DRC

Since the early 2000s, sanctions imposed by the United Nations Security Council, alongside measures by the United States, the European Union, and the United Kingdom, have increasingly taken the form of “targeted” sanctions. These include asset freezes, travel bans, and arms embargoes directed at specific individuals and entities. While intended to pressure political elites and minimize civilian harm, the effectiveness of these measures remains contested, particularly in fragile and conflict-affected contexts like in the DRC.

The African Sovereign Debt Justice Network, (AfSDJN), is a coalition of citizens, scholars, civil society actors and church groups committed to exposing the adverse impact of unsustainable levels of African sovereign debt on the lives of ordinary citizens. Convened by Afronomicslaw.org with the support of Open Society for Southern Africa, (OSISA), the AfSDJN's activities are tailored around addressing the threats that sovereign debt poses for economic development, social cohesion and human rights in Africa. It advocates for debt cancellation, rescheduling and restructuring as well as increasing the accountability and responsibility of lenders and African governments about how sovereign debt is procured, spent and repaid.