RSS feed for Congo Blogs

Congo’s Tin Trade: A Porter’s Perspective

Enough Team — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 18:11:37 -0400

We’ve gotten permission to share an excellent recent post by Lane Hartill of Catholic Relief Services. He offers a unique perspective on the conflict minerals trade, writing as though through the eyes of a porter involved in the tin trade in eastern Congo. Here’s an excerpt and a link to the original:

Jules had been hiking all day, slipping his way down the trail to Ndjingala. He pushed leaves as big as dinner plates out of his eyes and shifted the 115 pounds of rocks in the mesh sack on his head. For long stretches of time, all Jules heard was the soft panting of the group of 15 men and the sucking sound of the mud underfoot.

These rocks—heavy with tin ore, known as cassiterite here in the Democratic Republic of the Congo—were going to feed Jules' family for a week. But only if he made it to the end of the trail. He'd get a buck a mile: $25 for 25 miles. He was in the home stretch now, only a mile to go. Please, he thought, let the trail be clear. Please, no more roadblocks. Or bandits.

He knew the tricks of the trade: Don't leave the trail, bandits lurk in the bush. Don't get separated from the group of transporters, stragglers are easy targets. Don't stop, not for anything. At the checkpoints, he knew to keep his head down and hand over the few bucks to the men with guns. Whatever you do, don't ask questions. And don't draw attention to yourself.

But then it happened: Word came down the line that a transporter up ahead had been shot at, told to hand over his rocks. The man, stupidly, argued with the men in balaclavas and military garb. Who knows if they were rogue soldiers or bandits. That's when the shooting started. And that had Jules worried.

Jules had started the day before in Bisiyé, a tin ore mine in eastern Congo's North Kivu province. The mine swells with thousands of Congolese from every corner of the country. From high school teachers to grade-school dropouts to army commanders to housewives, all are willing to hike to Bisiyé—estimates have the population there between 12,000 to 14,000—because they know cassiterite means cash.

Read on here.

Email Reveals U.N. Knew About Mass Rapes in Congo

Laura Heaton — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 18:39:45 -0400

A disturbing revelation about the recent mass rapes in eastern Congo emerged from the pages of The New York Times yesterday: the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Congo knew the violence was unfolding from the very first day. According to figures updated today by the United Nations, at least 240 women, children, and some men were raped during the four-day long spate in late July and early August.

The Times’ Josh Kron and Jeffrey Gettleman got their hands on an internal U.N. email from July 30 – the day the raping spree broke out – that mentioned that the ruthless rebel group known as the FDLR had overtaken the town of Mpofi. The email, sent by the U.N.’s humanitarian coordination organization, noted that one woman had been raped. It advised aid groups to avoid the area.

Contrary to what the email and a U.N. humanitarian bulletin reveal, officials with the peacekeeping mission initially said that they were unaware that rebels were raping women in Mpofi until August 12 when the International Medical Corps alerted them. When presented with the evidence of the July 30 email and the August 10 bulletin, U.N. officials suggested that initial reports about FDLR movement and rapes were commonplace enough to not initially raise concerns about a large-scale operation. “At the time, there was one alleged rape and no reason to believe that this was happening on a mass-scale as later reported,” said Roger Meece, a U.N. special representative, in reference to the email.

As the NYTimes pointed out, the Mpofi tragedy is just the latest in a string of instances in which mass violence broke out with peacekeepers nearby, and alarmingly, it seems that the U.N.’s default response is to plead ignorance.

Enough’s eastern Congo based researcher Fidel Bafilemba noted that in addition to the one rape case that the U.N. knew about, a series of FDLR/Mayi-Mayi attacks on villages nearby Mpofi, including the kidnapping of two Indian co-pilots and nine Congolese, were unmistakable signs that should have prompted peacekeeping troops to be more alert. Civil society activists in Goma have a pessimistic view about the potential for MONUSCU to improve its response when civilians are in danger. A number of local leaders interviewed told Enough that the U.N. peacekeeping mission may stay in Congo for a century and reformulate its mandate as many times as necessary, but indifference and inaction towards Congolese citizens will not change.

So is the U.N. peacekeeping mission simply in over its head, even after 11 years of being deployed in eastern Congo? One longtime U.N. official who recently served in eastern Congo, seemed to think so: “There is a kind of general state of incompetence, which is linked to apathy,” said Karl Steinacker. “If you realize you can’t deal with the situation, you may just decide to do nothing.”

The U.N.’s new special representative on sexual violence in conflict, Margot Wallström, said on Tuesday that the U.N. is investigating its response in an effort to improve implementation of a joint government-U.N. strategy for addressing sexual violence. In particular, U.N. peacekeepers must be trained to better respond to reports of sexual violence since they are often best placed to be first responders, Wallström said. However, she noted that the U.N. faces the challenge of being pressured to drawdown its presence in Congo, while also being expected to mount faster and more effective responses. “So we are expected to do more at the same time with less peacekeepers,” Wallström said. She noted that at the time of the recent North Kivu attacks, 80 blue helmets were stationed in an area over 300 square kilometers.

Meanwhile, a number of teams from the U.N. and aid organizations have been dispatched to Mpofi and the surrounding area to assess the needs of survivors.

