Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

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Court rejected Indigenous Malind Peoples’ lawsuit challenging a 135-km roadway destroying customary forest

Source: Greenpeace Statement –

Jakarta, 21 September 2026. The Jayapura State Administrative Court (PTUN Jayapura) announced its decision on September 18 to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the environmental permit for the 135-kilometer road development in Merauke, West Papua. The lawsuit was filed by five Indigenous Malind People in Tanah Papua—Simon Petrus Balagaize, Sinta Gebze, Liborius Kodai Moiwend, Kanisius Dagil, and Andreas Mahuze. 

Simon Petrus Balagaize has expressed deep disappointment over the verdict, saying that no law guaranteed Indigenous rights. “Neither with a lawsuit nor with facts on the ground, the law is not on our side.”

Tigor Hutapea of Pusaka Bentala Rakyat, also a member of the advocacy team, said, “It is a poor and unfair decision. The judges didn’t take into consideration any evidence, along with witnesses and experts presented from our side, that conveyed solid proof that the road development has caused numerous violations of Indigenous rights. The plaintiffs have chosen a difficult path by going to court, yet they got only unfairness.” 

The five Indigenous Malind People filed the lawsuit in March 2026 to challenge an environmental permit  issued by the Merauke Regent for the 135km roadway construction in the regency. The Indonesian government is building the roadway to support its controversial food and energy projects in southern Papua, where 2.7 million hectares of land and forest are targeted for conversion into rice paddy fields, sugarcane, and palm oil. This is the biggest planned deforestation in the world with an unprecedented scale of military involvement. 

Although the environmental permit was issued in September 2025, land clearing and roadway construction began in August 2024. According to the plaintiffs and the advocacy team, no free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) process was conducted. Some clans from the Malind Indigenous People expressed their disagreement through protests, such as by setting up blockades or erecting red crosses, but they were ignored. 

Despite all the evidence, the judges decided that the permit issuance was lawful and included public consultation. 

Asep Komarudin, a member of the advocacy team from Greenpeace Indonesia, said, “The judges’ reasoning in this ruling fails to address substantive issues raised by the witnesses that we presented. Their considerations did not adequately address testimonies about the road construction process, impacts on Indigenous communities and the environment, and other issues. The ruling appears merely to reiterate administrative evidence—deeming it sufficient—without directly examining the actual situation on the ground.”

In Merauke, the roadway construction continues despite being challenged in court. In fact, on June 9, the presiding judge, Merna Chintia, ordered the defendant to halt the construction. However, satellite imagery analysis found that the road network now spans 135 km. 

The roadway development has directly affected the Malind Indigenous group. It has destroyed their customary forest, depriving them of their source of livelihood. Environmental impacts have emerged, such as rising temperatures, dusty air, and declining water quality. Moreover, the Indigenous community members have also experienced various intimidation from the military. 

Despite being disappointed by the court ruling, Simon Balagaize said that the fight is not over. “We will continue to fight for and defend our customary lands. We believe that the truth will be on our side: the Papuan. This lawsuit is not the only way; there are thousands of other ways.” [END]

Media Contact:

Budiarti Putri, Greenpeace Indonesia, [email protected], +62 811-1463-105

Tigor Hutapea, Pusaka Bentala Rakyat, [email protected], +62 812-8729-6684

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Albanese’s NY Climate Week address acknowledges scale of the climate challenge, but fossil fuels notably absent

Source: Greenpeace Statement –

SYDNEY, Tuesday 22 September 2026 — In response to Prime Minister Albanese’s keynote address at New York Climate Week, Dr Simon Bradshaw, COP31 Lead and climate expert at Greenpeace Australia Pacific, said:

“It is encouraging to see Prime Minister Anthony Albanese acknowledging the immediate and profound climate threat to communities in the Pacific, Australia and worldwide, and the need to work together, with bravery and compassion. Now we must match those words with real action to phase out fossil fuels.

“Earlier this month in Palau, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese committed Australia to helping accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels and defend the crucial goal of limiting warming to 1.5°C — a survival line for Pacific island countries and all those paying the cost of our fossil fuel addiction through worsening floods, fires, drought and sea level rise.

“However, Australia continues to undermine its aspirations for global climate leadership by expanding fossil fuel production. The Albanese Government has approved an astonishing 37 new, extended or expanded coal and gas projects since first elected. Every one of which compounds the threats to our shared security and wellbeing. Remarkably, in his major climate speech in New York overnight, the Prime Minister failed to even mention fossil fuels. 

