Supraregional Africa – Promoting sustainable supply chains in the Great Lakes Region – International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR)
Country / Region: Supraregional / Africa
Focal Point: Mineral Raw Materials
Begin of project: November 1, 2011
End of project: December 31, 2024
Status of project: May 21, 2024
Executive Office of ICGLR in Bujumbura/Burundi
Source: BGR
The Great Lakes Region of Africa
The Great lakes region includes Angola, Burundi, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Central African Republic, Sudan, South Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania and Zambia. All of these countries are politically, economically and socially interconnected. The entire region has abundant mineral and other natural resources that have been attracting populations for centuries. Today, more than 300 Million people live in the region.
The International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR)
The ICGLR was founded in 2006 against the backdrop of the war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (2002-2006) with the assistance of the African Union, the United Nations, and bilateral partners. Its main objective is to enhance regional security, stability and development. These activities are coordinated from a Secretariat established in 2007 in Bujumbura/Burundi.
The ICGLR is a political platform, which has the task to harmonise views, actions and politics amongst the member-states in order to tackle regional challenges.
Project Background
In recent years, mining and trading of tin, tungsten and tantalum (coltan) has been identified as sources for fueling regional conflicts in such areas as the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and Burundi.
Women in artisanal and small-scale mining
Source: BGR
Especially unofficial activities in small-scale and artisanal mining are gateways for unjust enrichment of outlawed militia. They finance themselves and their violent attacks through oppressive threats on small scale miners. International mining and trading companies purchasing the respective minerals from the Great Lakes Region are increasingly under strict observation for alleged trading in so called “conflict minerals”, thus making a profit from the conflict.
International mineral and metal producers and processors are thus currently facing reputational risks when sourcing “conflict minerals” from the Great Lakes region. Therefore, they partly chose to disengage from the region, depriving the local populations from a significant livelihood base.
ICGLR has set up the “Regional Initiative against the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources” (RINR) in order to foster good governance in the mining sector of the Great Lakes region and to allow continuous engagement of responsible stakeholders, through a formalized regional certification mechanism.
The success and credibility of the RINR scheme and its efficient implementation in ICGLR member-states allows that “conflict minerals” produced in the Great Lakes region – which are identified as “conflict-free” through the regional certification mechanism – are being traded furthermore on the international market.
The Project
Commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) supports the ICGLR in setting up efficient formalization processes for the most important mineral resources, especially tin, tungsten and coltan. Further, BGR promotes the strengthening of mining supervision in selected ICGLR Member States. This contributes to improved life and working conditions of ASM miners living in the Great Lakes Region. In the project implemented by BGR, the following aspects are addressed:
1. National authorities are enabled to ensure the sustainability of mining through training in mining supervision and inspection. Supporting the national implementation of the Regional Certification Mechanism and the formalization of small-scale and artisanal mining in Rwanda and Uganda
2. Capacity Development to the ICGLR to support the Audit Coordination process on Due Diligence along relevant supply chains.
3. Continuation of the Analytical Finger Print (AFP) approach by ICGLR.
The Regional Certification Mechanism is an instrument to improve transparency and responsibility in the mineral production and is based on ICGLR certification criteria. A comprehensive tracking system within producer countries will ensure that minerals originate from certified mine sites. While supporting this mechanism’s national implementation BGR cooperates primarily with Rwanda and Uganda. In both countries, the formalization of small-scale and artisanal mining is fostered, i.e. through improving work and security conditions. Well-developed concepts from ICGLR-Member-states are transferred – and adjusted if necessary - to other member-states through the ICGLR-secretariat in order to share the experiences of their peers.
Parallel to the measures and efforts, BGR supports the ICGLR at its Executive Secretariat in the fostering of their capabilities to govern the respective processes and thus ensure sustainability for the period after the end of the project. Currently, BGR supports the ICGLR with regards to updating new audit instruments (i.e. checklists and templates) in line with the in October 2019 updated new version of the RCM. This will guarantee a more efficient and effective control of transnational and international supply chains.
With the Analytical Fingerprint method, introduced by BGR during the previous project phase, the origin of mineral concentrates can be identified due to their mineral and geochemical composition. For this purpose, samples are matched with a database with minerals of known origin. Combined with the Regional Certification Mechanism, the application of this method enables a better control of mineral exports from the region. Thus, the AFP in an ideal instrument complementing the standard documentation system. It is supposed to be used in case independent auditors question the plausibility of documents that are checked along the supply chain. After building the database, setting up the laboratory and a technical unit to independently manage the AFP process within ICGLR, the application and further development of the instrument are now central activities.
The first project with the ICGLR started operating in January 2011. The current project is estimated to run until 31st December 2024.
Project contributions:
- TC Project Rwanda: Supraregional Africa - Support for a Regional Certification Mechanism – International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR)
- TZ Projekt Ruanda: Deutsche Entwicklungszusammenarbeit mit der ICGLR - Unterstützung der regionalen Rohstoffzertifizierung
Literature:
Factsheet: Promotion of Transparency and Control of Supply Chains in the Great Lakes Region
Partner: