Kinshasa, December 17th, 2025 (CPA).- A realistic roadmap for 2026 was produced by participants at the retreat on the development of operational strategies for the Democratic Republic of Congo’s National Plan of Voluntary Principles, the Minister for Human Rights noted on Wednesday at the closing ceremony. ‘The operational strategies we have developed together are not mere administrative documents to embellish our filing cabinets. They represent a pragmatic, realistic and measurable roadmap that will guide our steps in 2026,’ said Samuel Mbemba, quoted by his ministry’s communications department. ‘The work we have done throughout this retreat now provides a solid foundation and an essential benchmark for guiding the most essential actions in the implementation of the National Plan for Voluntary Principles, as desired and expected by all parties involved in this process,’ he added.
For Samuel Mbemba, the real work begins with the implementation of the recommendations. ‘We have come to the end of this retreat, but in reality, we are only just beginning. The real work starts now: the work of implementation, of transforming our resolutions into concrete actions,’ he said. He pledged that the operational strategies developed during the retreat would not remain a dead letter. The Minister in charge of Mines, Watum Kabamba, who was involved in this work, made a commitment to enforce the resolutions of this workshop in all extractive companies in his sector to promote and protect human rights. ACP/