What Conflict Minerals Legislation Is Actually Accomplishing in Congo
Posted by Sasha Lezhnev on Aug 09, 2011
This post originally appeared on Huffington Post.
Ending the world's deadliest conflict is no easy task, but a growing
consensus of Congolese civil society, electronics and metals
companies, investors, and governments are now taking action to do so.
A chief driver of their work is the Dodd-Frank legislation on conflict
minerals, which is why a coalition of 40 Congolese human rights groups
called it "the leverage needed to instill and impose ethical business
practices in the Great Lakes region."
David Aronson's op-ed "How Congress Devastated Congo," misses the
critical link in eastern Congo: the continuing role of the minerals
trade as a fuel for violence and a major source of revenue for armed
groups and military units responsible for atrocities. The Dodd-Frank
legislation is the first policy initiative to start to change that
equation in 15 years. Change will not come overnight, but the fact is
the bill is setting into motion a series of modifications that will
have lasting effects on the conflict.
The economics are a driver that must be addressed, because the
minerals trade fuels and enables the structures of violence and poor
governance in eastern Congo. But we must also provide support to
mining communities, promote responsible investment, and improve
justice and security measures.
In trying to make change this dramatic, there will be unavoidable
economic dislocations. While these temporary disruptions must be
mitigated as much as possible, the alternative is to give up on this
process part way through and revert to a brutal status quo ante that
even critics of the bill surely don't endorse.
The rebels and Congolese army commanders who perpetrate the conflict
and the government and businesses who partner with them are the real
causes of misery in eastern Congo -- not Congress or human rights
groups. As Delly Mawazo, then-director of CREDDHO, a leading Congolese
human rights organization, told me in March, "Minerals are like a
curse. They fuel war, help the economic balance in neighboring
countries, and enrich elites."
Before the legislation, commanders and business elites were by far the
main profiteers from the trade, and the majority of miners worked in
slave-like conditions, as Free the Slaves and Congolese human rights
organizations have documented.
Talk of miners' "jobs" implies regular wages and benefits, where in
fact the mines are filled with child miners as young as 11, miners in
debt bondage and forced labor situations. As Justine Masika, director
of Synergie, a Congolese coalition of 35 women's groups, said, "Saying
that the population will die if there is no mining -- that is a lie.
The comptoirs [exporters] are the ones making the money. People never
saw that money anyway."
Contrary to Aronson's assertion that civil society is against the
bill, many Congolese civil society groups are vocal advocates for the
legislation and have written to the SEC asking for strong and timely
regulations. Seven Congolese civil society coalitions set up the
GATT-RN coalition in Goma in March to act as a watchdog to industry
and government minerals tracing initiatives.
Local perspectives on conflict minerals, as on other contentious
issues, vary dramatically, and there are groups who have different
views. Notably, although Congolese civil society and resources expert
Eric Kajemba may not agree with the Enough Project, he nonetheless
supports the Dodd-Frank Act, even if he has a different view of how it
should be implemented.
It is increasingly important that there be wide dialogue and ample
opportunities for all of these viewpoints to be incorporated into the
implementation of the legislation, as well as other policy measures to
regulate the minerals trade. For example, Congolese civil society
organizations should have a seat at the table in international
negotiations around mining reforms, and directly participate in
monitoring regimes in the region.
Since the legislation passed, it has had a direct impact on armed
commanders. Our team travels frequently to Congo, and we have seen
first-hand how the Congolese army has pulled out of several major
mines. For example, the Bisie mine produces some 70 percent of North
Kivu's tin ore and was occupied illegally by a renegade unit of the
Congolese army for years, but was demilitarized this year. Whether
this demilitarization lasts is dependent on further reform, but it is
starting to occur at Bisie and several other mines.
Minerals exports from the Kivus have decreased by approximately 75
percent, and the lowered exports are directly threatening commanders'
multi-million dollar profits. Some commanders have resorted to
smuggling, which has increased some 15-25 percent, but this smuggling
is not nearly equal to the hand-over-fist profits that they generated
in previous years. Other commanders have switched from trading in
tantalum and tin to gold, and thus industry and the region must work
more squarely on gold. The World Gold Council, OECD, and mining
companies are starting with conflict gold initiatives, but more must
be done.
The bill has also accelerated reforms in the region that were
previously unimaginable. As the United Nations Group of Experts stated
last month, the bill "has proved an important catalyst for
traceability and certification initiatives and due diligence
implementation in the minerals sector regionally and internationally."
Regional governments and industry are launching a minerals tracing and
certification initiative through the International Conference on the
Great Lakes Region, or ICGLR, and tin industry iTSCi, whereby 95
percent of Rwanda's minerals and 75 percent of Katanga's minerals are
to be tagged by year's end.
USAID is planning to support similar initiatives in the Kivus through
a public-private alliance with company participation. Electronics
companies are also pioneering verifiably conflict-free Congolese
minerals pipelines, for example the Solutions for Hope project by
Motorola Solutions in Katanga.
Furthermore, Congolese army commanders are now being arrested and
prosecuted for minerals smuggling and sexual violence crimes. For
example, Congolese army Col. Chuma was reportedly arrested last week
for minerals crimes, General Jerome Kakwavu is on trial for rape
crimes, and several mid-level commanders have been convicted of mass
rape in 2011.
Aronson incorrectly asserts that Chinese companies have taken over the
Congolese minerals market. In fact, only a trickle of small minerals
exports have gone out from the region since April -- a total of five
tin ore shipments in three months -- not a wholesale flood of minerals
to China.
While a few small Chinese buyers have begun purchasing, Congolese
exporters have been hesitant to use them because their prices are at
least 20 percent lower and their business reputations are poor.
Exporters and government officials have stayed engaged with the
international minerals reform processes from the OECD, ICGLR, and tin
industry, because they want the higher prices, reliability of
business, and improved reputation that accompanies trade with the
mainstream electronics industry.
In the transition from a war economy to legitimate business, mining
communities must be supported. To this end, companies and donors
should establish a mining community livelihood fund.
USAID is initiating a community mining program, and electronics
companies have expressed interest in supporting similar work.
Furthermore, companies should invest responsibly in the Congolese
minerals sector, with full traceability, due diligence, and
independent monitoring. The Motorola Solutions for Hope initiative is
a step in the right direction, but more initiatives are needed.
The fight to end the conflict is far from over. Going forward, the
Obama administration should support an independent monitoring system
for the regional tracing initiatives; gold and jewelry companies
should partner with the region to invest in tracing and monitoring
initiatives at gold mines in the Kivus; and the SEC should issue
regulations as soon as possible, without a phase-in, which would act
as a disincentive to progress on the ground.
Accountability is also critical, and the administration should press
Congo to arrest Gen. Bosco Ntaganda and operationalize the Special
Mixed Court for war criminals, which has strong local and
international buy-in.
These reforms are critical next steps, but don't be fooled -- they are
finally no longer pipe dreams, because of the window opened by the
legislation. Let us not derail the growing consensus to end the war in
eastern Congo and revert back to the dystopia that has plagued the
region for the past two decades.
Photo: Tantalum in the hand of a miner in Masisi (Enough/Laura Heaton)
* Advocacy
* Conflict Minerals
* Conflict-Free Campus Initiative
* Eastern Congo
* Peace
* Prevention
* Protection
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