Conflict Minerals

This post by Sylvie Maunga Mbanga originally appeared today on NBC's Production Blog.

The Congolese conflict is considered the worst humanitarian crisis in the world, and the deadliest since World War II. Since 1998, more than six million people have died as a result of this war. Over two million people have been forced to flee their homes, and some 400,000 Congolese have sought refuge in neighboring countries. Hundreds of thousands of women and girls have been kidnapped, raped, and tortured.

The atrocious way that sexual violence is used in Congo is often indescribable. Women and even children are being attacked by multiple men, often in public and in front of their husbands, kids, and neighbors. After the rape, the perpetrator sometimes fires his gun into the woman's vagina.

The purpose is not just to abuse women, but also to destroy the Congolese community, and to traumatize and humiliate people. Armed groups use rape to force civilians to leave mining areas so they can exploit the illicit but lucrative trade in minerals. Specifically, armed groups are profiting from the mineral "coltan" (or tantalum), as well as gold and tin, which each of us rely on daily to power our electronic devises. The DR Congo is rich with mineral deposits, but it's the armed groups, not the Congolese people, who benefit from this wealth.

We all have a responsibility to act, in every way we can.

During my experience working with survivors of sexual violence in eastern Congo as a coordinator for the Interchurch Organization for Development Cooperation, I lived and breathed the suffering of women. One woman told me that all in the same day she was raped in front of her husband and kids, impregnated, and infected with HIV. How is it possible?

Please click here to read the full post.

Sylvie Maunga Mbanga, a trained lawyer, dedicated her career to working with local Congolese organizations to fight sexual violence against women in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. She currently lives in Washington, D.C., and continues to be a fierce advocate for women in Congo through the Enough Project's RAISE Hope for Congo. campaign.

Photo: Women gather for a town hall meeting at a camp for displaced people in eastern Congo. (Enough/Sarina Virk)

Technorati Tags: Advocacy Conflict Minerals Eastern Congo Sexual Violence Violence Against Women

This post co-authored with actress Mariska Hargitay originally appeared on the front page of Huffington Post today.

The epidemic of rape and sexual violence in the Congo takes center stage in an all-new episode of Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, airing on Wednesday night.

Portraying the world's worst violence against women -- taking place half a world away in Central Africa -- in a TV show set in New York City is a challenge. But Law and Order: SVU creator Neal Baer and writer Dawn DeNoon have managed to convey the facts on the ground in Congo through the eyes of a Congolese woman portrayed in the episode.

Eastern Congo is the world's deadliest conflict globally since WWII. Widespread rape is used as a strategy of war and an instrument of communal terror, making this region the world's most dangerous place to be a woman or a girl. Armed groups compete to control lucrative mines and smuggling routes. Rape becomes their principal means of terrorizing local populations into passive compliance, so they can steal the mineral wealth without opposition. These crimes destroy families, decimate communities, and lethally spread HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases.

There are few other conflicts in the world where the link between our consumer appetites and massive human suffering is so direct.

The armed groups perpetuating the violence generate hundreds of millions of dollars each year by trading in four main minerals: tin, tantalum, tungsten (the "three Ts") and gold. These minerals are essential to our cell phones, laptops and other electronics.

As consumers, we must speak up and demand that the top electronics companies produce conflict-free products. By removing conflict minerals from the equation in Congo, we remove the fuel from the fire. Write to the top electronics companies and tell them you want them to start producing conflict-free phones and laptops.

"Witness" marks the second collaboration between SVU and the Enough Project. Last March the SVU team partnered with Enough to give viewers a deeper understanding of the plight of survivors of the 22-year war in Northern Uganda waged by the Lord's Resistance Army.

As we have seen with other war crimes and crimes against humanity around the globe, change will only come when there is a concerted effort to deal with the problem, and perpetrators are held accountable for their actions.

Gandhi once said, "Whatever you do may seem insignificant to you, but it is most important that you do it." Once you finish reading this blog or watching tomorrow's episode, you have an opportunity to be not just readers, not just viewers, but agents of life-saving change. As we celebrate International Women's Month this month -- of all months -- no matter who you are, no matter where you are, your role as a witness who takes action is crucial. Seize the opportunity to take action on behalf of Congo's women and girls. "It is most important that you do it."

To learn more visit www.raisehopeforcongo.org.

Mariska Hargitay is an advocate, actress, and activist who appears in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Mariska is the Founder and President of the Joyful Heart Foundation. www.joyfulheartfoundation.org.

Technorati Tags: Advocacy Conflict Minerals Eastern Congo Sexual Violence Violence Against Women

Conflict minerals are steadily gaining prominence in the public debate over how to address the conflict in eastern Congo, paving the way for meaningful advocacy directed at the companies that benefit from Congo’s turmoil.