“As our Minister for Climate Change Chris Bowen has said, we are in a global fossil fuel crisis. Getting off fossil fuels through transitioning to renewable energy is the quickest pathway to greater security, stability and affordability for all. But right now Australia is throwing more fuel on the fire.

“We are now near certain to overshoot 1.5°C of warming. For the Pacific and Australia alike, this will be measured in more communities torn from their land and homes, and the loss of more people and places we love. There is a path back below 1.5°C of warming, and every fraction of a degree matters, but it will demand all minds and all hearts working together.

Australia fought hard for the privilege to chair the next round of global climate negotiations. The world is crying out for a clear vision and leadership from Australia as we head towards COP31 in Antalya.

“Australia must lead by example at home through an immediate end to new fossil fuel approvals, including rejecting Woodside’s mammoth Browse project. And must ensure that COP31 boosts our shared security by accelerating the transition away from fossil fuels. Get this right, and Australia will emerge as a responsible middle power and force for good in troubled times.”

-ENDS-

Media contact

Kate O’Callaghan on 0406 231 892 or [email protected] 

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Statement on ‘Digital@UNGA 2026’ and other AI meetings at the UNGA81

Source: Oxfam –

Ahead of the event ‘Digital@UNGA 2026’ and other AI-focused meetings at the UNGA81, Oxfam International Executive Director Amitabh Behar said: 

“As high-level meetings focused on AI kick off at the UN, a handful of AI players continue to amass power, wealth and influence, even as many are warning that they need guardrails and regulation because they cannot – or will not – do it themselves. We must take warnings from AI leaders and whistleblowers seriously, and the UN must play a central role in deciding a collective way forward as AI’s influence and impact grows every day, with the most marginalized being left behind and paying the price.  

“Right now, a tiny number of companies and countries control almost all of the data, infrastructure, and expertise that underpin AI. We’re already seeing a widening inequality gap in terms of who has control, who has access, who benefits, and who is forced to live with the deafening drone of AI data centers in their communities.  

“We must open the conversation at the UN to ensure civil society, workers, and affected communities and countries of all sizes and influence have seats at the table – not just the powerful few governments and AI leaders who so far have dominated the debate. We must insist it is a conversation that we all can understand and contribute to because the stakes could not be higher for each of us and humanity as a whole.  

“Oxfam is calling for governance that is effective, enforceable and upholds our individual & collective human rights. We must see more than conversations – we need actions taken that confront the unequal power the AI industry holds and address the current and potential harms to each of us.  

“We know AI holds tremendous potential to help solve some of our most existential collective challenges if it is designed, deployed and controlled responsibly. However, without regulation and accountability, it will only make the current crises of widening inequality, multiplying extreme climate events, and erosion of human rights even more stark. We have no time to waste. AI is advancing exponentially, and we must take collective action before we are too late.” 

Oxfam is also co-hosting an “IIDEAS Summit” on September 24 with Amano, and other partners – an event focused on Artificial Intelligence for Human Progress, Nature and Resilient Systems, Health Systems for the Next Generation, and Financing the Future (Invitation-only). 

Oxfam’s position on AI (particularly in the context of the UN) is:  

  1. AI needs effective, enforceable, rights-based governance – not reliance on voluntary corporate commitments. Regulation should cover the full AI lifecycle and require transparency, accountability, human oversight, human-rights due diligence and human-rights impact assessment, as well as meaningful redress & remedy where harms occur. Governance must address AI’s effects on inequality, work, civic participation, mis/dis-information and the environment, in addition to the technical safety concerns currently making headlines. 
  2. AI governance must confront unequal power, not just individual harms. A tiny number of companies and countries control almost all of the data, infrastructure, frontier models and expertise that underpin AI. Oxfam supports any measure that constrains monopoly power, promotes open & interoperable systems and digital public goods, expands AI capacity in Global South countries, ensures that AI’s benefits and decision-making power are distributed, and ensures the externalities & harms are not simply borne by the most vulnerable/least powerful. 
  3. People affected by AI must have meaningful agency in governing it. Decisions about whether, where and how AI systems are developed and deployed should not be determined solely by powerful technology companies or powerful states. Workers, civil society, affected communities and countries of the Global South need meaningful participation, with particular focus on the dimensions of intersectional inequality that AI has the potential to exacerbate. 
  4. The UN has an important convening and norm-setting role because AI is inherently a global issue. The corporate and geopolitical AI “arms race” is such that zero incentives are in place for corporations to act in humanity’s best interest, nor for governments to compel them to do so. Oxfam supports the UN helping build convergence around common human-rights standards, interoperability and accountability; coordinating otherwise fragmented international processes; strengthening AI capacity and creating meaningful space for countries and communities currently excluded from AI governance. The added value is precisely that global AI governance must not be dictated by a handful of powerful governments and technology companies. 

