New Report from Fair Transactions Focuses on Katanga

Fair Transactions, a network of different European and African NGOs and research institutes headquartered in Amsterdam, has published a new report on violence against artisanal miners in Katanga.

Local human rights activists have reported severe human rights abuses against the poor and unprotected local miners in the north of the province, near the city of Likasi. Ex-combatants are using the remoteness and lawlessness of this mining area to make quick profits; they use violence and force the miners to pay bribes.

While most of the recent media attention has focused on eastern DRC, the report emphasizes that "conflict prone areas such as Katanga should not be forgotten."