18 December 2019
Landmark Legal Case Launched Over Congolese Child Cobalt Mining Deaths
Landmark Legal Case Launched Over Congolese Child Cobalt Mining Deaths
Photo : UNICEF
Congolese members of RAPAR, who have denounced child cobalt mining in DRC, have welcomed a landmark legal case against five of the world's largest tech companies.
Families from the Democratic Republic of Congo whose children have been killed or maimed while mining for cobalt have mounted a legal case against Apple, Google, Microsoft, Dell and Tesla. The children were working in cobalt mines in the companies' supply chain and it is the first time any of the major tech companies have faced this kind of challenge. The lawsuit has been filed in Washington DC on behalf of the families by the human rights organisation International Rights Advocates.
Cobalt is used to power Smartphones, Laptops and electric cars.
RAPAR's Congolese members have also highlighted human rights abuses related to the mining of coltan which is used in the production of electronic devices, including mobile phones and laptops. Coltan is used in a different supply chain from cobalt.
You can read more about the lawsuit related to child cobalt mining here.
Families from the Democratic Republic of Congo whose children have been killed or maimed while mining for cobalt have mounted a legal case against Apple, Google, Microsoft, Dell and Tesla. The children were working in cobalt mines in the companies' supply chain and it is the first time any of the major tech companies have faced this kind of challenge. The lawsuit has been filed in Washington DC on behalf of the families by the human rights organisation International Rights Advocates.
Cobalt is used to power Smartphones, Laptops and electric cars.
RAPAR's Congolese members have also highlighted human rights abuses related to the mining of coltan which is used in the production of electronic devices, including mobile phones and laptops. Coltan is used in a different supply chain from cobalt.
You can read more about the lawsuit related to child cobalt mining here.
14 November 2018
APARECO sit-in at Downing Street
APARECO sit-in at Downing Street
Manchester APARECO members took their message to Downing Street last weekend where they held a sit-in and demonstration to protest against the Kabila regime's human rights abuses in Congo.
11 April 2018
Barly Koyangbwa Speaks At 'Terror of War' Event
On 7th April 2018 Leading APARECO member Barly Koyangbwa explains the historical links between Britain and Congo and how these links inform current Terrors of War and the War on Terror.
Barly Koyangbwa Speaks At 'Terror of War' Event
On 7th April 2018 Leading APARECO member Barly Koyangbwa explains the historical links between Britain and Congo and how these links inform current Terrors of War and the War on Terror.
8 December 2017
Barly talks in short film: 'The Silent Genocide in Democratic Republic of Congo'
This film 'The Silent Genocide in DRC' features Barly Koyangbwa from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Barly is vice president of APARECO(Alliance of Patriots for the Refoundation of Congo) North West UK.
In this short film, he speaks powerfully about the violent regime in Congo – and the multinationals' post colonial scramble for minerals in the country, including coltan which is used in the manufacture of laptops and mobile phones.
Barly talks in short film: 'The Silent Genocide in Democratic Republic of Congo'
This film 'The Silent Genocide in DRC' features Barly Koyangbwa from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Barly is vice president of APARECO(Alliance of Patriots for the Refoundation of Congo) North West UK.
In this short film, he speaks powerfully about the violent regime in Congo – and the multinationals' post colonial scramble for minerals in the country, including coltan which is used in the manufacture of laptops and mobile phones.
2 August 2017
APARECO North West members talk about the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo
Watch APARECO member and activist Barly speak about the situation in DRC:
APARECO North West members talk about the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo
Watch APARECO member and activist Barly speak about the situation in DRC:
Here Barly speaks in French and Lingala:
APARECO member and activist Maurice Luzolo speaking (in English and Lingala) about the situation in DRC:
Alliance des Patriotes pour la Refondation du Congo
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Of the many political crises around the world today, the bloody dictatorship of Joseph Kabila in the Democratic Republic of Congo goes largely unreported in Western Media. It appears that it is of little concern to Western Governments. There is nothing new here.
When the current president Kabila’s father seized power during the Congo Wars of the late 1990s and early 2000s, they are estimated to have led to more than five million deaths – but five million African lives failed to make headlines in western capitals. |
Today too, President Kabila clings to power beyond the end of his mandate and repeatedly delays elections, as demonstrations are met with arbitrary shootings, arrests and torture, and as Kabila stokes further violence in the country’s tense Kasai province. This appears to mean little to British journalists and politicians who are focused on concerns closer to home.
Two RAPAR members, Maurice Luzolo and Barly Koyangbwa, are in the UK having fled persecution by President Kabila. They are also members of the DRC opposition group, APARECO (Alliance des Patriotes pour la Refondationdu Congo), which works around the world to lobby and protest for the removal of President Kabila. They have brokered a partnership between RAPAR and APARECO to raise awareness of the situation in Congo, and to pressurise the UK government to do more.
Read more about the situation in DRC here and here.
Two RAPAR members, Maurice Luzolo and Barly Koyangbwa, are in the UK having fled persecution by President Kabila. They are also members of the DRC opposition group, APARECO (Alliance des Patriotes pour la Refondationdu Congo), which works around the world to lobby and protest for the removal of President Kabila. They have brokered a partnership between RAPAR and APARECO to raise awareness of the situation in Congo, and to pressurise the UK government to do more.
- https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/africa/democratic-republic-of-the-congo/report-democratic-republic-of-the-congo/
- https://www.hrw.org/africa/democratic-republic-congo
- https://www.crisisgroup.org/africa/central-africa/democratic-republic-congo
Read more about the situation in DRC here and here.
