Read our briefing document summarising baseline evaluations of artisanal mining communities in eastern DRC.

Seven baseline evaluations of artisanal mining communities in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) reveal that local communities rate insecurity as the main reason for sustained or increased poverty. The studies found that other interconnected factors, including population displacement and access to land and markets, also contribute to the poverty and hardships endured by mining communities in North and South Kivu.

The studies were authored by three international non-governmental humanitarian organisations,Catholic Relief Services (CRS), Catholic Committee Against Hunger and for Development (CCFD),and Solidarités International and one Congolese organisation, the Commission on Natural Resources of the DRC Bishops' Conference (CERN). In South Kivu four mining communities (Luttwinja, Ninja, Nzibira and Mukungwe, all in Walungu territory) were surveyed jointly by CRS, CCFD and CERN between August and October 2011. In North Kivu, Solidarités International surveyed six mining communities (Mubi, Banamutabira,Banamatumo, Walikale Centre, Ndjingala and Banabuhini/Kibua, all in Walikale territory) between December 2011 and January 2012.

The situation in artisanal mining communities has often been inaccurately represented in the international 'conflict minerals' debate. These reports evaluate a range of factors that affect mining communities in North and South Kivu, including the impact of industry response to the U.S. Dodd-Frank conflict minerals law. They highlight the fluidity of local economies and community responses to these rapidly changing local dynamics. In the communities surveyed, armed group activities often had the greatest impact on daily life.

Artisanal mining communities in eastern DRC: seven baseline studies in the Kivus