Ending the Conflict Minerals Trade

By Rebecca Kamas on 07/06/2010 @ 03:45 PM

Ending the Conflict Minerals Trade, an event hosted by the Center for American Progress’s Enough Campaign, focused on the conflict mineral trade in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the impacts of this conflict on the Congolese people, and the steps being taken to end these terrible practices. This discussion featured Congressman Jim McDermott (D-WA), who introduced the Conflict Minerals Trade Act in the U.S. House of Representatives; Ambassador Faida Mitifu from the Congo; and John Prendergast, Co-Chair of the Enough Project.

They explained that the DRC has seen the world’s deadliest conflict since World War II, resulting in the deaths of more than 5.4 million people. The Congo has been plagued by civil war and regional conflict in a scramble for the country’s many natural resources. In particular, Congolese women and girls have borne the brunt of this crisis. In fact, eastern Congo is currently the most dangerous place in the world to be a women or a girl; militias use rape as a military tactic to destroy communities and exert control over natural resources.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton highlighted the link between armed conflict, sexual violence and minerals. When she visited the eastern Congo last August, she argued that the world needs to do more “to prevent the mineral wealth from the DRC ending up in the hands of those who fund the violence.”

The country’s mineral wealth continues to play a major role in the dynamics of the conflict in the Congo. Despite the increase in the deaths and atrocities in 2009, multinational companies continue to purchase minerals from the war zones, fueling the violence. David Sullivan, the Enough Project Policy Manager, pointed out that there is a huge financial incentive for companies or their suppliers to continue to purchase conflict minerals: they are about half the price of minerals from other areas.

Click below to view a video from the Enough Project that breaks down the connection between conflict minerals and our everyday electronics.

There is hope, however. Legislation is currently under consideration in the U.S. Senate, aiming to regulate the trade of conflict minerals. This legislation will require importers of potential conflict goods to certify whether or not their imports contain conflict minerals and the United States Trade Representative (USTR) will report to Congress and the public which companies are importing goods containing conflict minerals. Additionally, it would require producers to use outside auditors to determine whether refiners are indeed conflict-free, and sanctions against individuals or companies who knowing violate these regulations. Also, the State Department is working on a map of conflict mines in the DRC, so refiners will know which mines are likely to fund conflict.

“I intend the make the black market in conflict minerals transparent so that no one can hide behind ignorance, real or intentional,” McDermott said. “Under my legislation, the American people, and the world, will know when a company or industry is using conflict minerals and I think this knowledge will prove much more powerful than any weapon fired by those prosecuting this horrible war.”

We need to urge companies to examine their supply chains and question whether we are contributing to this civil war through our purchases of laptops, cell phones, even automobiles. The fact that nearly every one of us has, unknowingly, contributed to the death and degradation of women in the Congo is one of the world’s great unspoken tragedies. Click here to write to your congressperson, about this important issue and urge them to do something to stop the violence.

For more reading on this topic:

Click here to read Nicholas Kristof’s column on conflict minerals.

We’ve written about this issue before. Click here to read Isabella Miller’s blog.

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