Der „International Peace Information Service“ ist seit langem aktiv recherchierend im Osten der D.R.Kongo, bekannt z.B. wegen der regelmäßig aktualisierten Kleinbergbaukarten. Nun haben sie eine naheliegende Frage versucht zu beantworten: Bringen Due Diligence Programme (DDP) zur Verbesserung der Situation in den Minen überhaupt etwas? Speziell mit Blick auf die Konfliktmineralienprogramme (etwa der ITSCI oder des BGR) ist die Antwort verhalten positiv: Es gibt Unterschiede zwischen Minen, in denen die Initiativen aktiv sind und den „konventionellen“ Gebieten, allerdings sind mitnichten alle Probleme gelöst. vor allem nicht bei den Goldminen. Hier ein paar Zitate aus dem Bericht:
- The median weekly income per miner appears higher in areas covered by due diligence programmes than in the non DDP mines.
- Congolese national army (FARDC) or irregular armed groups were present on 35 percent mines … with a strong difference between DDP mining sites (10 percent) and non-DDP sites (40 percent).
- The presence of children under 15 working in the mineral exploitation was reported in 16 percent of the mining sites, most being in the gold sector. We noticed a strong difference between DDP mines (5 percent) and non-DDP mines (26 percent).
- Although some human rights and labour violations were observed less frequently in DDP mines compared to non-DDP mines (e.g. illegal taxation by state services, interference by FARDC, child labour), our findings demonstrate that these abuses still occur in mines and mining zones which are covered by responsible sourcing programmes.
- It worth noting that the low number of gold mining sites covered by due diligence programmes means that comparing DDP and non-DDP mining sites will inherently be subject to any difference between 3T and gold exploitations.
- While participation in due diligence programmes correlates with better direct outcomes for mining production, this should not be extrapolated to imply any causal relationship between due diligence and positive human rights and development outcomes.