Coltan War of the Drc
Coltan war of the Democratic republic of Congo
The interest fueled human rights violations crimes being committed in The Democratic republic of Congo can be greatly suppressed to an eventual cease if the UN were to intervene more decisively. Considering the UN’s ability to pose sanctions and other methods of coercion, that can greatly impact a countries ability to perform its main functions, why wouldn’t they? The answer requires that we look into the dire situation that exists today in The Democratic republic of Congo. The conflict in Congo can be best expressed in term of domestic and international interest utilizing this quote from Caroline Sourt written in article for The Guardian titled The Congo’s blood metals, she writes “ The precious metals mined in eastern Congo is coltan. It is used in many common products: mobiles, computers, digital cameras, GPS equipment, airbags, hearing aids and even pacemakers. While 80% of the world 's known coltan reserves are in eastern Congo, only about 1% of the metal sold on the open market is Congolese. The reality is that most of Congo 's coltan is sold illegally and the revenue, instead of going towards the country 's development, is helping to fund the ongoing violence.”(2008) the conflict stems from in state actors including governmental and opposing rebel groups fighting for control of these precious metals with the support of various non state actors who stand to benefit economically from this ongoing conflict.
Militias and politicians are making huge profits from these minerals that are being sold illegally. The conditions in which these mineral are being dug are very often both dangerous and deadly. The aforementioned conditions are in addition to the deadly battles that are being fought for control of the coltan and other mineral rich regions. It has misplaced thousands and left hundreds of thousands dead. The vast majority of coltan is sold illegally the action is best depicted wit this quote retrieved from an
The interest fueled human rights violations crimes being committed in The Democratic republic of Congo can be greatly suppressed to an eventual cease if the UN were to intervene more decisively. Considering the UN’s ability to pose sanctions and other methods of coercion, that can greatly impact a countries ability to perform its main functions, why wouldn’t they? The answer requires that we look into the dire situation that exists today in The Democratic republic of Congo. The conflict in Congo can be best expressed in term of domestic and international interest utilizing this quote from Caroline Sourt written in article for The Guardian titled The Congo’s blood metals, she writes “ The precious metals mined in eastern Congo is coltan. It is used in many common products: mobiles, computers, digital cameras, GPS equipment, airbags, hearing aids and even pacemakers. While 80% of the world 's known coltan reserves are in eastern Congo, only about 1% of the metal sold on the open market is Congolese. The reality is that most of Congo 's coltan is sold illegally and the revenue, instead of going towards the country 's development, is helping to fund the ongoing violence.”(2008) the conflict stems from in state actors including governmental and opposing rebel groups fighting for control of these precious metals with the support of various non state actors who stand to benefit economically from this ongoing conflict.
Militias and politicians are making huge profits from these minerals that are being sold illegally. The conditions in which these mineral are being dug are very often both dangerous and deadly. The aforementioned conditions are in addition to the deadly battles that are being fought for control of the coltan and other mineral rich regions. It has misplaced thousands and left hundreds of thousands dead. The vast majority of coltan is sold illegally the action is best depicted wit this quote retrieved from an
References: The Congo’s blood metals, (2008), retrieved from: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/dec/25/congo-coltan Congo 's latest war fueled by sales of "conflict minerals", (2009), retrieved from: http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/africa/091204/congo-war-minerals What is coltan? retrieved from: http://www.un.int/drcongo/war/coltan.htm