Conflict Minerals – An Evaluation of the Dodd-Frank Act and other Resource-related Measures
Publisher: Institute for Applied Ecology
Date: 2013
Topics: Conflict Prevention, Renewable Resources
Countries: Congo (DRC)
The analysis of the Dodd-Frank Act and further resource-related measures showed that the
root causes for conflicts in the eastern parts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR
Congo) are manifold and only secondarily related to resources. While resources such as
ivory, rubber, palm oil, gold, copper and various ores have played an important role in the
region’s policy and conflict history since colonial times, initially, they were not a major factor
for the onset of the First and Second Congo War lasting from 1996 to 2003. More
importantly, political power struggles in the eastern parts of the DR Congo and the
pronounced weakness of the late Mobutu regime are seen as major triggers for escalation in
the 1990s. Nevertheless, within the course of these two wars, some minerals turned out to
be a lucrative source of income for various armed groups operating in northern Katanga,
North and South Kivu, Maniema and the eastern parts of Orientale. Illegal extraction and
trade of gold, coltan and cassiterite became a profitable business and created situations in
which rebel groups gained an economic self-interest in maintaining control over mining
regions.