March 22, 2016 – Bunia, Democratic Republic of Congo / Ottawa, Canada

Provincial policymakers, mining officials, exporters, and civil society are meeting in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo’s Ituri province to strengthen their efforts to implement traceability and certification for conflict-prone minerals.

Hosted by Partnership Africa Canada, the workshop in Ituri’s capital city, Bunia, aims to improve local implementation of the Regional Certification Mechanism. The International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) adopted the Regional Certification Mechanism as part of efforts to end the illegal exploitation of natural resources.

“The Democratic Republic of Congo has made major strides in ending the trade of conflict minerals. Yet, challenges remain in ensuring traceability is applied consistently across the entire region and conforms to the standards set out by the ICGLR,” said Jamie Graves, Partnership Africa Canada’s Great Lakes Programme Director.

“By bringing all actors involved in the supply chain together, it provides the opportunity to fully understand the steps in certification and develop solutions together to the problems that continue to arise.”

Partnership Africa Canada provides technical support to the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region and its Member States on the development and implementation of the Regional Certification Mechanism.

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Media Contacts:

Zuzia Danielski, Communications Director

zdanielski@pacweb.org / +1-613-237-6768 ext 10

Partnership Africa Canada (PAC) is a global leader in developing innovative approaches to strengthen natural resource governance. For almost 30 years, PAC has collaborated with partners to promote policy dialogue and capacity-building—including through the establishment of the Kimberley Process, which earned PAC a Nobel Peace Prize nomination in 2003.