Environmental Rights in the Democratic Republic of Congo

In 1885, the Final Act of the Berlin Conference recognised Congo as falling under the jurisdiction of Association Internationale du Congo. The area, known as État Indépendant du Congo – ‘The Independent State of Congo’ - was King Leopold II’s ‘sovereign political State’ and the world’s only private colony[1]. Despite stating that his aims were to ‘Christianise’, ‘civilise’ and ‘help’ the African communities[2] in truth Leopold effectively transformed the area into a ‘personal plantation’ for his own profit[3], granting licences for exploitation of the natural resources such as ivory and rubber. 140 years later external businesses are still buying up the rights to exploit the country in exactly the same way.

Pascal Mirindi, Environmental Rights Defender.

The Congo, July 2022

My name is Pascal MIRINDI, I am a 23 year old student and activist within Extinction Rebellion, University of Goma, and a member of the LUCHA , a Congolese citizens' movement.

Q: How hard is it to be an Environmental Rights Defender?

PM: Here in Congo it's quite difficult because the security situation is unstable. We are trying to find solutions to problems in relation to which there are a handful of people who want to protect their own personal interests, in a country where everything is settled by violence, these people will even be willing to kill you just to protect their interests.

Also the majority of our population do not understand the climate change problem; it is not that they are not affected but it is just that they have other urgent problems such as security, famine, access to health care, studies... So you see when we carry out, as we do with Extinction Rebellion University of GOMA, citizen education in universities, schools, markets, the public is not terribly receptive. However, we are sure they will eventually understand because positive change is coming little by little.

Q: How do you coordinate activism?

PM: Me personally, I am first and foremost a student, but I started my activism when I was 17years old.

At the beginning, it was with the LUCHA, which is the very first Congolese citizen movement, created in 2012 in Goma in the Eastern part of the DRC by young people of whom the majority were students. The FIGHT FOR CHANGE which is abbreviated to LUCHA is a non-violent and non-partisan citizen movement, it is for me a school and at the same time a family, where I learned about the first ever movement to teach responsible citizenship. This is what pushed us, in 2020, to create Extinction Rebellion University of GOMA which has the same methods of claiming our rights as does the LUCHA, except that we are especially motivated to find solutions to environmental problems (the protection of our protected areas, the rights of indigenous people, the fossil industries, the access of the DRC to the carbon credit funds, etc.).

To make our voices heard, we use the techniques of non-violence initiated by Mahatma Gandhi, including marches, sit-ins, open letters, artistic performances, citizen rallies in schools, universities and markets.

Q: What are the threats to you personally, as well as the environmental issues?

PM:The threats that we have known.

It is a battle in which we are dealing with the personal interests of a handful of extremely powerful people, a tale of millions and even billions of dollars; these are people who are ready to do anything to protect their own interests which unfortunately are selfish interests.

Last time, after research, we published an account of the amount of money that the producers of charcoal (Makala in Swahili) earn. Charcoal is often used as energy to prepare food since the population has no access to electricity. Most of the charcoal producers in Virunga National Park, which is one of the most powerful reserves of flora and fauna in Africa, are Rwandan rebels of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) who entered the Congo and settled in North Kivu in 1997. They cut down trees in Virunga Park and then burn them to obtain charcoal. It is a profitable business because it provides $1,680,000 per month to the FDLR rebels. After our report was published, we received phone calls and intimidation asking us to withdraw our publication. We are forced to live every day with intimidations, certainly it is not easy because it is a matter of life but we have no other choice than to take the risk in order to leave a better world for our children.

Q:You are very courageous. Do you believe it is worth the risk?

PM: In fact, we have nothing left to lose, but we have the chance to change history and to give hope to future generations; I was born and raised in a country at war and I have the impression that at a given point, this war torn situation has become the norm. It is time to show our children that a new Congo is possible, where social justice and human dignity reign, that it is possible to have a world where the protection of the ecosystem is respected and that peaceful cohabitation is possible, and for this, there must be people who will brave fear, it is a noble risk that we must take.

For example with the national park of Virunga, the Congolese State has granted exploitation permits to companies such as SOCO at present PHAROS ENERGY, to exploit the oil that is in the national park of Virunga, it is a big project which unfortunately will not help to solve humanity's needs, and this is how it always is. The Congolese State has just launched an auction for 16 of our oil fields. In a world where we are fighting against the rise in temperature and climate change, to see leaders who are supposed to protect the population making this kind of decision is absurd.

About the author

Pascal Mirindi - is a 23 year old student, who has been an activist within Extinction Rebellion, University of Goma, for the past two years.

References

1. Lopes Pereira, ‘The Catholic Church and the Early Stages of King Leopold II’s Colonial Projects in the Congo (1876–1886)’, 84.

2. ‘Leopold II, Biography, Facts, & Legacy, Britannica’.; Lopes Pereira, ‘The Catholic Church and the Early Stages of King Leopold II’s Colonial Projects in the Congo (1876–1886)’, 85.

3. Weisbord, R. G. (2003) ‘The King, the Cardinal and the Pope: Leopold II’s Genocide in the Congo and the Vatican’, Journal of Genocide Research 5, no. 1 (March 2003): 35–45, 36.