Strategic minerals : national Civil Society consultations

From February 2026 onwards, The Sentinel of Natural Resources, in collaboration with Resource Matters, has launched a series of national civil society consultations aimed at developing a strategy for the management of strategic minerals in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

These consultations aim to inform civil society actors about the process of developing this national strategy, while facilitating and organizing their participation, as well as that of grassroots community organizations. At the conclusion of this process, a consolidated document outlining civil society’s strategic guidelines for the management of strategic minerals will be made public. The resulting recommendations will be shared with policymakers and other stakeholders.

In this context, participants are asked to articulate a clear vision for the strategy, which will serve as the basis for defining an overall objective, specific objectives, and priority areas of action.

These consultations are being held in four (4) geographic regions: Lualaba (Kolwezi), Haut-Katanga (Lubumbashi), Ituri (Bunia), and a region comprising Kinshasa, Goma, and Bukavu. Following the group sessions, a plenary session will be held to present, harmonize, and validate the results from the various workshops. All contributions gathered from the different locations will then be compiled into a national report summarizing civil society’s priorities and recommendations, with a view to informing the process of developing the national strategy for the management of strategic minerals.

To date, consultations have already been held in three of the four targeted locations. The first took place in Bunia, the capital of Ituri Province, on February 11 and 12, 2026. The second was held in Lubumbashi, the capital of Haut-Katanga, on April 7 and 8, 2026. The third took place in Kolwezi, in Lualaba Province, on April 16 and 17, 2026. The final one is to take place in Kinshasa before the end of May 2026.