Write to your MP (www.writetothem.com) asking them to raise the situation in DRC with the British government, and to urge the granting of asylum to those in the UK fleeing DRC.
Please send a copy of your letter or email to admin(a)rapar.org.uk
A suggested template is below:
Please send a copy of your letter or email to admin(a)rapar.org.uk
A suggested template is below:
Dear .....
I am writing to express my deep concern at the violence and political crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and am writing to you as my MP to ask that you call on the UK government to condemn the violence, urge the resignation of President Kabila, and grant asylum to DRC nationals currently in the UK who have fled political persecution and violence in DRC.
President Kabila has now been in power in DRC since he took over from his father in 2001. He has since presided over a bloody, never-ending civil war in the east of the country, two elections which were widely suspected of being rigged, and widespread political violence and persecution of anyone who dares oppose him. In 2016, his mandate came to an end and there were supposed to be elections. But the elections were delayed and Kabila extended his term. Massive demonstrations on 19 September 2016 and on 20-22 December 2016 were met with deadly violence. In a deal brokered by the Catholic church at the end of 2016, elections were to be held by the end of 2017, with Kabila standing down. But Kabila is now backing away from the deal[http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/spiegel-interview-with-congo-president-joseph-kabila-a-1150521.html], and refuses to rule out a third term in power. Meanwhile, violence is escalating in Kasai province, displacing more a million civilians as government troops and rebels are reported to have carried out atrocities. It is suspected that Kabila is stoking the violence in a bid to justify postponing elections.
The UK government has been worryingly silent on the situation in DRC – although the UK is the second-largest bilateral donor to the country. As a donor, the UK has considerable leverage over DRC, but failure to speak out about the violence and human rights abuses amounts to complicity. Please urge the Prime Minister Theresa May, the Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, and the Minister for Africa Tobias Ellwood to condemn the violence and call for an immediate cessation to hostilities across DRC, especially in Kasai Province.
At present, the international community is urging that elections are held. This is a welcome goal. However, the experience of the last two elections in DRC involved widespread irregularities, intimidation and violence – and the process simply gave a democratic veneer to Kabila’s rule. After sixteen years of dictatorship, corruption and civil war, the international community must be clear that Kabila has no role to play in the future of DRC. Therefore, please urge the Prime Minister, the Foreign Secretary and the Minister for Africa to call for the rapidresignation of President Kabila, with free and fair elections to follow.
Finally, the UK has a poor track record of recognising those fleeing DRC as political refugees. Those who have been tortured in Kabila’s prisons, or who have seen their close relatives shot arbitrarily by government forces, are routinely disbelieved and dismissed as liars by the UK Home Office. Many are stuck in legal limbo in the UK, terrified to return to persecution in DRC, but not recognised as refugees, while others have been sent back. Many who have been deported back to DRC have since disappeared [http://justicefirst.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/Executive-Summary-of-Unsafe-Return1.pdf] Therefore, please urge the Home Secretary to grant asylum to all those in the UK who have fled violence and persecution in DRC.
Yours sincerely,
[Your name]
..........................................................
President Kabila has now been in power in DRC since he took over from his father in 2001. He has since presided over a bloody, never-ending civil war in the east of the country, two elections which were widely suspected of being rigged, and widespread political violence and persecution of anyone who dares oppose him. In 2016, his mandate came to an end and there were supposed to be elections. But the elections were delayed and Kabila extended his term. Massive demonstrations on 19 September 2016 and on 20-22 December 2016 were met with deadly violence. In a deal brokered by the Catholic church at the end of 2016, elections were to be held by the end of 2017, with Kabila standing down. But Kabila is now backing away from the deal[http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/spiegel-interview-with-congo-president-joseph-kabila-a-1150521.html], and refuses to rule out a third term in power. Meanwhile, violence is escalating in Kasai province, displacing more a million civilians as government troops and rebels are reported to have carried out atrocities. It is suspected that Kabila is stoking the violence in a bid to justify postponing elections.
The UK government has been worryingly silent on the situation in DRC – although the UK is the second-largest bilateral donor to the country. As a donor, the UK has considerable leverage over DRC, but failure to speak out about the violence and human rights abuses amounts to complicity. Please urge the Prime Minister Theresa May, the Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, and the Minister for Africa Tobias Ellwood to condemn the violence and call for an immediate cessation to hostilities across DRC, especially in Kasai Province.
At present, the international community is urging that elections are held. This is a welcome goal. However, the experience of the last two elections in DRC involved widespread irregularities, intimidation and violence – and the process simply gave a democratic veneer to Kabila’s rule. After sixteen years of dictatorship, corruption and civil war, the international community must be clear that Kabila has no role to play in the future of DRC. Therefore, please urge the Prime Minister, the Foreign Secretary and the Minister for Africa to call for the rapidresignation of President Kabila, with free and fair elections to follow.
Finally, the UK has a poor track record of recognising those fleeing DRC as political refugees. Those who have been tortured in Kabila’s prisons, or who have seen their close relatives shot arbitrarily by government forces, are routinely disbelieved and dismissed as liars by the UK Home Office. Many are stuck in legal limbo in the UK, terrified to return to persecution in DRC, but not recognised as refugees, while others have been sent back. Many who have been deported back to DRC have since disappeared [http://justicefirst.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/Executive-Summary-of-Unsafe-Return1.pdf] Therefore, please urge the Home Secretary to grant asylum to all those in the UK who have fled violence and persecution in DRC.
Yours sincerely,
[Your name]
..........................................................