Association Canadienne contre l'impunité (ACCI)

On 8th November 2010, an association representing Congolese citizens filed a class action in a Montreal court against the Canadian company, Anvil Mining Limited. Over the past 6 years, RAID has investigated and extensively documented the events that occurred in the Kilwa, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in October 2004. Patricia Feeney, RAID's Executive Director, is the President of the newly created Association canadienne contre l’impunité (ACCI – Canadian Association Against Impunity), whose members include families of the victims of the Kilwa massacre, Global Witness, Congolese and Canadian NGOs. The purpose of the Association is to help the families seek a remedy from the Superior Court in Quebec against Anvil Mining Limited, a company, that by providing transport and other logistical support to the Congolese Armed Forces, allegedly enabled soldiers to perpetrate a massacre and carry out other human rights violations against the civilian population.

The law firm McCarthy Tétrault will represent Anvil Mining Limited.

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“Precedent for extraterritoriality - Canadian justice for Congolese victims”

Rights and Accountability in Development (RAID) and Global Witness are inviting the academic and human rights community to a discussion around the class action filed against Anvil Mining Limited on 8 November 2010 by relatives of victims and survivors of the Kilwa massacre. The claimants allege that the company, by providing logistical assistance, played a role in human rights abuses, including the massacre by the Congolese military of more than 70 people in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2004. For more information please see the press release.

Date: Thursday, 18th November 2010
Time: 4.30 pm
Location: Doughty Street Chambers, 54 Doughty Street, London, WC1N 2LS http://www.doughtystreet.co.uk/about_chambers/contact_us/location_map.cfm

The Congolese citizens are supported by RAID, Global Witness, and Canadian and Congolese NGOs in bringing the claim. The plaintiff is represented by the law firm Trudel and Johnston.

Members of the Panel will include:
Chair: Richard Hermer (Barrister, Doughty Street Chambers - to be confirmed)
Speakers: Tricia Feeney (Executive Director, RAID), Seema Joshi (Legal Advisor, Global Witness), Richard Meeran (Partner, Leigh Day and Co.) and Bruce Johnston (Partner, Trudel and Johnston)

The discussion will include a focus on the events that happened in Kilwa in October 2004 and the quest for justice. Particulars relating to the Canadian class action application will be discussed as well as the wider significance of this case and its implication for corporate accountability globally.

The discussion will be followed by a drink reception.

This event is by invitation only. As spaces are limited, please RSVP by Tuesday, 16 November to eivolunteer@globalwitness.org. If you have any queries about the event, please call Blanka Geszti on 020 7492 5846 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              020 7492 5846      end_of_the_skype_highlighting or Seema Joshi on 079 1251 7126.

RAID's Director a Panellist at NHRI Conference in Edinburgh

The International Coordinating Committee of National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs)will host a panel event on the current review of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.

Confirmed panellists include:

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Roel Nieuwenkamp, Chair of the Working Party, OECD Investment Committee
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Tricia Feeney, of RAID (Rights and Accountability in Development) and a founding member of OECD Watch
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Dr Claire Methven O'Brien, Coordinator, ICC Working Group on Business and Human Rights
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Speaker from UK National Contact Point for the OECD Guidelines

The discussion will be chaired by Dr Jonas Christoffersen, Director of Danish Institute for Human Rights and Chair of the ICC Working Group on Business and Human Rights.

The event is organised to stimulate discussion amongst NHRIs regarding the current Guidelines review and reflect on potential roles and opportunities for NHRIs within the Guidelines framework.

The panel will take place 9 October 2010, from 1:30-3 PM in the Scottish Parliament. The panel is held as a side event to the 10th ICC Biennial International Conference of National Human Rights Institutions.

http://www.humanrightsbusiness.org/?f=news

Human Rights and Natural Resource Training in Lubumbashi

During the month of August 2011 RAID ran a human rights and natural resources training programme in Lubumbashi for NGOs from different provinces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The three-week intensive programme was funded by the Open Society Institute for Southern Africa (OSISA). RAID's Congolese partners, Southern Africa Revenue Watch (SARW) and Action Contre l'Impunite pour les Droits Humains (ACIDH,) provided facilitators and expert speakers.

The programme took place in the Centre de Retraite, "Les Buissonets", in the Tabac quarter of Lubumbashi. The twenty-nine participants were introduced to international human rights instruments and the Congolese legal framework including the Mining Code and Forest Code. A central focus of the programme was on research methods and the participants undertook field work in selected mining sites in Katanga. Speakers included Alexis Mikanji, the head of the Centre d'évaluation d'expertise et de certification des substances minérales précieuses et semi-précieuses (Ceec, Congo's Regulatory Mining Body); Jean Pierre Muteba, a civil society representative on the Executive Committee of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI;) Maitre Georges Kapiamba, the Deputy Director of ASADHO and a leading human rights lawyer; Maitre Marc Walu of MONUSCO's human rights division; and Professor Arthur Kaniki, an environmental expert at the University of Lubumbashi. The final part of the programme was devoted to advocacy. At the end of the programme the participants presented their research findings, which will be published on OSISA's website.