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""What is needed most to overcome the obstacles on child labor and mining corruption in the DRC is leadership, from corporations that use cobalt, from the DRC government, and from the U.S. government as a highly influential partner." - Sasha Lezhnev, Policy Consultant to The Sentry"


Dear Supporter,

Last week, The Sentry's Policy Consultant Sasha Lezhnev testified in front of a US Congressional hearing hosted by the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, titled "Child Labor and Human Rights Violations in the Mining Industry of the Democratic Republic of Congo." Sasha was part of a panel of distinguished witnesses that discussed human rights violations in the DRC's mining sector, including child and forced labor, disregard for worker safety, and environmental degradation. To address these challenges, the witnesses examined the presence of corruption in the mining sector and the roles played by civil society and foreign countries and companies.

Cobalt, gold, and other minerals from the DRC are becoming increasingly more important as they power newer technologies like our cell phones and electric vehicles. However, as Sasha testified, "The elephant in the room on cobalt and gold is the continuing and worsening system of kleptocracy in the DRC. Despite commitments by DRC President Felix Tshisekedi to combat corruption, massive amounts of money are still going missing from this sector." It is critical to root out this corruption and the human rights abuses that it perpetuates, which is why The Sentry remains as committed as ever to our work [ [link removed] ] shedding light on foreign [ [link removed] ] and domestic [ [link removed] ] corruption in the DRC.

More information about the hearing, as well as Sasha's written testimony, can be found on the Commission's website here [ [link removed] ], and the video recording of the hearing can be watched here [ [link removed] ].





Sincerely,

Justyna Gudzowska
Director of Illicit Finance Policy



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