Note on “Latest News Headlines”: the fact that leading AI companies themselves now saying existing safeguards are inadequate simply reinforces the need for robust & enforceable public governance. However, regulation must also address harms already being experienced (surveillance, labor disruption, discrimination, disinformation, deep fakes, environmental impacts and concentrated corporate power) alongside these emerging frontier risks. 

Note on “Inevitability” Narrative:  a rhetoric of inevitability envelopes AI, but in reality, the AI industry is like a casino right now: there is much more money being paid in than being paid out, and the risks are poorly understood by most of the gamblers. However, what seems unstoppable would quickly grind to a complete halt if the money stopped flowing in. This is why Oxfam is engaging investors and corporations, as well as those who are responsible for creating sane, humane, enforceable and forward-looking public policy. We collectively bear and must collectively mitigate this entire catalogue of risks, from individual to societal to existential.  

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Delivering cancer care to women in humanitarian crises is possible

Source: Médecins Sans Frontières –

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) will speak for the first time at the World Cancer Congress in Hong Kong this week. We will share our experiences from our cancer programmes in Mali and Malawi, highlighting that cancer care is possible in resource-limited settings, but also that urgent action is needed to break barriers to accessing prevention, timely diagnosis and adequate treatment.

The burden of cancer is already a growing public health threat in many countries where MSF works — and women are disproportionately affected. About 80 per cent of deaths from breast and cervical cancer worldwide happen in low and middle-income countries. By 2050, global health experts estimate the number of cancer cases in such countries will rise by 150 per cent.

“Ten years ago, during the Syrian crisis, we were ill-equipped to respond to the health needs of displaced people whose treatment for non-communicable diseases, including cancer, had been abruptly interrupted by the conflict,” says Dr Claire Rieux, MSF’s medical director. “Today, our teams provide cancer care, from screening to treatment and palliative care, in several countries.”

“We partner with ministries of health, inspiring practitioners, community networks and experts in the fight against cancer,” says Dr Rieux. “We are eager to keep learning and contribute to advancing greater equity in this field.”

In Mali, more than 2,300 women received medical care for breast or cervical cancer between 2021 and 2025 through a programme we ran with partners in Bamako.

A retrospective study to assess treatment results of women cared for by MSF and the Malian Ministry of Health between 2019 and 2022 shows tangible progress — despite unreliable access to radiotherapy, security constraints and the many obstacles that stand in the way of people living with cancer reaching care.

Only one quarter of the patients were diagnosed at an early stage of the disease, but the proportion kept improving over time. For instance, for women with cervical cancer, it doubled between 2019 (14%) and 2022 (28%). The retrospective study also found global survival rates for women with breast cancer that stood at 91% a year after the diagnosis and 72% after three years. These rates are promising but should be dealt with caution given the high proportion of patients whose survival status was unknown in the study (30% of patients were “lost to follow up”).

“Our efforts have also been focused on supporting people on their care pathway, providing health education, psychological care and social support, and working closely with local associations and survivors,” says Nancy Kamwaza, MSF’s health promotion and community engagement manager in Malawi. 

“Medicines and clinical protocols alone are not enough: people with cancer need clear information, emotional and practical support, and continuity of care to help them navigate treatment and cope with the wider impact of the disease on their lives and families,” says Kamwaza.

In Malawi, our programme in Blantyre helps to tackle the world’s second highest cervical cancer mortality rates. Through it, we are facilitating access to palliative care and treatment, including chemotherapy, surgery and radiotherapy, and to prevention tools, including vaccination against human papillomavirus (HPV), and early screening and treatment of precancerous lesions. In Blantyre district, the coverage of cervical cancer screening increased from 40 per cent in 2019 to close to 60 per cent last year.

