Day 4: Conflict Minerals in the DRC (Aissatou) “The natural resources in the Democratic Republic of Congo are more of a curse than a blessing”.

Learning Objectives: Day 4 is aimed at teaching students about the mineral resources in the Congo. Students will gain a better understanding that through these minerals, citizens of the US. and others parts of the world are connected to the conflict and are related to the human rights abuses in the Congo. Students will learn about: What are conflict minerals? Which minerals are in D.R. Congo? What happens to the minerals? Who profits? What is the effect on the country and the people? What initiatives have been taken to end the conflict minerals? How can the minerals benefit the Congolese people rather than being a curse? How are they connected to the conflict and related to the human rights abuses in the Congo? What can consumers do and we as global citizens that may not be directly involved in the conflict do to help end the violence being fueled by Congo's mineral trade? Resource Tools/ Media: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYqrflGpTRE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aF-sJgcoY20 Activity: Cell Out throughout the whole lesson Tell the students to please take out their cell phones. Turn them off and place them in this box for the whole time they learn about the conflict minerals. Ask them how many of them have other electronic devices such as an iPod, mp3 or a laptop? Ask them if they have ever thought about how these devices were made? Ask them if they know that each one of them in the room has a little piece of the Congo in their pocket right now? Explain that there’s blood of the Congolese in these devices because the cell phones, iPods or whatever electronic devices they may have contains tiny electronic circuits and they couldn’t work without a mineral called Coltan. It’s minded in the Eastern Congo and the Congolese are dying in terrible conflict minerals. Activity: The Game of Questions and Answers (10 mins) Each student will randomly select a numbered piece of paper that contains a question with an answer. They will read at loud to the group the information on the piece of paper they select, providing important narratives about the conflict minerals. This interactive activity is very crucial because it requires student to be very attentive to the lesson and it keep them engaged throughout since each one of them has a role to play. What are conflict minerals? 'Conflict minerals' are minerals mined in conditions of armed conflict and human rights abuses, most notably in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, by the Congolese National army and various armed rebel groups. Which minerals are in D.R. Congo? Although the Democratic Republic of Congo has endless natural resources, there are basically four metals that everybody wants from the Congo, the the 3 T’s and Gold. Tantalum/ Coltan is the biggest source of conflict mineral trade in Congo. Coltan is a black tar-like mineral found in major quantities in the Congo. The Congo possesses 80 percent of the world’s coltan, but only mines a fraction of it. Coltan stores electricity. Without it, no cell phone would work since it’s the only mineral that can hold a high electric charge. It's a vital component in a vast array of small electronic devices, especially in mobile phones, laptop computers, pagers, and other electronic devices. Gold is the highest value of metal that has increased in price on the commodity markets in recent years. Congo is literally sitting on gold mines worth of billions of dollars, which makes the country even more susceptible to the ongoing bloody conflicts. Cassiterite is a tin oxide mineral mined extensively in Congo. It is generally opaque, but it is translucent in thin crystals. The refined cassiterite is used in most household electronic items. It’s used in everything from light bulbs to TVs. Formula, mobile phones, cars and bullets. Tungsten is the hardest and the heaviest metal used most notably in light bulb filaments, X-ray tubes. Tungsten is the only metal that is also used in a few species of bacteria and archaea. Other Natural resources: cobalt, copper, niobium, tantalum, petroleum, industrial and gem diamonds, silver, zinc, manganese, uranium, coal, hydropower, and timber. Who mines the minerals? The mines are not limited to domestic actors. They are controlled by the government troops (FARDC) and the rebels they are fighting (principally the FDLR) although both deny any involvement. During the Congo Wars, Rwanda, Uganda and Burundi have continued to smuggle resources out of the Congo to this day. The communities around them are controlled with an iron fist and mass rape is used as a strategy to intimidate and control local populations, thereby securing control of mines. The conditions for the men and children who serve as the miners and porters are extremely tough. Most miners only barely earn enough to survive. Many don’t even manage to earn anything, as the rebels rip them off. Few of the mines are large-scale industrial ones owned by international companies. What happens to the minerals? Virtually none of the minerals are exported by Congo itself. Thousands of tones of the raw minerals are smuggled across the border into Uganda and Rwanda where they are exported to the faraway East and then passed through a variety of intermediaries before being purchased by multinational electronics companies such as Nokia, Apple, LG etc… This makes it very difficult to trace the origin of the metals and alloys produced. Who profits? Profit from the mineral trade is one of the main driving forces for armed groups on all sides of the conflict. The mineral trade is a valuable source of income for government soldiers and rebels alike, as they often don’t receive any salary. But it’s only the people right at the top of the hierarchy such as the army commanders that are really making any money. The money is usually used to buy more weapons and ammunition to maintain their control of the territory and brutal violence against civilians. So the cycle of violence continues. What is the effect on the country and the people? Even though the price on the world commodity markets of its vast gold, coltan and cassiterite has reached record highs in recent years, Congo’s economy and its population have not benefited in the slightest. Congo is one of the richest countries on Earth in terms of natural resources, but the country remains one of the very poorest by most economic measurements. In fact the minerals are more of a curse than a blessing since the scramble for these minerals has been a principal driver of atrocities and conflict throughout Congo’s troubled history. What initiatives have been taken to end the conflict minerals? In April 2009, the United States passed a Conflict Minerals Law that requires electronics companies to verify and disclose their sources of cassiterite, wolframite, and tantalum originating from the DRC as well as the nine neighboring countries, including Rwanda, Uganda, Angola, Burundi, Tanzania, Zambia, Central African Republic, Congo Republic and Sudan. However this legislation died in committee because the only system that the exporters use to avoid buying conflict minerals is verbal assurance. They simply ask, “Did you get this from a conflict area?” On August 2012, the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission issued a final regulation on conflict minerals pursuant to Dodd-Frank Act. Under this law, companies are required to track and report the conflict minerals used in their products by May 31, 2014. Watch a video (4 mins): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aF-sJgcoY20 Reflection: Ask the students what do they think about the video? What did they find interesting in particular and why? Closing Open Discussion (7 mins) Begin with an opening question: Do you see a future where minerals can benefit the Congolese people rather than being a curse? What role can consumers and we as global citizens that may not be directly involved conflict do to help end the violence being fueled by Congo's mineral trade? Homework: Ask the students to create a poster or write a poem relating the issues of conflict minerals to their daily lives. This homework will enable students to creatively reflect on how they are connected to the conflict and human rights abuses in the Congo despite of the geographic distance. References: http://conflictminerals.org/ http://www.congoresources.org/ http://www.friendsofthecongo.org/pdf/killing_softly.pdf
http://www.weforum.org/news/be-confident-not-complacent-business-leaders-warn-annual-meeting-closes
http://eiti.org/fr/republique-democratique-du-congo
http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Africa/Congo_BehindNumbers.html
http://www.rts.ch/info/suisse/3924500-le-geant-minier-suisse-glencore-lie-au-travail-des-enfants-en-rdc.html
http://www.lecourrier.ch/edition_du_samedi_13_avril_2013_journal_complet_journal_complet?page=4