Campaigns to end the sales of these conflict diamonds have been around since the early 1990's. Now, minerals used in electronics are being mined in the Congo during one of Africa's all time most deadly wars. Since 1998, there have been an estimated 5.4 million deaths stemming from this specific conflict.
The Root, an online magazine featured an article earlier this year explaining the depths of this problem.
"The minerals used to make your cell phone, your iPod, the computer you’re using to read this article, are tied to a horrific conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo; in the last decade, it has killed more than the genocides and wars in Cambodia, Rwanda, Darfur and Iraq combined."
The ore mined in these slave camps is then transferred across Africa and shipped to manufacturers in Asia. While the conditions of these mines are life threatening, the wars that break out over control of such natural resources are even worse and often are waged between military groups known for mass genocide, war crimes and human rights atrocities.
The problem for manufactures is that there exists little to no transparency when it comes to the origins of these materials. This is where WE come in.
The Congo Conflict Minerals Act of 2009 was recently proposed by a group of Senators.
It would require companies that are involved in commercial activities involving three minerals (coltan, cassiterite, and wolframite) to disclose the country of origin of the minerals to the Securities and Exchange Commission. If the minerals are from the Congo or neighboring countries, companies would have to also disclose the mine of origin.
This bill does not however require companies to complete independent audits of their supply chains - a step non-profits have called for in the past.
Call your senator and request that he/she co-sponsor the bill if you feel it is an appropriate step to end this trade of tainted minerals. The number for the U.S. Capitol Switchboard is (202) 224-3121.
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