MSF also joined the PAVE study , an international research project designed to trial a new, low-cost strategy for screening and treating pre-cancerous cervical lesions in resource-limited settings. The strategy, which combines HPV genotyping and artificial intelligence-automated visual evaluation to detect precancerous lesions, was found particularly effective to achieve better detection and to better identify the most at-risk women in need of urgent treatment. Yet improved screening yields limited results if the next stages of diagnostic and care remain unavailable, unaffordable, or in higher demand than capacity can meet.

MSF’s work in cancer care has contributed to showing that it is possible to diagnose, prevent and treat cancer, even in fragile and humanitarian settings, when people with cancer have access to coordinated and adequately resourced care. However, in many resource-limited settings, high prices, drug shortages, limited specialised human resources, and weak supply chain and procurement systems continue to prevent people diagnosed with cancer from accessing treatment and care.

“Too often, people with cancer are denied access to treatment and care not because effective tools do not exist, but because they are priced out of reach, unavailable when they are needed, or not suitable for resource-limited settings and countries,” says Dr Zarak Jan, MSF Access advocacy advisor. “It’s time for countries and funders to show a strong political will to close this gap by investing in cancer care and ensuring that lifesaving diagnostics and treatments are affordable, adaptable and available for people in low-resource and humanitarian settings.”

Speaking at the World Cancer Congress, hosted in Hong Kong, is a unique opportunity for MSF to advocate for greater access to comprehensive care for people with cancer, exchange ideas with the global cancer community, and learn about the latest innovations and successful initiatives in cancer control. 

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Pakistan: Arbitrary detention of Imran Khan’s family and party activists a flagrant violation of human rights 

Source: Amnesty International –

Responding to the arbitrary detention of members of former prime minister Imran Khan’s family, including his three sisters, as well as activists from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) ahead of the party’s planned protests and march on 27 September , Babu Ram Pant, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for South Asia, said: 

“The targeting of Imran Khan’s family and PTI party activists is a flagrant violation of their rights to liberty, freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly. Such actions speak to the severity of the current restrictions in Pakistan. 

“The pre-emptive arrests of PTI members come ahead of planned country-wide protests by the party on 27 September, which government officials have openly vowed to stop. Roadblocks are already being erected in Islamabad. These developments do not bode well, especially given the authorities’ long track record of reckless and unlawful use of force against protesters. A protest cannot be deemed violent before it has even started. Pakistan’s authorities must uphold their obligations under international human rights law to facilitate peaceful assembly and refrain from unlawful measures to thwart these protests. 

Such actions speak to the severity of the current restrictions in Pakistan

Babu Ram Pant, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for South Asia

“Amnesty International calls on the Pakistani authorities to immediately release Imran Khan’s relatives and PTI workers, who have been targeted simply for their familial ties, political affiliation and plans to protest.” 

Background

PTI has announced a march towards the capital Islamabad on 27 September to demand Imran Khan’s release and, while still detained, access to adequate healthcare and regular visits from family and lawyers. Imran Khan has been imprisoned in Adaila Jail for three years. He is currently serving a 14-year sentence related to corruption allegations and a separate 17-year sentence for a case involving state gifts. 

On 20 September, Imran Khan’s sister Aleema Khan was put under administrative detention at Central Jail, Kot Lakhpat, Lahore for 30 days under the Punjab Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance, 1960 (MPO). In the early hours of 21 September, his other two sisters, Noreen Niazi and Uzma Khan, and his nieces and nephews Sakeena Niazi, Shahrez Khan and Shershah Khan were also taken into custody. It has emerged that Noreen and Uzma are in administrative detention at Kot Lakhpat under MPO orders, while the others have been released. Noreen’s daughter and son-in-law were also briefly detained on 20 September. The party has reported that PTI’s members of parliament, Sanaullah Mastikhel, Ahsan Jamal Khan and Mian Ghous, were also taken into custody along with dozens of other party activists and workers. Earlier in the week, PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja was also briefly detained by the authorities. PTI workers across Punjab are being detained, and some are being released after signing affidavits stating they will not participate in the protests. 

Ahead of PTI’s planned march, the Islamabad High Court has ruled that no political party has the right to occupy public roads, highways, or government buildings while hearing a petition regarding the march. Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has made statements stating that no group will be allowed to enter Islamabad on 27 September and the government will stop any march “in every possible way”. 

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Chatham House fellow gives evidence at UK parliament committee on global AI governance and risks

Source: Chatham House –

Chatham House fellow gives evidence at UK parliament committee on global AI governance and risks
News release
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Senior Research Fellow Isabella Wilkinson spoke to the House of Lords International Relations and Defence Committee at a time when many are calling for greater regulation of AI in the light of emerging risks.

