Amnesty International and the Congolese rights organization IBGDH have collaboratively unveiled a comprehensive 98-page report.
The report sheds light on the distressing situation surrounding communities in and around Kolwezi, a mining town located in the southeastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
These communities have either been forcibly displaced from their residences or subjected to threats of eviction, all in the name of facilitating mining expansion.
The report, which draws its insights from in-depth interviews with 133 individuals, along with supporting documentary evidence and satellite imagery, meticulously examines the consequences of four distinct mining projects in the vicinity.
It meticulously records the coercive removal of entire settlements, with the residents finding themselves caught in the crossfire of what the report terms “energy transition mining.”
One stark illustration of this widespread problem is the case of Mukumbi, a settlement positioned within a mining concession near Kolwezi that is under the ownership of Chemical of Africa SA, a company registered in the DRC.
According to testimonies provided by former residents who were interviewed by the researchers, Congolese soldiers allegedly ignited a destructive fire in the Mukumbi settlement back in November 2016, leaving its inhabitants bereft of their homes and possessions.
In response to the distressing revelations outlined in the report, Agnes Callamard, the Secretary General of Amnesty International, acknowledged the imperative nature of transitioning towards renewable energy sources.
However, she simultaneously issued a resounding call to cease these grave human rights abuses.
Callamard underscored the painful history of exploitation and maltreatment endured by the people of the DRC throughout the colonial and post-colonial periods, emphasizing that these communities continue to face ongoing violations of their rights as their valuable resources are systematically depleted.