A piece in yesterday’s Boston Globe emphasized the importance of new legislation championed by Washington State Congressman Jim McDermott (D) that addresses the complex path minerals take from mines in eastern Congo all the way to electronics devices. Currently, the minerals pass through so many hands, undocumented, that it is difficult to hold companies responsible for doing business with warlords in eastern Congo – or certify that their electronics products are conflict-free. But the atrocious conditions in the mines and the unspeakable violence against women and girls that the mineral trade is helping to fuel demand accountability.

Armed groups “are simply stealing ore and selling it to the international market,’’ McDermott said, according to the Boston Globe, and “everyone who has a cell phone has a piece of the action.’’ The Conflict Minerals Bill would set up a system to audit the trade in three minerals prevalent in Congo – tin, tantalum, and tungsten – and certify whether they originated in a conflict-free mine or not. U.S. companies would then have to indicate whether their products contain conflict minerals before importing them into the United States.

A representative from Cabot, one of the world’s leading producers of tantalum products, was quoted as saying that a challenge the industry faces is ensuring their supply chain is conflict free without sidelining the legitimate companies dealing in minerals. (Importantly, Cabot doesn’t do business anywhere in the region, according to the article.) Some mining companies are “just trying to make a living like the rest of us,” Cabot’s Andrew O’Donovan said. However, “today there is no system in place to determine the good from the bad,’’ he added.

The link between Congo’s minerals and the conflict in the east also came out clear in the U.S. State Department’s 2009 human rights report on Congo, issued last week:

“In North and South Kivu, the illegal exploitation by some FARDC units, armed groups such as the FDLR, and PARECO of natural resources--including cassiterite (a tin oxide) and columbite-tantalite (or coltan), both of which were used in the global electronics industry---continued to prolong the conflict, facilitate the purchase of small arms to commit abuses, and reduce government revenues needed for increasing security and rebuilding the country. FARDC and FDLR forces in both Kivu provinces forced civilians to work for them or relinquish their mineral production and extorted illegal ‘taxes.’”

Drawing from a number of high-level reports written by U.N. affiliates and NGOs, the State Department expanded upon these details, reiterating some of the recommendations made by the U.N. Group of Experts that would serve to address the abuses. The report also highlighted the U.N. Experts’ finding of "strong indications of high-level protection and in some cases complicity in the illicit gold trade by government officials."

Granted, few people will dig deep into State Department reports to realize how the U.S. government officials are drawing these connections, but it’s important that they are. The combination of growing public awareness, as evidenced through the increasingly frequent articles like the one in the Boston Globe, and government acknowledgement of the problem should send the message to U.S. companies that they would be wise to clean up their mineral supply chains – if not to prevent the exploitation of civilians and the perpetuation of war in Congo, then because a legal gauntlet is likely headed their way.

Photo: Gold in the palm of a miner's hand (Grassroots Reconciliation Group/Sasha Lezhnev)

Technorati Tags: Advocacy Conflict Minerals Eastern Congo Sexual Violence Violence Against Women

This week’s all-new episode of Law and Order: Special Victims Unit once again takes on an issue we at Enough are passionate about: ending the epidemic of violence against women in eastern Congo.

In the second half, the episode “Witness” highlights the searing story of a young Congolese woman who escaped the violence in eastern Congo and now lives in the United States. Although she is many thousands of miles away from her home, a turn of events forces her to confront her own experience with rape in Congo. Her story highlights the fact that the trade in conflict minerals from Congo is helping perpetuate the violence, and as consumers, we bear responsibility for helping to end the sordid trade so that Congo’s people can benefit from their country’s resource wealth.

In the gripping, highly fictionalized style that regular followers of SVU love, scriptwriters (with some input from Enough) incorporated this tragic and underreported theme into a story that will reach hundreds of thousands of viewers in the United States on Wednesday night. Please tune in at 10/9c. After watching this account of the character’s experience, learn about the work being done daily to empower the real women of Congo and reform the conflict minerals trade.

Please help spread the word about Wednesday night’s episode and the resources available that explain the real-life dimension of the tragedy unfolding right now in eastern Congo. On Twitter and Facebook, please post:

Law&Order #SVU this Wed takes on war over conflict minerals in #Congo. Learn about real-life drama: http://bit.ly/9zraNG

Technorati Tags: Advocacy Conflict Minerals Eastern Congo Prevention Protection Sexual Violence Violence Against Women

The United Nations Mission in the Congo, known by its French acronym MONUC, is once again facing public criticism. An article in today’s Washington Post shows how MONUC’s support for the Congolese army’s operations against rebel groups in eastern Congo continues to support some of the army’s most abusive commanders.