Isabella Wilkinson, Senior Research Fellow with Chatham House’s Digital Society Programme, gave evidence on the global governance of AI to the UK House of Lords International Relations and Defence Committee on 16 September.

Wilkinson outlined the main types of risk from AI: malicious risks, loss-of-control risks and systemic risks. Addressing the governance challenge posed by these risks, she said:

‘We’re facing a governance challenge because all of these risks are interlinked, so we have to be very strategic about how we design governance at multiple different levels. This is a multilateral challenge.’

Wilkinson said that interlinked governance challenges, including a dearth of trusted information about AI and ‘the lack of a crisis toolbox’ to deploy in the event of a crisis, had led to ‘quite a severe state of gridlock in multilateral AI governance.’

The committee was meeting in a week in which debates over the risks associated with AI featured prominently in public debate, following calls by tech leaders to slow the pace of the technology’s development.

‘We are in a moment of intense crisis and turbulence in multilateral AI governance. But as we’ve learned [from other areas of governance] … these conditions create a window of opportunity for dealing with the gridlock,’ said Wilkinson.

Watch the session in full.

Chatham House’s Digital Society Programme is part of its Global Governance and Security Centre. Read more of Chatham House’s recent work on AI here:

Expert Comment: Is AI really getting out of control?

Research Paper: Breaking the deadlock on AI governance

The World Today: How AI could change the world

Independent Thinking podcast: Artificial Intelligence, Real Fears: Is it time to slow down?

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An artisanal miner on torture and ill treatment by Rwanda Backed M23 fighters

Source: Amnesty International –

In eastern DRC, Rwanda-backed March 23 Movement (M23) fighters have committed horrific human rights abuses against artisanal miners while facilitating the trafficking of gold and coltan to neighbouring Rwanda with the help of Rwandan authorities. The miners recount horrific encounters with the fighters which include summary killings; torture and ill-treatment; arbitrary detention; forced labour and forced recruitment. In this interview one of the miners tells Amnesty International of his ordeal in a mine shaft in the hands of the M23 fighters. From daily beatings to being left inside the shafts for hours and being denied his rightful wages. This is his story which is replicated across the mines.

Since the last time I spoke with you, the situation has gotten worse. I have a lack of funds that is linked to many things [including] because I was beaten in the mine shaft. Because of the bad conditions [at the mine] I can’t work every day. I now work four times a week. I usually work around five hours a day and I am only paid 5,000 Congolese francs (US$2.17). There are around 120 diggers in each mine shaft. The boss gives the manager money, and he brings food (to diggers). We get one beignet [a piece of fried dough] and water for the day.

We’ve seen a lot of things that we can’t forget. The fact we must stay in the mine shaft against our will, the fact our bosses beat us, they beat people and they end up in the hospital.

Miner, DRC

There are Rwandans in the area who sometimes use force against us. When they come, they wear civilian clothes, but when there is an atmosphere of war, they wear military-style uniforms. I’ve seen them change [from civilian clothes to military uniforms] several times. They are my bosses. I work for them.  

We’ve seen a lot of things that we can’t forget. The fact we must stay in the mine shaft against our will, the fact our bosses beat us, they beat people and they end up in the hospital.

I was beaten this year. I was in the mine shaft and had been at work for three hours. The only thing I heard were the blows of the stick hitting me. Then I lost consciousness. It was the manager who beat me. He was Congolese, a colleague, but comes from Rwanda. There was no dispute that led to the beating. You just meet someone and he starts beating you. The managers are our intermediaries between us and our bosses. We shouldn’t be beaten by our colleagues. That’s why we believe there was an order that was behind it.

Luwowo Coltan mine near Rubaya, North Kivu the 18th of March 2014. © MONUSCO/Sylvain Liechti Luwowo is one of several validated mining site that respect CIRGL-RDC norms and guaranties conflict free minerals.

When I woke up in the hospital, I noticed all the bandages all over my body. On my head, arms, feet, joints and one on my stomach. I spent three days in the hospital.

There are Rwandans in the area who sometimes use force against us. When they come, they wear civilian clothes, but when there is an atmosphere of war, they wear military-style uniforms. I’ve seen them change [from civilian clothes to military uniforms] several times. They are my bosses. I work for them.  

