Press Release
2024
Philippe Ruvunangiza
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Honoring Philippe Ruvunangiza, of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), as the 2024 Civil Courage Prize Laureate
for his steadfast resistance to evil at great personal risk
New York, NY – It is the distinct honor of the Trustees of the Civil Courage Prize to announce Philippe Ruvunangiza as its 2024 laureate. The Civil Courage Prize is awarded annually to an individual who demonstrates a steadfast resistance to evil at great personal risk. This year’s Prize ceremony will be held on October 30, 2024, at New York University.
Under threat from Congolese militias and armed military and government personnel, Ruvunangiza works to protect miners and their communities and combat environmental degradation in eastern Congo. He embodies civil courage through his expert and peaceful approach to mitigating exploitation of mining communities.
Philippe Ruvunangiza Birindwa is a Congolese mineral extraction and environmental expert and activist who fearlessly strives to achieve fair treatment, protection and justice for those affected by mineral extraction. Ruvunangiza holds a bachelor’s degree in management with a specialization in marketing, finance, and development from the Institut Supérieur de Gestion de Affaires in Bukavu, DRC. He currently serves as the Director of the Bureau d’Etudes Scientifiques et Techniques (Office of Scientific and Technical Studies (BEST)). BEST is a nonprofit organization and research body; Ruvunangiza tracks the expansion of mining across the Kivu region and the subsequent exploitation of communities in mining areas. Before BEST, Philippe held directorial and advisory roles at various companies and development organizations, where he established programs for corporate reform.
In the face of varied and multiple threats, Ruvunangiza bravely holds mining companies and the government accountable to communities impacted by mineral extraction in eastern Congo – a region stricken with widespread violence and humanitarian crises resulting from decades of conflict.
““My aim is to contribute to the improvement of human rights by fighting poverty and inequality, intolerance, and manipulation. I am aware that access to and control of resources, as well as impunity for war crimes and crimes against humanity, are one of the main driving forces behind the violence that has been decimating populations in the Great Lakes region for over 30 years.
I am convinced that the accountability of public authorities and companies, and their commitment to better governance of resources and against impunity can make a significant contribution to the emergence of a society that is fairer and more respectful of human rights.” ”
Ruvunangiza works with miners to establish a discourse among government officials, regular and non-regular armed forces, and mining companies in eastern DRC. He works to secure miners’ rights to safe and hygienic working conditions and establish national standards for corporate social responsibility (CSR) within the mining industry. Environmental advocacy is also central to his work; he lobbies and conducts research focused on addressing environmental degradation resulting from mining. Ruvunangiza also helps miners receive education and organize to demand better working conditions, fair compensation, and rights to their land.
Ruvunangiza lives in Bukavu, southern Kivu, the DRC’s easternmost region. At BEST, he coordinates the production of reports that uncover and document evidence of abuses committed by state, corporate, and local actors against miners and the environment. BEST produces public data – including a series of working papers – that is used by Ruvunangiza and others to campaign on behalf of mining communities at local, national, and international levels.
The expansion of industrial-scale mining in eastern DRC has been linked to grave human rights violations, including forced evictions of entire communities; beatings and sexual violence against miners, women, and children; forced labor in hazardous working conditions; and degradation of the environment. Recent estimates project that up to 2000 mining-related fatalities occur in the DRC annually. This is compounded by ongoing conflict in the region – Congolese and foreign armed militias have assumed control over mines across the region’s densely packed forests and effectively enslaved thousands of local women, children, and men to work them. The mining industry directly contributes to mass deforestation, release of toxic chemicals in the air, contamination of local water sources, and other forms of environmental degradation.
Since 2000, the Civil Courage Prize has honored renowned activists, journalists, opposition leaders, lawyers, authors, and other rights advocates from across the globe working to make the world a safer and more just place. The Officers and Board of Trustees of the Civil Courage Prize applaud Ruvunangiza’s bravery in protecting communities and the environment in eastern Congo from illegal and ruthless exploitation.
For more information, contact Makda Mehari at executivedirector@civilcourageprize.org or visit www.civilcourageprize.org.