reaffirmation of the responsibility and the commitment of States in the Region to solve the problem together; approval of six tools developed by the ICGLR and commitment to implement them in their respective States; call on the International Community to ensure due diligence in the mineral supply chain and to support the ICGLR ; The six tools of the Regional Initiative (RINR)
1. Regional Certification Mechanism (1/3) Establishment of a credible regional certificate for 3Ts and Gold (1) Traceability/Due Dilligence Certification mechanism and manuel developed; Traceability of mineral consigments from exporter to mine advanced in DRC and Rwanda; Delivery of certificates in Rwanda and DRC 1. Regional Certification Mechanism (2/3) (2) Periodical third party audits Regional Audit Committee functional and established in Kigali in October 2012; Meeting of the Audit Committee held in Nairobi in October 2013; (3) Independent mineral chain auditor Concept Note and budget developped CoC evaluation conducted in Rwanda
1. Regional Certification Mechanism (3/3) Analytical Fingerprint (AFP) AFP Management Unit is operational Set-up of laboratories for sample preparation in DRC, Burundi and Rwanda and an analysis laboratory of samples in SEAMIC, Tanzania; 245 mine sites sampled and included in a reference database (202 in Rwanda, 3 in Burundi and 40 in DRC) 2. Legal harmonisation Transform the protocol into national legislations of Member States (domestication) and harmonization of legal mining frameworks comparative analysis of laws relating to Natural Resources in Member States ; development of a model law for the domestication of the Protocol on NR and harmonization model law with OECD due diligence giudance; 11 Member States have ratified the Pact; 3 Member States have domesticated the Protocol. processus législatifs nationaux par les Etats Membres (2012).
3. Database Set-up a regional database to document production and trade of minerals in the Great Lakes Region Historical database of sites and mining exports available on the website of the ICGLR; Database of the supply chain of minerals being established; Six Member States have notified to the ICGLR their focal points (Burundi, DRC, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania and Zambia). Challenge: regular transmission of updated data 4. Formalisation "Working gradually towards the situation where artisanal miners can successfully and responsibly participate in the certification process in a transparent and credible way" mutual learning: facilitating an artisanal miners exchange visit organized in 2012 (Rwanda - Burundi); regional process on the formalization to be launched by the ICGLR in 2014; Progress towards formalization of ASM in Member States
5. EITI Peer-learning platform Use of EITI as a platform for sharing experiences between countries in terms of revenue transparency and material flows 5 Member States in the region are candidates or implement EITI (RC, CAR, DRC, TAN, ZAM), others expressed interest in joining; ICGLR Secretariat will launch a high-level regional platform in 2014 to facilitate exchange between EITI and non-eiti countries; Study to be launched on the implementation of EITI in ASM 6. Whistleblowing A platform that provides the ability to anonymously submit sensitive information on fraud via SMS or website A web platform for the ICGLR whistleblowing mechanism has been designed; system based on SMS: short codes have been attributed by telecom operators (Leo Burundi; Vodacom in DRC); A pilot phase focusing on North and South Kivu; Possibility of extending this pilot phase in Burundi
The impacts of the ICGLR The ICGLR receives support of the Member States and the international community for the RINR; The Regional Certification Mechanism is the standard for mineral certification recognized by ALL governments in the region The ICGLR Certificates will allow: operators to export legally industry to source responsibly and in accordance with international requirements; Member States and populations to enjoy benefits from ASM Thank you for your attention! Contact: Henri Pierre Gebauer GIZ-ICGLR Support Programme Technical Adviser Bujumbura-Burundi Email: henri.gebauer@giz.de Website: www.icglr.org