CNSCongo_10_31

Action urged to expose connections between mining, violence in Congo

By Dennis Sadowski

Catholic News Service

WASHINGTON (CNS) — New American federal rules regarding the use of so-called conflict minerals in cellphones and laptop computers protect innocent people in Congo from displacement and serious harm and must remain in place, said advocates from two prominent Catholic organizations.

The rules provide U.S. consumers with information about the components of the products they buy and can shed light on the actions of rebel groups fighting over control of strategic mining regions in central Africa, staff members of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and Catholic Relief Services said during a nationwide webcast Oct. 25.

The regulations require that companies using natural resources such as tantalum, tin, gold and tungsten in popular electronic devices have two years to begin reporting on material obtained from Congo and neighbouring countries and the route followed to the consumer market, said Richard Coll, foreign policy adviser on Latin America and global trade at the USCCB.

Congo has experienced 16 years of fighting among various rebel groups competing for strategic and mineral-rich portions of the country.
The U.S. rules do not specify any other action to be taken except by State Department to develop a strategy to promote peace and end the violence that has left 5.4 million people dead and millions more displaced.

However, the rules, introduced by the Securities and Exchange Commission Aug. 22, are being challenged in the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington by two business groups that claim they are ineffective, burdensome and too costly to implement.

A lawsuit filed Oct. 19 by the National Association of Manufacturers and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce asks the U.S. Court of Appeals to rescind or modify the rules.

Ed Kiely, CRS regional representative for Central and West Africa, said that Congo has seen a surge in violence since the April defection of high-ranking officers from the Congolese army formed a rebel group. Calling itself M23, the rebels have undertaken an offensive to gain control of key mining areas.

The recent fighting has displaced 260,000 Congolese while another 42,000 refugees have fled to Uganda and 20,000 to Rwanda, Kiely said.
“The situation is very dire and the use of conflict minerals is a tragic component in the way the violence is being committed,” Coll explained.