Is the News About Congo’s Conflict Minerals Good?

Jun 18, 2014 | Sarah von Billerbeck, The Washington Post
View Original

On June 10, the Enough Project published a report claiming that 67 percent of tin, tantalum, and tungsten (3T) mines in eastern Congo are now free of armed actors and declaring the minerals mined there ‘conflict-free’ (compared with a 2010 U.N. Group of Experts report asserting that ‘almost every mineral deposit’ in the area was controlled by military groups). The document came close on the heels of a June 2 deadline for U.S. firms to report to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) the provenance of minerals used in their products and to certify that they do not contain ‘conflict minerals’ from the Democratic Republic of Congo or its neighbors. The BBC responded to the Enough Project’s report, calling it ‘rare good news’ from the DRC and lauding it as proof that consumer-led lobbying efforts in wealthy countries can have real effects on under-developed countries.