22ND ICGLR AUDIT COMMITTEE MEETING HELD IN KIGALI
From 3 to 6 April 2023, the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region is holding its 22nd Audit Committee meeting in Kigali, Rwanda.
The opening ceremony was attended by Dr.Ivan Twagirashema, the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of RMB; Amb. Yasir Ibrahim Ali Mohammed, Deputy Executive Secretary of the ICGLR; Dr. Fr. David Ngoy Luhaka, Chairman of the ICGLR Audit Committee; Representative of the German Embassy in Rwanda; Representative of the Embassy of the Kingdom of Netherlands in Rwanda; and members of the audit committee.
The Meeting has brought audit committee members together to oversee the Regional Certification Mechanism (RCM) being identified as the core due diligence tool within the Regional Initiative to fight Against the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources (RINR).
The ICGLR (International Conference on the Great Lakes Region) Regional Certification Mechanism is a system established by the ICGLR member states to prevent the trade of conflict minerals in the Great Lakes Region of Africa. The mechanism provides a framework for the certification of minerals, including gold, tin, tantalum, and tungsten i.e.,3TG, that have been extracted and traded without supporting armed conflict, human rights abuses, and other forms of violence.
The ICGLR Regional Certification Mechanism is intended to ensure that companies that purchase minerals from the Great Lakes Region can trace the origin of their products and ensure that they are not supporting conflict or human rights abuses. The mechanism involves the establishment of traceability and due diligence systems, which are used to track the movement of minerals from mines to smelters and refineries.
Enrolled in the scheme, Rwandan minerals are 100% traceable and conflict-free from the mine to the export point.
The ICGLR Regional Certification Mechanism is complemented by other initiatives, such as the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas, which provides guidance to companies on how to conduct due diligence to ensure that their mineral supply chains are free of conflict and human rights abuses.
During his remarks, the Deputy Executive Secretary of the ICGLR, Amb. Yasir Ibrahim Ali Mohammed argued that ‘over the last three years the committee has supervised over 24 third party audits, of which 16 were conducted in Rwanda.’
The Deputy CEO of RMB said that the Government of Rwanda is fully committed to the implementation of the Regional Initiative and a lot of progress has been made so far.
“We are implementing Chain of Custody Systems in all mine sites in Rwanda. Our experience and lessons learned in the implementation of paper-based mineral tracking systems have helped to move a step further by introducing digital and blockchain technology.’’
The ICGLR Regional Certification Mechanism aims to promote responsible sourcing of minerals and prevent the trade of conflict minerals, thereby contributing to peace, stability, and development in the Great Lakes Region.