Congressional Hearing: The Sentry’s Testimony on the DRC for the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission

On July 14, 2022, The Sentry’s Policy Consultant Sasha Lezhnev testified before a hearing with the US Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission. The hearing, “Child Labor and Human Rights Violations in the Mining Industry of the Democratic Republic of Congo International Religious Freedom,” examined human rights violations in the DRC’s mining sector, including child and forced labor, disregard for worker safety, and environmental degradation. The hearing additionally covered the role played played by outside actors, including Chinese and Russian concerns, in corrupting government regulatory regimes in the DRC, and what impact this has on the global supply chain of certain extracted minerals, as well as the role of civil society in combatting such abuses.

The hearing’s testimonies were given by:
– Hervé Diakiese Kyungu, Attorney
– Eric Schultz, Former U.S. Ambassador to Zambia
– Rigobert Minani Bihuzo, S.J., PhD., Head of Research Department, CEPAS
– Sasha Lezhnev, Policy Consultant, The Sentry
– Ida Sawyer, Crisis and Conflict Director, Human Rights Watch

Sasha’s written testimony is available here for reading. More information on the hearing and its recording are available both below and on the Commission’s website.