Miner, DRC

Others suffered the same thing I did. It’s not every day, but it happens maybe four times a week. They are taken to the hospital. There are sometimes other people who stand up for them, and they are saved. Others are left to die. I’ve seen people who died and were buried in the mine shaft.

I want everyone to know that the expensive telephones they are buying are made from expensive minerals, and the telephones they use come to them after a lot of blood has been spilled. I want advocacy done so that the minerals are extracted in a legal way and so the diggers are also treated legally. That’s why we need someone to carry our voices far so that when we are digging, there is no blood spilled in the mine shaft.

Thank you [Amnesty] for thinking of us. Continue your work so that you know what we are facing. Continue your work so we can live a peaceful life like everyone else. Let the world know that we need advocacy so we can put in place the laws of the country here.

To have people monitoring the situation, that would be a good thing. When the observers are doing their work, [M23] wouldn’t be able to commit abuses. They commit a lot of abuses. When they do bad acts, the observers could write reports about them.

If you carry our voices to those far away, that will be good for us. That would be a big help.

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Venezuela: Civil Society Organizations call for the renewal of Key UN Fact-Finding Mission

Source: Amnesty International –

In a joint statement published today, a group of 21 civil society organizations, including Amnesty International, call for the renewal of the UN Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela (FFM) and address key questions regarding this special UN mechanism, including what the FFM is and why must it be maintained at least until 2028; how the FFM is complementary to the work of the UN Human Rights Office and international justice mechanisms; and, crucially, how the mission can contribute to the future of Venezuela.

This statement follows an interactive dialogue held at the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva on 18 September 2026, during its ongoing 63rd session, where the FFM presented its most recent findings, and several civil society organizations issued oral statements calling on the Council to renew the FFM’s mandate for another two years.

The FFM concluded that gross human rights violations and international crimes continue being committed in Venezuela under a veil of persisting impunity. They also highlighted the role of groups of armed civilians in the government’s policy of repression and other human rights abuses. These conclusions build on a robust body of work published since 2020. In its reports the FFM has profiled a number of mid- and high-ranking perpetrators, chains of command within intelligence services and security forces, and a state policy against the civilian population who might be considered dissidents that would constitute crimes against humanity, including persecution on political grounds.

The FFM concluded that gross human rights violations and international crimes continue being committed in Venezuela under a veil of persisting impunity. They also highlighted the role of groups of armed civilians in the government’s policy of repression and other human rights abuses.

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DRC: M23 fighters abused miners and trafficked gold and coltan to Rwanda

Source: Amnesty International –

  • The plunder by M23 and Rwanda of DRC’s gold and coltan may amount to war crime of pillage
  • M23’s multiple violations that also involve Rwandans may amount to war crimes
  • “Rwanda has continued to illegally profit from DRC’s mineral wealth,” Agnès Callamard
  • Minerals linked to abuses by M23 are prevalent in electronic devices owned by millions across the world

Rwanda-backed March 23 Movement (M23) fighters have committed horrific human rights abuses against artisanal miners in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) while facilitating the trafficking of gold and coltan to neighbouring Rwanda with the help of Rwandan authorities, Amnesty International said in a new briefing.

“DRC: We didn’t come to play: M23 abuses at artisanal mines and the trafficking of gold and coltan to Rwanda”, documents M23 violations including summary killings, torture and ill-treatment, arbitrary detention, forced labour and forced recruitment. It shows how M23 fighters forced miners to dig minerals, often making them work underground for more than a week at a time in coltan mines near Rubaya in North Kivu province, and Lomera, a gold mining site in South Kivu province. The violations may amount to war crimes, which are crimes under international law.

“Rwanda-backed M23 is committing horrific human rights abuses, which may amount to war crimes, against artisanal miners in eastern DRC. These are meant to punish and instill fear among miners and others living and working near the mines, as minerals are trafficked across the border into Rwanda, which has continued to profit from the exploitation of DRC’s mineral wealth,” said Agnes Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General.

Rwanda-backed M23 is committing horrific human rights abuses, which may amount to war crimes, against artisanal miners in eastern DRC. These are meant to punish and instil fear among miners and others living and working near the mines, as minerals are trafficked across the border into Rwanda, which has continued to profit from the exploitation of DRC’s mineral wealth,

Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General

“The African Union and its Member States must take far bolder steps than they have done thus far to put an end to the likely pillage driven by an endless international appetite for African critical minerals. Failure to stand united against such pillage and the horrific abuses that comes in its wake will only encourage others to follow suit.” 

