The Southern African People’s Solidarity Network (SAPSN) will partner the Southern Africa
Resource Watch (SARW) and diverse civil society organisations in the Democratic Republic
of Congo to host the 2022 SADC People’s Summit in Kinshasa, from the 16th to the 18th of
August 2022, under the theme ‘Challenging extractivism and reclaiming our resources
for people centered development in SADC.’
The SADC People’s Summit is held every year alongside the SADC Heads of State Summit.
It is a treasured space for diverse social movements, community-based organisations,
churches, labour, women’s organisations, youth organisations, regional and international
solidarity partners to gather in solidarity, reclaim agency and express the voices of poor and
marginalised groups in the Region. To this end, hundreds of people from around the Region
will gather alongside their DRC counterparts to exchange views and formulate a cohesive
people centred regional position to be presented to SADC leaders as they gather for the 46 th
SADC Heads of State Summit.
This year the SADC People’s Summit will bring to the fore the voices thoughts and
perspectives of the people of SADC in response to the dominant challenges affecting the
Region today particularly:
- Unrestrained extractivism and plunder of the Region’s resources through illicit financial flows, debt distress and unjust trade rules without equitable benefits for the people of Southern Africa;
- Climate injustice and increased vulnerability to the harmful impacts of climate change amongst the poorest people in the Region.
- Extreme inequality driven by the concentration of wealth in the hands of political and economic elites alongside the imposition harsh taxation and austerity measures for the many.
- Hunger, food insecurity and cost of living crises affecting millions of already vulnerable groups particularly women and youth amidst the worsening impacts of the Ukraine war on food and energy supplies.
- Shrinking democratic space and growing restrictions to the enjoyment of fundamental freedoms and human rights in Zimbabwe and the Kingdom of Eswatini.
- Militarised conflicts in Northern Mozambique and Eastern DRC in the absence of robust regional conflict transformation and peace-building frameworks
A virtual week of Learning and Action will also be held concurrently with the physical Summit
between the 15 th and 19 th of August in order to broaden participation in regional development
issues and promote public learning around pertinent social and economic justice issues.
Aims And Objectives Of The 2022 ADC People’s Summit
Faced with a SADC Region in perpetual crises and growing fragility the 2022 SADC
People’s Summit aims to:
‘Mobilise social movements and progressive forces in the SADC region to
collectively discuss shared concerns and articulate people-centred demands
and alternatives to neo-liberal extractivism’
Guided by this overall aim the Summit will endavour to pursue 4 mutually reinforcing objectives namely:
- To convene an open and inclusive solidarity platform for diverse social movements, Civil Society organisations and progressive groups in the SADC region to formulate a common agenda and way forward.
- To formulate pro-people alternatives to address social, economic and political challenges affecting poor and marginalised people in the SADC Region.
- To increase public awareness and popular engagement around shared concerns affecting poor and marginalised people in the SADC region.
- To submit consensus-based demands and peoples’ recommendations to SADC leaders and duty bearers gathered during the SADC Heads of State Summit in Kinshasa.
Travel Advisory for the Democratic Republic of Congo
VISA Entry
Entry into the DRC requires all citizens from the SADC Region (with the exception of Zimbabwe only) to be in possession of a valid VISA from your local DRC Consulate/ Embassy. The processing of the VISA takes approximately 7 working days so plan accordingly for your trip,
VISA Requirements
Invitation letter from the DRC Hosts
2 passport size photos
Travel Itinerary
VISA Processing fee of USD115.00
Yellow Fever Vaccination
The Democratic Republic of Congo is one of the countries in the WHO African Region that have a history of Yellow Fever transmission and outbreaks. For travel to the DRC, it is therefore mandatory to produce a Yellow Fever Vaccination Certificate at the port of entry. The vaccination has to be done in the country of origin and NOT in the DRC. Kindly make arrangements for vaccination before travel.
Covid-19 Vaccination
In light of the global Covid-19 pandemic the DRC requires the following:
Full vaccination card (with 2 doses)
Negative PCR Test valid for 72hrs before travel
**Cross-check with your airline on Covid-19 requirements before travel.
About SARW
The Southern Africa Resource Watch was founded in 2007 and operated as a project within the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA). Its location and operations were primarily in SADC, well known as the world’s richest region in terms of extractive resources. While its establishment was related to the global natural resources boom of the 2000s, SARW outlived that specific economic boom as well as numerous extractive industry cycles over the years.
SARW works for participatory, transparent and accountable utilization of extractive resources in a manner that optimizes transformative social and economic benefits and inter-generational equity, with sensitivity to environmental and human rights impacts. It envisions improved human conditions through good governance of the region’s resources and remains focused on ensuring that Africans benefit optimally from resource extraction.
Currently SARW’s mandate is to monitor corporate state conduct in the extraction and beneficiation of natural resources in Southern Africa and assesses to what extent these activities uplift the economic conditions of the region’s communities. SARW advocates and promotes human rights and environmental protection in resource extraction activities by monitoring corporate and state conduct in a peaceful and collaborative manner. SARW works in partnerships with social movements to advocate for rights of people in the extractive industry, civil society organisations organizations for collective impact, communities to provide them with educational material and training programs to help build their knowledge and capacity, governments, media, labour unions, corporates and the academia.