90,000 Uprooted in Congo Even as New Conflict Mineral Laws Passed
Security Worsens in Volatile Eastern Border Region
Security has been dicey in the region despite the end of the previous Congolese conflicts, due to Ugandan and Rwanda rebel groups frequently operating across the porous border region. The head of UNHCR, the United Nations refugee agency Antonio Gueterres was quoted on MSNBC as describing the situation in Eastern Congo as "a dramatic humanitarian situation."
Congolese troops are consist of former rebels, government troops, and militia that have been widely accused of atrocities, as have competing rebel groups. Militia in the region, as described on an ENOUGH Project Youtube video posted here, vie for control over Eastern Congolese ore mines containing gold, tin, tungsten, and tantalum.
Another ENOUGH Project Youtube video, seen here, has had over half a million viewings and describes the conflict in terms of the famous Mac vs. PC ads. But as MSNBC reports, academics and activists are deeply divided over the degree to which the new U.S. law or any law regulating the sourcing of conflict. Academics argue that the minerals aren't a large enough portion of the global market to be significant, and that attempts to stop illegal mineral ore trafficking and taxation by the militias will quash purchases from legitimate, non-militia mines, putting thousands out of jobs.
"We don't want (buyers) to disengage," ENOUGH Project consultant Sasha Lezhnev told MSNBC.com. "We want them to take a hard look at where their materials are coming from, but also contribute to positive change out in the region."
Morehouse College assistant professor of political science Laura Seay contests that the conflict is largely sustained through land ownership issues coupled with refugees and militias remaining from the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
However, Jason Stearns of the Christian Monitor points out that despite activist sensationalism and the accuracy of the roots of the conflict, the financial source driving the militias is active. The trade, benefiting both militias and "official" army forces in the region, provided literally millions of dollars annually. As he correctly notes, charcoal, livestock, tea and other goods are also taxed and controlled, and provide strong financial support for combatants accused of systematic rape and murder. He puts the argument down to due diligence, that is, making sure the trade is regulated to encourage better institutional monitoring in country- otherwise, there is no incentive for change.
Most compellingly, Stearns argues that such regulation, not dissimilar to anti-sweatshop advocacy, does not contradict the other institutional reforms necessary for a lasting peace. There's a solid point there, and even if a small fraction of the Congo's tainted ores are finding their way into our western cellphones, that fraction needs to stop.
UN News Service, "Nearly 90,000 People Uprooted by Clashes in Eastern Region, UN Reports" AllAfrica.com
Katrina Manson, "Thousands flee Congo clashes, security worsens" MSNBC.com
Peter Svensson, "Gadget makers must label parts from war-torn Congo" MSNBC.com
ENOUGHproject, "I'm a Mac ... and I've Got a Dirty Secret" Youtube
ENOUGHproject, "Conflict Minerals 101" Youtube
Jason Stearns, "Why recent US 'conflict mineral' legislation is a good thing for Africa" Christian Monitor
Published by Shawn Humphrey - Featured Contributor in Politics
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4 Comments
Post a CommentHad to add this. A link to Laura Seay's article on Christian Science Monitor. I may add additional links as I find them and perhaps do a follow-up article.
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Africa/Africa-Monitor/2010/0727/Why-recent-US-conflict-minerals-legislation-may-not-help-in-eastern-Congo
At any rate, thanks for your comments- however, I was mostly trying to tie together the fact that eastern Congo, in particular the Kivus, remain highly unstable and that there are strong divisions regarding what the causes for the current instability are. Obviously, "conflict minerals" are yet another division between groups like Global Witness, Enough Project, and folks like yourself. I don't think anyone would disagree that minerals are a major source of income in the region and that smuggling does occur. I'm going to have to agree with Stearn's assessment- due diligence is a good thing in this case.
I'm sure you're better informed than I am, Peter (I have a feeling I should be reading your books), and I would agree Enough uses a simplified message to reach a broader audience. However, I have found at least one source that suggests the ADF has been involved in the "trafficking of diamonds and gold from Congo’s North Kivu and Ituri provinces", and as we both know the Congolese Army and other militias have been involved as well. (Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-07-30/congo-army-clashes-with-ugandan-rebels-displace-90-000-civilians-un-says.html). That said, the current conflict does appear to be more of a clean-up operation to get rid of remnants of the ADF, not unlike when Rwanda and the army decided to get rid of the FDLR. I've seen another report suggesting the ADF is down to about 100 "hungry" fighters and that the recent attacks were specifically for food (can't find the source now).
The most recent fighting in eastern Congo has nothing to do with so-called conflict minerals. It's a warmed over war by a little known group, the Allied Democratic Forces, formed to fight the Ugandan government of Yoweri Museveni, which he chased out of Uganda long ago. The Enough Project video on conflict minerals, pitting the PC vs. Mac, is misleading in that very, very little of the Congo's minerals that end up in electronics. Neither the film makers nor Enough have checked the facts.