Advocate for Congolese addresses Congress
5/19/2012WASHINGTON — Congress should continue to support laws that promote transparency among companies that mine in the Congo and to "resist watering down SEC regulations to half-measures that may save money, but cost lives," said Bishop Nicolas Djomo Lola, president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Congo.
Testifying last week before the House Financial Services subcommittee on international monetary policy and trade, Bishop Djomo Lola said he was "a religious leader who is deeply disturbed by the terrible violence and suffering that has dominated life in eastern Congo since 1996.
"This violence has destroyed families, villages, and communities," said Bishop Djomo Lola.
"One prominent driver of the violence is illicit mining conducted by the many armed groups in eastern Congo," he said.