Kingston-Upon-Hull Becomes First UK City to Pass Conflict-Free Resolution

Jul 10, 2015 | Mike Riley
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On Thursday 18th June 2015, I was sitting in the council chamber at the Guildhall in Kingston-Upon-Hull, fingers crossed, quite nervous and excited at the same time in eager anticipation of the next item on the council agenda. Alongside me I had 24 student ambassadors between the ages of 11 and 12 years old as well as six teachers and support staff from two of Hull’s largest academies - Sirius Academy and Thomas Ferens Academy. This council meeting was the culmination of six months hard work, not just by myself but by all the students, teachers and councilors who had taken part in an extensive campaign for Kingston-Upon-Hull to be the first city in the UK to pass a conflict-free resolution.

Eight different councilors stood and addressed the council chamber about our campaign. They highlighted the illegal mining of conflict minerals - tin, tungsten, tantalum and gold, often referred to as 3TG - from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The support and acknowledgement of all our hard work by these leading city officials was humbling, each of them delivering passionate speeches (see video beginning at 1:06:00) drawing attention to forced child slavery, child soldiers, and the suffering of the Congolese people who would see very little benefit from the trade in these natural resources.