Second Meeting of the Coordination Committee for Advocacy by Civil Society Organizations on Natural Resource Governance in the DRC

Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) active in the governance of natural resources in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) held their second coordination meeting on March 5, 2025, at the SARW office in Kinshasa. The meeting focused on assessing the impact of recent communiqués issued in January, which addressed the illegal exploitation of gold in South Kivu and the attempted diversion of mining funds intended for future generations at the national level.

Participants reviewed the ongoing conflict in eastern DRC and its consequences for the mining sector, as well as the situation of human rights defenders in affected regions. The group also evaluated the functioning of the Technical Secretariat of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) and discussed the proposed strategic cooperation project between the DRC and the United States on critical minerals.

Following these discussions, CSOs made several key recommendations:

• Documentation of Looting: Organizations based in occupied territories were urged to gather and record all instances of mineral theft and looting.

• Support for Human Rights Defenders: CSOs called on protection-focused organizations to provide assistance to human rights defenders in North and South Kivu—particularly those forced into exile, displaced from their homes, or operating under threat.

• Parliamentary Oversight of EITI: Participants proposed bringing the issue of EITI Secretariat funding before the National Assembly to ensure proper government accountability and support for the initiative.

The meeting underscored the growing concern among civil society over natural resource governance amid rising insecurity and geopolitical pressures, and reaffirmed the need for transparency, national sovereignty, and the protection of human rights in all mining-related matters.