The U.N. faced withering criticism last year for its support role in operation Kimia II, which led to more than 1,000 civilians killed and 900,000 displaced. Pressure from human rights groups and activists was instrumental in forcing the U.N. to include greater safeguards to prevent support for abusive units.

As of this past November, senior MONUC officials, including its head Alan Doss, have been adamant that they are doing their due diligence in hand-picking which Congolese army commanders to support and blacklisting those responsible for attacks on civilians. But as the stark testimonies in today’s article by the Post’s Stephanie McCrummen reveal, things are not exactly going according to plan.

McCrummen follows the story of a Congolese army lieutenant colonel named Innocent Zimurinda. In October, Zimurinda’s name appeared on a list of problematic army commanders (beginning on page 276) compiled by the U.N. group of experts, tying him to massacres, executions, gang rapes, and recruitment of child soldiers. Yet, according to Zimurinda and his officers, U.N. support continued through December and January. “Anytime we ask [MONUC] to supply us, they supply,” one of Zimurinda’s officers told McCrummen.

A MONUC spokesman acknowledged that while the U.N.’s support to Zimurinda officially ended in November, provisions “in the pipeline” may have continued to flow to his units while the U.N. sorted out legal issues related to the case. In a rare interview with the Washington Post, Zimurinda commented on his ties to MONUC: "We cannot say we are happy with the level of support,” he said. “But anyway, we want to say 'thank you' to the U.N."

The support to Zimurinda is occurring within the context of operation Amani Leo, the new name for joint Congolese/United Nations military operations against the rebel group Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, or FDLR. According to MONUC, Amani Leo (Swahili for “peace today”) puts much greater emphasis on civilian protection than the maligned Kimia II. Yet despite the rebranding, little change has been seen on the ground. Military operations supported by the U.N. continue to endanger civilian lives and FARDC commanders, like Zimurinda, with known abuses in the past continue to operate.

Last week, 50 Congolese human rights and civil society organizations and Human Rights Watch logged a complaint about Colonel Zimurinda with General Amuli Bahigwa, the top ranking Congolese army commander for operations in the eastern region. The four-page complaint detailed abuses committed by troops under Zimurinda’s command since 2007 and called for an immediate investigation into the allegations. Responding to a question in a press conference last week, likely spurred on by the organizations’ complaint, Under-Secretary for Peacekeeping Operations Alain Le Roy said:

“We have made clear to the Congolese Government officials…that MONUC does not support units with which Mr. Zimulinda is involved; in the same manner, Mr. Bosco Ntanganda [sic] is not in the chain of command of operations we support.”

Amid the many questions raised in McCrummen’s piece today – in particular, Zimurinda’s evasion of a question about backing from Rwanda raises red flags – what’s clear is that a thorough investigation into Zimurinda’s ties is overdue. The U.N. Group of Experts already laid the foundation; it shouldn’t require being called out by the Washington Post to motivate Congolese authorities to follow up.

Photo: Mugunga camp in North Kivu province (Enough/Laura Heaton)

Technorati Tags: Conflict Minerals Eastern Congo Prevention Protection Punishment Sexual Violence United Nations Violence Against Women War Crimes

The weather isn’t the only thing heating up in Washington. The Conflict Minerals Trade Act, or H.R. 4128, continues to gain support as another six representatives recently signed on.

Rep Bobby L. Rush (D-IL)
Rep Lloyd Doggett (D-TX)
Rep Mike Capuano (D-MA)
Rep Sam Farr (D-CA)
Rep David Price (D-NC)

Introduced by Congressmen Jim McDermott (D-WA) and Frank Wolf (R-VA), H.R. 4128 would create a system of audits and import declarations that would help stop the import of conflict minerals or goods with conflict minerals into the United States.

Because these minerals are financing the world’s deadliest conflict since World War II, this legislation offers activists a unique approach to stemming the rape, torture, and murder rampant in eastern Congo. You can take action today by calling the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and urging your member to support the Conflict Minerals Trade Act, or H.R. 4128.

To learn more about the multi-million dollar minerals trade in Congo, which all of us as electronics users help perpetuate, and find out more about actions you can take, visit our conflict minerals special page.

Technorati Tags: Advocacy Conflict Minerals Eastern Congo Prevention Sexual Violence Violence Against Women

UPDATE: A large, energetic crowd turned out today for Washington, D.C.'s Join Me on the Bridge event. All over the world, women and men commemorated International Women's Day by gathering on bridges to send the message that we must join together and work collectively to end global violence against women. Here are some photos from our event on D.C.'s Memorial Bridge, with more to come tomorrow.

9:30 a.m. -- It’s a beautiful morning in Washington, D.C., with temperatures predicted to be near 60˚ by the time we gather on Memorial Bridge to celebrate International Women’s Day today at noon. Join Me on the Bridge is a global event organized by Women for Women International to honor the resilience of millions of women survivors of war around the world.

