DRC: Congolese groups unite to demand scrutiny of forest policies

NGOs in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have allied to challenge industrial logging in their country's rainforests. In February they appealed to the World Bank and other agencies to halt a plan which would make up to 60 million hectares of rainforest available to logging companies in the coming years. The dispute is instructive about the Bank's approach to human rights and international law. Roger Muchuba of the human rights group Héritiers de la Justice, said: "Civil society is taking the initiative of informing the population about the new laws, as the World Bank and the Food and Agriculture Organisation have so far failed to."