Conflict MineralsBy 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

● Armed groups benefiting from mining ○ Congolese rebel groups○ Congolese army○ Local militias

● Poor working and living conditions● Abuse, forced labor, environmental destruction

Mining Conditions In the DRC

"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

“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.

“rape capital of the world”-US special representative Margot Wallstrom

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

- 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

Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act

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 1. Member country 2. Prosecutor 3. United Nations

Security council

How does a case reach the ICC?

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* As at June 2015Residing in Democratic Republic of the Congo Refugees160,271Asylum Seekers 1,124Returned Refugees 3,230Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) 1,491,769Returned IDPs 193,841Various 150,771

Total Population of Concern2,001,006

Originating from Democratic Republic of the CongoRefugees 535,323Asylum Seekers75,350Returned Refugees 3,230Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)1,491,769Returned IDPs 193,841Various 116,289

Total Population of Concern2,415,802

More than 200,000 refugees from Burundi, Central African Republic, and Rwanda have taken shelter in the Eastern Congo

More than 400,000 refugees from the Eastern Congo have fled to neighboring countries

There are 2.8 million Internally Displaced persons in the DRC

“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

-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

“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

“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

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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".

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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.

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