“International actors must end their silence about M23’s atrocities, the smuggling of minerals from conflict affected areas, and Rwanda’s responsibility. They need to hold perpetrators, including Rwandan government officials, accountable.”

Amnesty International is calling for all countries and companies to cease the purchase of coltan and gold from Rwanda – or processors and refineries from third countries that buy these minerals from suppliers in Rwanda – until the Rwandan government provides concrete evidence that it has ended the receipt of coltan and gold trafficked from DRC. Rwanda’s authorities must also ensure that armed or other Rwandans are not present at and play no role in abuses at the Lomera and Rubaya mining sites.

The African Union and its Member States must take far bolder steps than they have done thus far to put an end to the likely pillage driven by an endless international appetite for African critical minerals. Failure to stand united against such pillage and the horrific abuses that comes in its wake will only encourage others to follow suit.  

Agnès Callamard

Amnesty International is also calling on the US and EU member states not to establish any mining agreements involving the Rubaya mine or other M23-controlled mines in the DRC unless international human rights observers and independent international oversight organizations have full and unfettered access.

M23 controls dozens of artisanal mines in North and South Kivu, where tens of thousands of people rely on them for income. The group tightly controls access to these mines, which have no independent international oversight.

Amnesty International interviewed 26 people, including artisanal miners, mining experts, mine shaft owners and family members of victims. Researchers also analysed photos and video evidence from mining sites.

Testimonies indicate that Rwandans are present at Rubaya and Lomera. In Rubaya, miners said Rwandans play a dual role as civilian miners or mineshaft managers but also take part in hostilities when needed alongside M23 fighters. In Lomera and Rubaya, security guards, some of whom have identified as Rwandan and spoke Kinyarwanda, the language of Rwanda, collaborate with M23 and have beaten and ill-treated miners.

Neither M23 nor Rwandan government officials responded to Amnesty International’s request for comment.  

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MSF launches Ebola vaccination study among DRC frontline workers

Source: Médecins Sans Frontières –

Bunia, Democratic Republic of Congo – As the Ebola disease outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo virus, continues to spread in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and Epicentre, MSF’s epidemiological research centre, are launching a vaccination study, BRAVO. The significant study will follow frontline workers in the Ebola response over time to assess the effect of the ERVEBO vaccine. The study is integrated into the Ministry of Health-led outbreak response. No vaccine or treatment specifically targeting Bundibugyo virus is immediately available.

Conducted with the Ministry of Health, Africa CDC, the Congolese National Institute for Biomedical Research (INRB), and scientific partners, the study will document and evaluate the use of ERVEBO, the only Ebola vaccine currently available at scale. The vaccine has a well-established safety profile and has been widely used in DRC. However, it was developed and licensed for the Zaire virus of Ebola disease, not Bundibugyo virus, which is driving the current outbreak.

“Although ERVEBO was not originally developed to protect against Bundibugyo, preliminary data suggest that it may offer some degree of protection against the virus,” says Dr Guyguy Manangama, epidemiologist and deputy director of operations at MSF. “In a race against time such as the one the DRC is currently facing, we must use every tool available to us.” 

“Even partial protection could help reduce severe illness and deaths,” says Dr Manangama. “However, these potential benefits must be demonstrated scientifically. That is precisely the purpose of BRAVO.”

Launched on 19 September at the World Health Organization (WHO)-run training centre for health workers in Bunia, the study will run for a period of nine to 12 months. This will include three months dedicated to vaccination and a minimum of six months of participant follow-up. It will target 20,000 frontline workers in Ituri and North Kivu provinces, a group at particularly high risk of exposure to the virus and essential to the outbreak response. The study will generate real-world data on the use of the ERVEBO vaccine and its potential effectiveness in the current outbreak context.

Several vaccines specifically targeting Bundibugyo virus are under development and may become available in the coming months. Continuing and accelerating this research remains essential. In the meantime, ERVEBO is being offered as an interim measure because of its established safety profile and its approval by several leading regulatory authorities, including the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the European Medicines Agency, and WHO.

Participation in BRAVO and vaccination are entirely voluntary. Vaccination is an additional protective measure; it does not replace proven infection prevention and control measures. All frontline workers must continue to use protective equipment, follow safe-care procedures, and report symptoms quickly.

“It is important to stress that this vaccine will not end the current outbreak,” says Dr Manangama. “However, it may offer additional protection to those most exposed, and help strengthen the response alongside other essential interventions.”