DRC: Conflict Minerals Movement at a Crossroads

Sep 11, 2014 | Aljazeera
View Original

When we think of the Democratic Republic of Congo today, we may think of bloody resource wars where women are being raped by armed groups trying to gain access to, and control of, the country's minerals. If we do so, it's largely because of the work of numerous NGOs, advocacy organisations, and activists who have been campaigning for several years to reduce sexual violence and conflict in eastern Congo by "cleaning up" the region's mineral trade.

The most significant policy result of this work to date, Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Act, was passed by the US Congress and signed into law in July 2010. It requires companies registered on the US stock market to report on an annual basis whether minerals sourced from the eastern DRC or neighbouring countries are financing conflict. This has in turn led to recent announcements by electronics giants including Apple and Intel that more of their products will be conflict-free in the future.