On 17 April 2013, Oxford Transitional Justice Research launched an online debate on the role of the UN Group of Experts (GoE) on the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Opening arguments were made by RVI Usalama Project Director Jason Stearns (in support of the motion that ‘This house believes that international monitors, such as the UN Group of Experts or human rights groups, are essential for reporting on mass conflict’) and Phil Clark, Lecturer in Comparative and International Politics at SOAS, University of London (against the motion). Further contributions have been made by the Moderator, Koen Vlassenroot of the University of Ghent, and by Richard Dowden, Director of the Royal African Society. The debate takes place amid considerable international argument over the GoE. On 1 April, the Howard G. Buffett Foundation published a critical report on the group’s methodology, which attracted several rebuttals, including a defence of the GoE by Tom Murphy of the Guardian Africa Network.