Le Réseau européen pour l'Afrique centrale (EurAc), créé en 2003, a pour objectif d'aider la région des Grands Lacs à construire un avenir meilleur. EurAc mène un travail de plaidoyer en faveur d'un engagement fort, cohérent et durable de la part de l'Union européenne et de ses États membres, intégré à une approche régionale. EurAc rassemble 36 organisations européennes de la société civile qui travaillent dans et sur la région et qui soutiennent la société civile locale au Burundi, en République démocratique du Congo (RDC) et au Rwanda dans la promotion de la paix et du développement, et dans la défense des droits humains.
10/10/2022 - Rapport - (FR)
Grands Lacs, RDC; Ressources naturelles
Le 1er janvier 2021 marqua l'entrée en vigueur du Règlement européen sur l'Approvisionnement responsable en Etain, Tungstène, Tantale et Or (minerais connu en anglais sous l’abréviation 3TG) provenant de zones affectées par des conflits et à haut risque (ci-après dénommé CMR de l’UE ou règlement). L'objectif du règlement est de contraindre les entreprises européennes à effectuer des contrôles de diligence raisonnable sur leurs fournisseurs jusqu'au milieu de la chaîne d'approvisionnement afin de minimiser et de gérer les risques de violation des droits humains et de rompre le lien entre l'exploitation des ressources minières et les conflits violents. Le règlement s'est accompagné du déboursement, par la Commission européenne, de 20 millions d'euros pour des « mesures d'accompagnement » destinées à aider les pays producteurs, les communautés locales et les acteurs les plus vulnérables des chaînes de production à s'engager dans des systèmes de responsabilité tout au long de la chaîne.
Le règlement représente un premier pas important pour garantir des chaînes de production minière transparentes qui limitent les atteintes aux droits humains. Cependant, il reste à voir quel est l'impact réel dans les pays producteurs, notamment en ce qui concerne les avantages pour les communautés locales et les petits exploitants miniers artisanaux. Dans le présent rapport, nous nous concentrerons sur les pays producteurs que sont la République démocratique du Congo (RDC) et la Colombie.
En septembre 2021, un atelier en ligne de trois jours réunit plus de cinquante représentants d'organisations de la société civile (OSC) colombiennes, congolaises et européennes autour de la question de la mise en œuvre du CMR de l’UE. Cet atelier fut suivi d'une conférence publique en ligne, au cours de laquelle les sociétés civiles ont relayé leurs préoccupations auprès des représentants de l'UE (tant du Parlement européen que de la Commission) et présenté leurs recommandations.
Ce document entend résumer les principales recommandations élaborées au cours de l'atelier. En effet, en vue de l'évaluation des mesures d'accompagnement cette année (2022), de la révision du règlement en 2023, ainsi que des législations à venir telles qu'une législation horizontale sur le devoir de vigilance (Initiative sur la Gouvernance durable des Entreprises) et le règlement relatif aux batteries, il est crucial que la voix des OSC des pays producteurs soit entendue et prise en considération.
10/10/2022 - Report - (EN)
Central Africa, DRC; Natural Resources
The 1st of January 2021 marked the entry into force of the European Regulation on Responsible Sourcing of tin, tungsten tantalum and gold (3TG) from conflict-affected and high-risk areas (EU CMR or Regulation). The objective of the Regulation is to oblige European companies to carry out due diligence checks on their suppliers up-to the middle of the supply chain in order to minimize and manage the risks of human rights abuse and to break the link between the exploitation of mineral resources and violent conflicts. The Regulation was accompanied by the disbursement of 20 million euros worth of ‘accompanying measures’ by the European Commission to assist producing countries, local communities and the most vulnerable actors in the production chains to engage with systems of accountability throughout the chain.
The Regulation represents an important first step in ensuring transparent mineral production chains that curb human rights abuses. However, it remains to be seen what the real impact is in producing countries, particularly with regards to benefits for local communities and small-scale artisanal mining operators. In this report we will focus on the producing countries of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Columbia.
In September 2021, a three-day online workshop brought together more than fifty representatives of Colombian, Congolese and European civil society organizations (CSO) to discuss the EU CMR implementation. This workshop was followed by a public online conference where civil societies addressed their concerns to EU representatives (both from the EU Parliament and the Commission) and presented their recommendations.
The workshop and conference aimed to give the opportunity to civil society organizations from producing countries to share their analysis on the risks, opportunities and challenges offered by the Regulation. Moreover, the participants were encouraged to share experiences and good practices. Specific attention has been given to the issues of environmental protection, which is absent from the Regulation. Finally, private sector representatives also had the opportunity to take part in the discussion – to exchange with civil society, explain their own challenges with implementing the Regulation and share their best practices.
This document aims to summarize the main recommendations that have been elaborated during the workshop. Indeed, in view of the evaluation of the accompanying measures this year (2022), the review of the Regulation in 2023, as well as upcoming legislations such as a horizontal due diligence legislation (Sustainable Corporate Governance Initiative) and the Batteries Regulation, it is crucial that CSOs’ voice from producing countries are heard and taken into consideration.
Since the adoption of the EU CMR in 2017, CSOs both from producing countries and Europe have underlined a number of concerns. In 2019 these CSOs organized a first workshop and subsequently published a report with key recommendations on the implementation of the EU CMR.[1] The exchanges and testimonies shared during our second workshops in 2021 have shown that important problems persist in the design and implementation of the Regulation.
The discussions did not include the limited scope of the Regulation (addressing supply chains up to refiners and smelters and excluding manufactured products) and the reliance on industry schemes. These themes were discussed in other publications [2]. The exchange focused on four main issues that need to be addressed:
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[1] EURAC, “The EU Regulation on responsible mineral supply accompanying and its measures: from civil society from producing countries”, Workshop Report, December 2019, URL : https://www.eurac-network.org/sites/default/files/2019_eurac_report_workshopresponsiblemineralsourcing_vf.pdf
[2] EURAC, EUROPEAN NGO COALITION ON MINERALS, PAX, “The EU Conflict Minerals Regulation”, June 2021, URL : https://www.eurac-network.org/sites/default/files/202106_coregroup_reviewpaper_3tg_implementation_memberstates.pdf
20/07/2022 - Offre d'emploi - (EN)
; All thematics
The European Network for Central Africa is looking for an experienced consultant with expertise in EU funding to
1) identify concrete opportunities among the portfolio of EU calls;
2) support the collaborative and participative construction and design of a relevant project proposal within the network;
3) support EurAc in the drafting and submission of a proposal. Indeed, Eurac wishes to widen its financial resources to support and develop its European advocacy work regarding the Great Lakes region. The network has therefore decided to open up for the first time to EU funding opportunities and needs external support to achieve this objective. The consultant will bring his/her expertise in the functioning of European funding mechanisms.
➢ EurAc would like to target in priority a call of the "FFPA" type (Framework Financial Partnership Agreement), but remains open to any other opportunities that might be suggested by the consultant. The methodology and process to achieve the expected results will be based on an initial proposal from the consultant. It will then be discussed and agreed upon with the Secretariat for joint and concerted implementation. This consultancy will include consultation and coordination with the network members.
This consultancy includes three main components:
- PART 1 - Firstly we seek to identify concrete mechanisms, instruments and/or calls for proposals issued by the different funding entities of the European Union, which match the specific work of a European advocacy network on external EU policies;
- PART 2 - Secondly, the consultant will support EurAc to gather, shape and build, together with its members, a project proposal matching the funding opportunities identified previously;
- PART 3 - Thirdly, the consultant will be closely supporting the Secretariat during the process of writing the proposal and its submission to the donors.
