Why We Sanction
For more than three decades, those responsible for violence, exploitation, and destabilization in Congo have acted without meaningful consequences. Governments, corporations, and high-level individuals continue to commit or enable atrocities while benefiting from international silence. Sanctions are a peaceful and strategic tool to disrupt this impunity. By pushing for targeted political, economic, and legal measures, CAN works to ensure that perpetrators and enablers of Congoā€™s suffering are held accountableĀ - and can no longer harm communities without facing pressure.
Targeting Perpetrators and Enablers of Violence
Sanctions focus on individuals and entities directly responsible for atrocities or materially supporting them.
CAN advocates for measures such as visa bans, asset freezes, and legal restrictions against political leaders, military actors, corporations, and networks profiting from Congolese suffering.
Goal: make it impossible for perpetrators to access global financial systems, international mobility, or political legitimacy.
Pressuring Governments and Institutions to Act
Sanctions require political will. CAN mobilizes public support, collaborates with advocacy groups, and pressures parliaments, regional bodies, and international institutions to adopt strong, targeted measures.
Through coordinated peaceful advocacy, public awareness, and strategic campaigning, we make inaction politically costlyĀ - and action morally unavoidable.
Reinforcing Accountability Through Legal and Diplomatic Tools
Sanctions are part of a broader ecosystem of accountability. CAN supports efforts to document abuses, strengthen international investigations, and encourage diplomatic pressure that isolates perpetrators and exposes state and corporate complicity.
When combined with boycott and divestment, sanctions help build a global environment where impunity becomes harder to sustainĀ - and justice becomes possible.
