Conflict Minerals By Jenna Parker, Erin Scott, Sara Rogers and Joy Lindner
OVERVIEW CONFLICT HISTORY IN THE DRC WHAT ARE CONFLICT MINERALS? THE DRC S ROAD TO RECOVERY GET INVOLVED
HISTORY Imperialist Expansion European nations claim Africa Motivated By: Nationalist Pride Imperial Ambitions Economic Resources Mineral Wealth Congo River Basin Congo Free State Claimed by King Leopold II Exploitation & Violence
Congo Free State Belgian Congo Free State overtaken in 1908 Nonviolent Society Influence of Catholic Church Lack of Local Leadership
The Sprint to Independence Brussels Conference January, 1960 Democratic Republic of Congo born June 30th, 1960
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO Plagued by conflict since independence 1994: Rwandan Genocide 1996: First Congo War 1998: Second Congo War or Africa s World War Conflict Today
Current Militant Groups 70 Armed Groups M23 LRA (Lord s Resistance Army) ADF (Allied Democratic Forces)
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO Contributing Factors to Ongoing Conflict Location Distrust of Leadership Generational Violence Resources
CONFLICT MINERALS
What are conflict minerals? Raw minerals that derive from areas of armed conflict (Codington-Lacerte, 2015) The Three T s Tin Tantalum Tungsten Gold
Mining Conditions In the DRC Armed groups benefiting from mining Congolese rebel groups Congolese army Local militias Poor working and living conditions Abuse, forced labor, environmental destruction
"The armed groups saw themselves as being outside the law, so there were a lot of thefts and sometimes rapes because no one could control them." -Axel Mutia Mburano, former miner in the DRC
rape capital of the world -US special representative Margot Wallstrom It is a method of torture. It is a way to terrorize the population...this violence has little to do with sex and much more with power... -Denis Mukwege, leading Congolese surgeon.
Mining Conditions: Child Labor Child Laborers are: Exposed to sickness At risk of being injured or killed Often dropouts and work in the mine all day Forced to mine because of conditions of poverty Out of two million people working in the DRC s artisanal mines, 40 percent of them are children -CNN Freedom Project
Transport and Processing: difficult to track sources of minerals Smuggling through neighboring countries Paperwork falsified or ignored Complex supply chains
Products in the United States Electronics Jewelry Vehicles Inside many of these electronic devices are components that began life as minerals dug at gunpoint from mines in the DRC (Heath).
Road to Recovery in the DRC
Dodd Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act - July 21st 2010 - Intent: prevent future financial crisis in the US and stop global corruption In relation to the DRC - Companies track minerals - Rewards for revealing corruption Mixed opinions about the effectiveness
Key Players in Recovery - International Criminal Court - Congolese Government
International Criminal Court (ICC) - Idea came from Nuremburg trials - Created in 1998-2002- Rome Statute
The ICC was founded on the premise that you cannot have lasting peace without justice - Christine Chung Senior Trial Attorney ICC https://vimeo.com/ondemand/thereckoning/19673413
What is the International Criminal Court (ICC)? - An independent prosecutor - No association with a specific government How does a case reach the ICC? 1. Member country 2. Prosecutor 3. United Nations Security council
Hema and Lendu Conflict - Two people groups in Northern DRC - History of conflict - Role of other countries
ICC in the DRC - Trials of warlords - Thomas Lubanga - Mixed Feelings from Congolese people - Distrust - Tension - Viewed as political - Justice - Protection
Congolese Government - Current President: Joseph Kabila - Location: Kinshasa - Current corruption - From warlords to government military
Congolese Government - Current President: Joseph Kabila - Location: Kinshasa - Current corruption - From warlords to government military
Statistical Snapshot More * As at June than 2015 200,000 refugees from Burundi, Residing in Democratic of the Congo Originating from Democratic Republic of the Congo Central Refugees African Republic, and Rwanda Refugees 160,271 have taken shelter in the Eastern 535,323Congo Asylum Seekers Asylum Seekers 1,124 75,350 Returned Refugees Returned Refugees 3,230 3,230 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) 1,491,769 1,491,769 There Returned IDPs are Returned IDPs 193,841 193,841 2.8 Various million Various 150,771 116,289 Internally Displaced persons in the DRC Total Population of Concern 2,001,006 Total Population of Concern 2,415,802 More than 400,000 refugees from the Eastern Congo have fled to neighboring countries