Enough’s RAISE Hope for Congo campaign teamed up with Women for Women International to host the D.C. event, which will highlight the victories and the challenges women face in Congo. Featured speakers will include:

Sylvie Maunga Mbanga, Congolese human rights lawyer
Jimmie Briggs, Executive Director, Man Up Campaign: Stop Violence Against Women 
Candice Knezevic, RAISE Hope for Congo Campaign Manager, Enough Project
Andrée Simon, President and COO, Women for Women International
Seema Jalan, Director of Global Development Policy, Women Thrive Worldwide

We’ll meet at noon at the Women in Military Service for America Memorial at the end of Memorial Drive on the Virginia side of the bridge (Click here for a map and more details.) The closest metro stop is Arlington Cemetery on the blue line. We will walk across the Memorial Bridge to the Watergate Steps at the base of the Lincoln Memorial, where our speakers will provide remarks. The event should finish around 1:30.

Please come and walk in solidarity with women around the world. If there isn’t a Bridge event taking place near you, here are some ideas of other ways to commemorate International Women’s Day. We’ll update this space this afternoon with photos from the event.

Technorati Tags: Advocacy Conflict Minerals Darfur and Southern Sudan Eastern Congo Peace Prevention Sexual Violence Violence Against Women

The world knows Iman as a supermodel, a successful businesswoman with her own cosmetics company and as a fashion icon alongside her husband David Bowie.

That’s only half the story. Iman also is a refugee whose family fled war in Somalia.

Enough Project Co-founder John Prendergast recently had the chance to sit down with Iman in her New York City office to hear her story. In the exclusive interview in honor of International Women’s Day, Iman talks of leaving Somalia for Kenya, being discovered by a fashion photographer, and finding global fame.

On International Women’s Day, as we celebrate the achievements of women and raise awareness of ongoing injustices against women, Iman’s success story is poignant, especially in light of the causes she fights for, including ending the world's deadliest war in the Congo.

The narrative of Iman's remarkable life directly connects to human rights issues, particularly in Africa, and we are grateful to her for taking the time to sit down with us. Celebrities such as Iman, by sharing their stories, can help inspire new audiences to join the fight against some of the world's worst rights abuses.

Visit our special page to watch the interview.

Technorati Tags: Advocacy Conflict Minerals Eastern Congo Iman Sexual Violence Somalia Violence Against Women

Here at Enough, we often swap emails with interesting articles and feature stories that we come across in our favorite publications and on our favorite websites. We wanted to share some of these stories with you as part of our effort to keep you up to date on what you need to know in the world of anti-genocide and crimes against humanity work.

Foreign Policy published an excellent piece late last week about genocide as a national security threat. Michael Abramowitz and Lawrence Woocher laid out a strong case for why the Obama administration should beef up its prevention mechanisms for confronting both genocide and mass atrocities.

Here’s a key graf:

Genocide's negative consequences for the United States are increasingly plain. Mass violence destabilizes countries and entire regions, threatening to spread trafficking in drugs, arms, and persons, as well as infectious disease pandemics and youth radicalization. When prevention fails, the United States invariably foots much of the bill for post-atrocity relief and peacekeeping operations -- to the tune of billions of dollars. And even as Washington is paying, America's soft power is depleted when the world's only superpower stands idle while innocents are systematically slaughtered.

Marcus Bleasdale’s stunning photographs from his new book Rape of a Nation were published in this slideshow on Burn magazine. Bleasdale’s deep familiarity with Congo, a place he has worked for many years, is apparent in the intimacy of this collection.

This feature piece by AP reporter Malkhadir Muhumed describes the use of radio in blasting out Shabaab propaganda on one station – and countering with reports from the fragile U.N.-backed government on another. Loyalty to the government station runs its risks, but as one father of nine said, "I know I'm risking my life. But I need a different point of view.”

In this interview, The Root spotlighted award winning playwright Lynn Nottage, with whom Enough worked last fall to bring a staged reading of her play Ruined to Washington. Nottage talks about the research that went in to writing the play, set in a brothel in modern-day eastern Congo, and what she hopes audiences will take away. As the interview reinforces, she’s an exceptional spokesperson for the Congo cause.

The March/April edition of Foreign Policy magazine includes this exclusive collection of photographs from some of the world’s most acclaimed war photographers. The slideshow includes remarkable testimony from the photographers for added context, often including insights about the scene that was transpiring right outside of the frame.

Technorati Tags: Advocacy Conflict Minerals Darfur and Southern Sudan Eastern Congo Genocide Peace Prevention Protection Sexual Violence Somalia United Nations Violence Against Women War Crimes