This manual describes the minimum Requirements of the Regional Certification Mechanism (RCM) and the necessary processes for its implementation. The RCM is one of the Six Tools of the Regional Initiative against the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources (RINR) within Member States of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR). As a procedural guide, the Requirements of the Manual aim at establishing responsible mineral supply chains from mine sites to export points taking into account intermediaries such as mines/miners, traders, transporters, processing entities and exporters of the four Designated Minerals, namely: Tin, Tantalum, Tungsten and Gold, commonly referred to as "3TG".

This guide is a compilation of practices on the basis of ToR commissioned by ICGLR and the active collaboration of main stakeholders in the ICGLR Member States and provides an informative overview of ASM sector mainly on 3Ts and Gold and attempt to guide the Governments on appropriate approaches to formalization of the lower-end of the sector segment, the Artisanal Miners, by drawing from lessons learned from past experiences in the region and elsewhere.

The guide is mainly intended to the Governments, especially entities responsible for the design and enforcement of laws or regulations. Other stakeholders and practitioners from NGO’s, development partners and civil society organizations (CSO) could use the guide to drive their contributions in the formalization efforts to ASM.

In the ICGLR region, ASM produce a variety of mineral commodities with prominence in terms of value to gold, diamonds, coltan and coloured gemstones. Thus, ASM contributes significantly to the economic development (not officially recorded) of the countries where it is practiced. In some countries, it constitutes the only mining activity and produce 100% of the mineral commodities. However, it is also known that the sector faces numerous challenges related to the informality of its economic streams; illegality; environmental disruptions; poverty; vulnerability to trade in conflict minerals; slavery and forced labour; child labour and human rights abuses in the mining camps. There are also gender and cultural barriers to the involvement of women into ASM.

 

The present report discusses and compares the enacted mining codes/laws and regulations in the Member States and additionally for benchmarking the countries like Ethiopia and Ghana.

The context in which the report addresses the issue of ASM is mainly that presented in the law of each country, the paramount political approach to the sector, such as, whether the country clearly decided on promoting ASM or combating it will be discussed in the Guide per se, as this is key for implementation of the Formalisation Guide.

The report presents the definition options for ASM and compares the criteria for its definition. It also reviews the existing practices for the formalization of ASM with special attention to distinction between Artisanal Mining and Small Scale Mining with particular attention to licensing process.

 

The International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), with the financing of Deutsche Gesellschaft Fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) commissioned Levin Sources to facilitate the development of an ICGLR Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining (ASM) Gold Strategy. The Strategy is based upon extensive consultation with Member States and Gold sector experts.

The ICGLR Third Party Audiy ( ICGLR Audit) system assures independant verification that the entire mineral Chain from site to exporter remains in conforme with ICGLR Regional Certification Mechanism (RCM). ICGLR standards have been completed harmonized with the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Mineral  Supply chains of Minerals from Conflict- Affected and High-Risk Areas and the ICGLR Audit system is therefore aligned with the OECD Due Diligence Guidance.

In the Dar-Es-Salaam Declaration, the Heads of State and Governments of the
International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), namely Angola, Burundi, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Uganda, Sudan, Tanzania and Zambia, agreed to seal a Pact on Security, Stability and Development. The Pact confirms the determination and commitment of Member States to “transform the Great Lakes Region into a space of sustainable peace and security for States and people, political and social stability, shared growth and development”.

In the Dar-Es-Salaam Declaration of 2004, the Heads of State and Governments
of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR),
namely Angola, Burundi, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of
Congo, Republic of Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and
Zambia agreed to seal a Pact on Security, Stability and Development, which
confirms their determination and commitment to “transform the Great Lakes
Region into a space of sustainable peace and security for States and people,
political and social stability, shared growth and development”.

The Pact on Security, Stability and Development
For the Great Lakes Region, December 2006 Amended November 2012.

We, Heads of State and of Government of the Member States of the International
Conference on the Great Lakes Region.

We, Heads of State and Government of Member States of the International
Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) gathered in Lusaka, Zambia, on
15 December 2010;