Email 
Print 
HAVE YOUR SAY: Would regulating mineral trade stop Congo violence?
Written by: AlertNet
Boys pan for gold on a riverside at Iga Barriere, 25 km (15 miles) from Bunia in eastern Congo.
REUTERS/Finbarr O'Reilly
REUTERS/Finbarr O'Reilly
Congo's bloody conflicts are often dubbed "resource wars" - wars that are fuelled and motivated by control over the country's vast natural mineral deposits. In eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, armed groups responsible for vicious rapes and other atrocities against civilians are reported to use revenues from illegal taxation of minerals to fund their activities. So surely any attempt to choke off the economic drivers of the war should be applauded. Some say it's not quite that simple, however. Two blogs on AlertNet take differing views on how best to tackle a conflict that has killed more than 5.4 million people in the past decade, more than any other war since World War Two. Anti-genocide group Enough argues that cutting the cord between the minerals trade and local rebel groups is essential to undermining the economic base that keeps the eastern Congo's conflict running. With sufficient consumer demand on electronics manufacturers to account for where minerals used in mobile phones and laptops originate, financing of the most flagrant rights abusers could be stemmed, Enough says. And creating transparent supply chains and reforming the mining sector are the first vital steps towards altering the conflict economy in Congo, it argues. Taking a somewhat different view is consultancy group Resource Consulting Services, which argues that such well-intentioned steps could do more harm than good to Congo's poor. They say some rebel groups have adequate economic alternatives to continue their campaigns of violence even without profits from minerals. Further, they argue that efforts to regulate the minerals trade would be a logistical nightmare that could hurt desperately poor Congolese miners with few other ways to make a living. Both blogs raise complicated and important issues. Tell us what you think. What's the link between minerals and Congo's conflict? Who would be hurt most by attempts to regulate this trade - armed groups or Congo's most destitute? And what exactly needs to be done to stop the bloody cycle of violence that has plagued the country for years? Please leave your thoughts at the bottom of the page.
Reuters AlertNet is not responsible for the content of external websites.
We welcome argument but AlertNet will not publish comments that are racist, abusive or libellous.
2 responses to “HAVE YOUR SAY: Would regulating mineral trade stop Congo violence?”
Please note that comments should not be regarded as the views of Reuters.
Leave a Reply
When you submit a comment to us we request your name, e-mail address and optionally a link to a website. Please note where you submit a website address, we may link to it via your name. By sending us a comment, you accept that we have the right to show the comment and your name to users. Although we require your email address, this will not be published on the site, and is only required to enable us to check facts with you, e.g. if you are making a claim we can not confirm easily. Additionally, if you would like your comment removed at anytime, you'll have to use this e-mail address when you contact us. To remove a comment at any time please e-mail us at blogs-(at)-reuters-(dot)-com (address obscured to avoid spam) specifying who you are and what you would like removed. We moderate all comments and will publish everything that advances the post directly or with relevant tangential information. We reserve the right to edit comments in order to maintain the quality of the comments, and may not include links to irrelevant material. We try not to publish comments that we think are offensive or appear to pass you off as another person, and we will be conservative if comments may be considered libelous. Reuters will use your data in accordance with Reuters privacy policy. Reuters Group is primarily responsible for managing your data. As Reuters is a global company your data will be transferred and available internationally, including in countries which do not have privacy laws but Reuters seeks to comply with its privacy policy.
Unlike some other content on this website, the written content in this article may be republished or redistributed by any means free of charge. Any use of photographs and graphics on this website is expressly prohibited. You must check whether written content contained in other articles on this website may be republished or redistributed without the express permission of Reuters or the relevant third party provider.
22 Apr 2009 13:23:41 GMT
Regulating minerals trade by an international body will bring much reform and expose many corrupted rulers,rebel groups and international power struggle among world powers for their influence on mineral rich countries. Some poor countries and arid desert lands become sudden attraction for world powers and rebel groups because of hidden mineral interests.
World markets for some rare metals demands are at peak levels, because of increased atomic power generations and usage of more electronic equipments, which requires many costly metals in its productions. Increase world demands for crude oil is another reason for increase conflicts in Congo and in many mineral rich world nations stepping up minerals exploration in many countries. An International body set up for the world minerals will help expose all mineral rich nation by satellite imaging using the latest technology. This will help the peoples of these nations to set up true democracies where all people enjoy the fruits of these mineral wealth equally. All illicit dealings of minerals wealth with power full nations for cheap weapons of mass destruction arms for killing local peoples, demanding democratic reforms will end. The present ethnic war against Tamil civilians in north of Srilanka also got intensified last year, after a delegation of high Indian security officials visited suddenly Srilanka and forced to sign a contract for oil exploration with Indian oil giant IOC in the Gulf of mannar. This exploration contract was earlier ear marked for China and Srilanka was promised many development project from China. After that Srilanka was awarded free training of Srilankan armed forces,supply of free weapons, radar and free technicians manning those radar stations in Srilanka. Today when every countries UN, USA and UK are demanding a halt in the attack on Tamil civilians in Mannar and in north of Srilanka, there is a mark silence on the part of India,which is the home for 70 millions Tamils. Indian interest in Srilanka minerals became more intensified after the present Sethu Channel excavations in Park straits dividing India and srilanka waters. India has now set up a hospital for local war victims, in the minerals rich town of Pulmoddai in north of Srilanka. There is a sand minerals processing plant located in that town, The minerals found in this place, which is washed from Mahaweli rivers is rich in metals such as Uranium used in atomic reactors. I thank the alert- net for bring such an important matter to the light of world attention today, when thousands of innocent peoples are killed daily in Congo, Sudan , Srilanka and in Burma in ethnic conflicts wars for minerals wealth of poor nations.24 Apr 2009 05:11:40 GMT
"This will help the peoples of these nations to set up true democracies where all people enjoy the fruits of these mineral wealth equally."
Even in the "true democracy" of America, all people rarely enjoy the fruits of any wealth, mineral or otherwise. Can regulation in a weak democracy change this? Like so many of the problem in Africa, there is certainly no simple solution to this problem. If I know anything about underhanded economic activity, and I know very little, it is that the greedy will always find a way. If the regulation works against those running the Congolese out of their territory then they will find somewhere else to sell the minerals they collect. This is not to say it would not help. And whether it would make things worse, I cannot say. We can be sure that regulation will not end the curse of the DRC's natural resources wealth. Better than regulation would be to change the heart of man but as that is outside of the ability of the law, all one can do is analyse the pros and cons, listen to all sides, and try to act in the best interest of the Congolese people.