Statement on Letter of Appreciation to the Democratic Republic of the Congo

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On 26 November 2021, the Chairperson of the Working Group on Extractive Industries, Environment and Human Rights in Africa, established by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, transmitted a letter of appreciation to His Excellency, Mr. Felix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), regarding the initiative of the DRC to suspend the issuance and trading of mining permits and to audit the country’s mining registry, as a measure of combating fraud within the country’s mining sector. The Statement welcomed and lauded these positive developments, noting, inter alia, that they hold the potential to contribute to the fulfilment of the rights of the people of DRC, amongst others, to freely dispose of their wealth and natural resources and to development, as provided under Articles 21 and 22 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.