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Sent: Thursday, November 17, 2011 1:23 PM
Subject: Mineral trade in the Great Lakes Region
Closing Remarks at the
Launch of the Public Private Alliance for Responsible Minerals Trade
Remarks
Maria Otero
Under Secretary for Democracy and
Global Affairs
U.S Institute for Peace
Washington, DC
November 15, 2011
________________________________
(As prepared for
delivery)
I have the privilege of
concluding this afternoon’s events. All of us are here today because of our
commitment to see a definitive end to the conflict and violence that has
plagued the Great Lakes
region, and because we believe the PPA to be an important step
toward that end.
The fact of the matter is
that we are staring down an intimidating set of challenges, and none of us --
in government, in the private sector, in NGOs, or other organizations -- can do
it alone. This was imminently clear on my trip to Burundi and the D.R.C. last
month. I saw
firsthand the complex linkages between conflict minerals, human rights abuses,
and the local economy. I spoke with many artisanal miners shoveling dirt under
the hot sun to earn perhaps a dollar a day. I visited the first commercial gold
mine in Eastern D.R.C. just before it began operations and was impressed by its
efforts to build more sustainable solutions to the illicit trade in minerals.
And I met victims of Sexual and Gender Based Violence in Bukavu, where
violence is often connected to conflict minerals.
A multi-dimensional problem
requires a multi-dimensional answer. In launching this Alliance, we are moving
in the right direction toward fully traceable, validated and conflict-free
supply chains.
We are also
institutionalizing a longstanding commitment of Secretary Clinton to draw our
approaches and solutions from all sectors, and particularly from civil society.
Having once worked as part of civil society, both Secretary Clinton and I have
a profound appreciation for the work that happens outside of government. As she
often says, civil society, government and the private sector form the three
legs of the stool that represents any successful, prosperous nation. Together,
these three legs lift and support nations as they reach for higher standards of
progress and prosperity. So it is no coincidence that we've set up this
Alliance to reflect that belief.
From
the time she visited eastern D.R.C. two years ago, Secretary Clinton charged us
to find new, practical and innovative ways to address the endemic challenges
facing the D.R.C. and Great Lakes region. And there is no question that our
civil society and private partners are help driving our response to her mandate.
It is the organizations in this room that are on the front lines of this
movement, at times risking your own physical security to give voice to the
human and social cost of conflict minerals. Your field work, rigorous research,
and program implementation brings the necessary technical expertise and ground
truth back to the PPA. And you are helping to inform our path forward as we
identify opportunities to build a more stable and prosperous D.R.C.
So with that, let me express
my thanks, on behalf of Secretary Clinton, to USIP for hosting us, to my
colleagues from the U.S. government, especially USAID for their considerable
commitment of resources and time, and to our PPA partners here in this room –
you are the early adopters and thought leaders of this initiative. It would not
be possible without you.
We look forward to working
together in supporting a conflict-free minerals trade. I’d like to also ask my
colleague Under Secretary Robert Hormats to join us on stage for the signing of
the MOU.
James Ssemakula
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