We were forced eight times to run away from war. You go, and then you come back, you go, and then you come back. And when you come back you find your home burned to ashes -Former Resident I am afraid of hunger. I only eat once a day. Some nights I don t eat anything and I am starving -Child Refugee
Make it Heard! -Get Educated -Use the Power we have as Consumers -Take a Stand
Congo Calling My wish is to convince everyone to do one simple thing: to insist on fairly traded mobile phones, tablets, and games consoles, and in so doing, transform an industry and the world. The illegal trade in minerals for these devices has fuelled two decades of violent war in my home country, the DRC, and in so many others, but one small action by many could help end the violence. Bandi Mbubi, July 2013 -Congo Calling was launched at TEDxExeter 2012 Inspire consumers to demand that tech companies develop conflict-mineral free products, and to commit to buying them once they are available Influence technology companies to abide by the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas Lobby for the adoption and implementation of commercial, political and legal frameworks to promote ethical mining practices in the DRC Link all of these groups with the voices of Congolese people both in the DRC and in the diaspora
Fair trade is an approach to business and to development based on dialogue, transparency, and respect that seeks to create greater equity in the international trading system. -Fair Trade Federations
Practical ways to get involved! -Buy Fair trade items -Ask about conflict free items, technology, jewelry, food, etc!
We have the chance to make a difference! What are you doing to help?
References Braeckman, C. (2004). The looting of the Congo. New Internationalist, (367), 13. Carayon, G. (2016, February 18). Waiting, Waiting, and More Waiting for Reparations in the Lubanga Case. In International Justice Montior. Codington-Lacerte, C. (2015). Conflict minerals. Salem Press Encyclopedia Eichstaedt, P. (2011). Consuming the Congo: War and Conflict Minerals in the World's Deadliest Place (pp. 1-272). Chicago, IL: Chicago Review Press. Epstein, M. J., & Yuthas, K. (2011). Conflict minerals: Managing an emerging supply-chain problem. Environmental Quality Management, 21(2), 13-25.
Goodlife, J., & Hawkins, D. (2009). A funny thing happened on the way to Rome: explaining International Criminal Court negotiations. Journal Of Politics, 71(3), 977-997. Harrison, L. (2013, June 18). Dodd-Frank in the DRC: regulation, aid and the "resource curse". Herţa, L. M. (2014). Human displacement and insecurity in Africa: the genocide in Rwanda, the great lake crisis and the wars in D.R. Congo. Studia Universitatis Babes-Bolyai, Europaea, 59(1), 263-284. Kinniburgh, C. (2014). Beyond "Conflict Minerals". Dissent (00123846), 61(2), 61. Khademian, A. M. (2011). The financial crisis [of 2007-2008 ]: a retrospective. Public Administration Review, 71(6), 841-849.
Lubanga Case. (2009, January 26). In Coalition for the International Criminal Court. Morgan, M. J. (2009). DR CONGO'S $24 trillion fortune. African Business, (350), 52-56. Nathan, Dev, and Sandip Sarkar (2010). "Blood on Your Mobile?" Economic and Political Weekly 45(43), 22-24. Nangini, C., Jas, M., Fernandes, H.L., & Muggah, R. (2014). Visualizing Armed Groups: The Democratic Republic of the Congo s M23 in Focus. Stability: International Journal of Security and Development, 3(1), 1-8. Van De Walle, N. (2012, January). Foreign Affairs, 19(1), 205-206.
Van Marter, K. D. (2015). Between a Rock and a Hard Place: The Unintended Consequences of the Conflict Minerals Rule.Tulane Journal Of International & Comparative Law, 24(1), 291-313. Vlasic, M. V., & Atlee, P. (2012). Democratizing the Global Fight Against Corruption: The Impact of the Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Bounty on the FCPA. Fletcher Forum Of World Affairs, 36(2), 79-92. Wall Street Reform: The Dodd-Frank Act in the Lubanga Case. (n.d.). In The White House. Weiss, H. (2012). The Congo s Independence Struggle Viewed Fifty Years Later. African Studies Review, 55(1), 109-115. Wolfe, L. (2015, February 2). How Dodd-Frank Is Failing Congo. In Foreign Policy.
Yim, V. (2011). Conflict minerals in electronics: Time to take techno responsibility. Alive: Canada's Natural Health & Wellness Magazine, (347), 59-63.