About: Democratic Republic Congo
Pope calls worldwide day of prayer and fasting for peace on 23 February
Pope Francis invited Roman Catholics and members of all other religions on Sunday (4 February) to observe a day of prayer, fasting and initiatives for peace on 23 February, urging everyone to ‘say no’ to violence and conflict.
Europe’s unique chance to clean up its trade in minerals
Around the world, multinational companies dealing with natural resources are fighting a global battle to access, control and extract precious stones, oil, gas, minerals and even plants, writes Cardinal Oscar Rodríguez Maradiaga.
Corruption continues to hinder Global Fund’s work
The Global Fund has financed anti-malaria programmes in 100 countries since its foundation in 2002. However, there are flaws in the system and the spectre of corruption is ever present. EURACTIV’s partner Der Tagesspiegel reports.
EU countries must not weaken plan to stop conflict minerals trade
It is a sobering fact that your smart phone might contain conflict minerals. Even more so that EU member states are in the process of scaling back proposals that can help stop this, writes Léonard Santedi.
Europe’s African challenge: Engage or lose influence
By European standards, last week’s elections in Congo-Brazzaville were not clean. This came as no surprise. Congo-Brazzaville has only had one genuine election, in 1992.
EU institutions still divided over conflict minerals
A new round of negotiations has begun in Brussels to try to reach a compromise on conflict minerals. But the process has stalled over disagreements on supply chain monitoring. EURACTIV France reports.
UNICEF report: €2.6 billion needed in 2016
In a report published on Tuesday (26 January), UNICEF estimated that it will need €2.6 billion in 2016 in order to help 76 million at-risk people, of which 43 million are children, in 63 countries around the world. EURACTIV's partner El País - Planeta Futuro reports.
Expert: Somalia, Niger, Congo victims of humanitarian aid ‘gap’
Humanitarian aid is not keeping pace with needs on the ground, partly due to the affects of El Nino and climate change in eastern and southern Africa, according to a new report from World Vision - and as a result already malnutrioned children are going hungry.
Smartphone batteries linked to human rights violations
An NGO report published today (19 January) has revealed the grim link between the batteries in our mobile devices and electric cars, and illegal child labour. EURACTIV's partner El País -Planeta Futuro reports.
Climate protection plans lack financial direction
Germany wants to launch more investment projects in developing countries in order to support the fight against climate change. But where the money will come from is still not clear. EURACTIV's partner Tagesspiegel reports.
Tropical countries demand financial incentives to save their forests
Developing countries will commit to protecting their forests in return for financial compensation from the big polluters. But deforestation will not appear in a binding Paris agreement. EURACTIV France reports.
African nations and donors agree on plan to protect Congo forests
Six African nations have agreed with donors on a plan to protect the tropical forests of the Congo basin, the second biggest in the world, after the Amazon's, to help ease poverty and combat climate change.
Parliament votes for tougher conflict minerals regulation
The European Parliament unexpectedly voted on Wednesday (20 April) in favour of a mandatory monitoring system for minerals originating from conflict zones. But negotiations with the Council and Commission will be tough. EURACTIV France reports.
Conflict minerals: Will Europe be on the right side of history?
The European Parliament must strengthen the EU’s position on conflict minerals to protect the world’s most vulnerable citizens, write Lucy Graham and Michael Gibb.
US firms negligent in reporting ‘conflict minerals’, study claims
Many US companies are failing to comply with a law against financing armed movements active in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo through the purchase of "conflict minerals," according to a new study.
Parliament adopts relaxed measures on conflict minerals
MEPs from the Committee on International Trade have rejected a set of binding regulations for certain minerals extracted in conflict zones, in favour of a less ambitious system of self-certification, which would exclude some minerals entirely. EURACTIV France reports.
Aid billions yet to make a difference in fragile states, UK watchdog says
The UK is spending billions of pounds on aid to fragile states but the programme has been ramped up too quickly, without proper scrutiny, and is not yet making a real difference, a government watchdog has warned.
Failing to Deliver? The EU and governance assistance in Africa’s Great Lakes region
The EU has gone to great lengths to support stability in the African Great Lakes region, yet there is little return on this investment, writes Bram Dijkstra.
EU must give assurances on the morality of trade in natural resources
We ask European Parliamentarians and European governments to meet the expectations of EU consumers who want assurances that the resources in their mobile phones, computers or cars are not linked to human right violations and conflicts, writes Mgr François-Xavier Maroy Rusengo.