Suchergebnisse

AbstractThis article explores the relationship between transnational governance initiatives for 'conflict-free' certification in the eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the regulatory pluralism one finds on the ground. Efforts in certifying artisanal gold mining are scrutinised by analysing how three different gold mining sites in the DRC's South Kivu province are governed. Most artisanal mining in the DRC is usually referred to as 'informal' – a term associated with non-state actors. Instead, the article introduces the idea of a mode of governing that follows the principle of 'débrouillardise', which combines different rule systems and state and non-state regulators. It argues that 'conflict-free' governance will need to improvise viaad hocagreements on the legal status of mining sites among state authorities, economic actors and international monitors. The act of declaring mining sites legal will provide for the semblance of a 'conflict-free' status and a unitary state system of rule, while in practice, the plurality of regulatory authority will not be reversed.

To reach the objectives stated in the draft legislation, the European Union has to make due diligence on "conflict minerals" mandatory for EU companies. This will increase the demand for "conflict-free" minerals, which will act as an incentive for speeding up local mapping and tracing efforts and the return of smelters to the DR Congo.
Downstream companies are in a position to conduct due diligence with marginal to manageable costs, despite the complexity involved. The competitive disadvantage of European companies towards Asian companies is more imaginary than real. For due diligence legislation to be effective in conflict regions, EU actors ought to support multi-stakeholder initiatives on the ground that have greater credibility than government or industry schemes.
Instead of rigid certification procedures that create high administrative burdens on state and economic actors, priority should be given to flexible and reliable instruments of mapping and tracing that smelters can use for their supply chain due diligence. In conflict regions, certificates risk being tainted by reports of fraud, as the challenges to governance can be expected to be similar to those in the Great Lakes region. A policy approach that enables rather than prohibits artisanal mining is better suited to providing market access to informal artisanal mining that does not have links to armed actors. Legality should not be made a precondition for recognising artisanal mines as conflict-free to avoid punishment of an entire sector for the links to conflict financing of a few.

Precluding conflict financing through the minerals sector has come to be seen as the panacea to ending conflicts in the eastern Democratic Republic of the congo (DRc). The US Dodd-Frank-Act (2010) and European draft legislation attempt to reduce the financing of armed groups in conflict zones by asking companies to conduct due diligence along their supply chains to avoid the purchase of "conflict minerals". This Working Paper lays open the misconceptions that have led to such a narrow regulatory approach towards the congolese conundrum and analyses the consequences of implementing this legislation without embedding it in a wider agenda for peace. The authors argue that regulation on conflict minerals can only contribute to solving conflicts in eastern DRc if it becomes part of a wider approach to peacebuilding, which takes into account the complex reality of eastern DRc's conflicts.

Asien und die Pazifikregion sind in besonderem Maße von Flucht und Vertreibung betroffen: 3,8 Millionen Menschen befinden sich dort unter dem Mandat des UNHCR, und mehrere Millionen sind Binnenvertriebene. Dabei sind die Ursachen erzwungener Migration vielfältig und gehen über das hinaus, was durch das internationale Flüchtlingsregime abgedeckt wird. Angesichts dieser Tatsache argumentiert die Studie, dass die entwicklungspolitische Unterstützung von Flüchtlingen, Binnenvertriebenen und Aufnahmegesellschaften eine wichtige Ergänzung für die humanitäre Hilfe darstellt. Die vorliegende Studie systematisiert strukturelle sowie unmittelbar fluchtauslösende Ursachen von Flucht und Binnenvertreibung in Asien. Methodisch unterscheidet sie sechs Regionalcluster, die auf einer Gewichtung verschiedener Fluchtursachen basieren. Innerhalb der Cluster werden politische, sozioökonomische und ökologische Ursachen für Vertreibung in Asien analysiert. Hierauf aufbauend diskutieren Autorinnen und Autor Grenzen der Entwicklungszusammenarbeit und zeigen Ansatzpunkte für die EZ zur Bearbeitung von Fluchtursachen in der Region auf. EZ muss die Grenzen ihrer Wirksamkeit in Bezug auf die Bearbeitung von Fluchtursachen anerkennen und gleichzeitig über deren Bearbeitung hinausgehen, indem die entwicklungsorientierte Flüchtlingsarbeit weiter ausgebaut wird.