CNN Spotlights Ashley Judd in Congo

Enough Team — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 09:51:33 -0400

Enough recently had the opportunity to travel with actress and activist Ashley Judd on her second trip to eastern Congo. John Prendergast accompanied Ms. Judd to the region, where they worked closely with Enough’s field researchers to visit camps for Congo’s displaced people, mines, local civil society organizations, and hospitals treating survivors of sexual violence.

“We really drilled down into the causes and solutions,” reports Prendergast. “Ashley mixed real compassion for survivors of sexual violence with probing analysis of the issues that drive the violence."

CNN.com published the first report about the trip this morning. Here’s a portion of the piece, which captures Ms. Judd’s thoughts on the trip in her own words:

CNN: In general, how should travelers planning humanitarian missions prepare emotionally, mentally and practically for journeys to remote and possibly dangerous places?

JUDD: Number one: Check your motives. That's the most important thing.

Number two: Understand the local context. Educate yourself. Reach out to experts, both at the policy level as well as the grass-roots level. Read books about the history of the place. And also be savvy about the particular historical perspective that the author may have.

Watch documentaries. I watched "Born into Brothels" before I started spending time in brothels in Mumbai, India, and it was very helpful for me to kind of spiritually fortify myself because I had the visual.

I knew what they looked like, what they sounded like, before I went, and so that helped me skip over the visceral shock of walking into these phenomenally crowded, fetid brothels.

I had a spiritual director in my life and a spiritual community with whom I stay very current -- and that's enormously important to me.

Because eastern Congo is what it is, it's such a severe place and the problems are so huge, I had my crisis of faith and my breakdown within 72 hours of getting here. Normally, it happens like three weeks into a trip, but this place just cut me off at the knees immediately, and I had to reach out to people with whom I'm walking this walk -- both through e-mail and through telephone -- and that sort of helped me have that breakthrough and tap back into my resilience.

Click here to read the full piece and check out more photos by Jeff Trussell of Ashley Judd in Congo.

American Consumers Can Help End Congo's Circle of Violence

Aaron Hall — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 11:34:24 -0400

This article originally appeared in Global Post.

WASHINGTON — In central Africa there is a proverb: The way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time.

Recently, the U.S. Congress, with the support of advocacy groups, faith-based organizations and concerned citizens nationwide have shown that they understand our national connection to the horrific conflict in eastern Congo and have taken their first bite of elephant.

The conflict in the Congo is one of the most complex the world has ever seen. As American citizens we should realize we can only do so much, but more importantly we should realize that we can do something.

Like it or not, the most effective way to create political will in the United States is by amplifying people’s voices through their dollars and consumption habits. The recent passage of a conflict minerals provision embedded within the Dodd-Frank Financial Regulatory Reform Bill is a testament to a group of American citizens and policymakers understanding the ways we can make a difference, and understanding that small steps and persistence will ultimately yield success.

The new bill requires U.S. companies that use tin, tantalum and tungsten — the three T’s — as well as gold, to annually disclose their methods of determining whether their materials originated from the Congo or not and in turn, whether through acquiring those minerals they have directly or indirectly funded armed militants.
Like any legislative reform, the provision has its critics. Some complain that this method of resolving the issue of conflict minerals is over-simplistic, and that the new law will require burdensome reporting requirements, lead to de facto boycotts on mining in the region and create job losses causing increased instability.

The truth of the matter, however, is that inaction on this issue is unacceptable and — for companies that source minerals from eastern Congo and hope to continue to move along the path of the status quo — tantamount to complicity.

The trade in minerals comprised of the 3T’s as well as gold is a primary driver of the conflict in Congo, which has claimed more than 5 million lives, displaced millions more and is directly responsible for a reported 1,100 rapes per month.

These minerals are primary components of the vast array of gadgetry we now consider essential in our everyday lives — mobile phones, laptops, mp3 music players and jewelry to name a few. There is no escaping the connectivity. The new bill is intended to combine U.S. government, private sector and consumer pressure to bolster the government and civil society of the Congo and to reduce the presence of armed groups in the region known to have committed some of the worst human rights atrocities in history.

Both the bill and the Enough Project are working to create legitimate, legal and peaceful mineral trade programs in Congo that would benefit both private sector development and war-weary communities that have absorbed so much destruction.

The Enough Project is categorically opposed to any form of boycott and we are urging our supporters to pressure companies who use these minerals to commit to producing conflict-free products. With the passage of this recent legislation, companies can now make a positive impact in the Congo.

However this is just the tip of a much larger spear. Governments, companies and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) need to go further by implementing three critical steps to creating a legitimate mineral trade in eastern Congo. We propose starting with a framework to trace, audit and certify.

To continue reading, click here.

Photo: Tin ore (Sasha Lezhnev/ Grassroots Reconciliation Group.)

When Will Enough Be Enough?

Aaron Hall — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 09:50:34 -0400

Recently released accounts that the FDLR gang-raped roughly 200 women—and four baby boys—during the course of a four-day raid on a group of villages near Walikale in the North Kivu province of eastern Congo is a stark reminder of why increased pressure to disarm rebel groups and choke off the economic drivers of conflict in the area is so critical. Reports allege that during the attack, which took place only 20 km from a U.N. peacekeeping base, most of the women were raped simultaneously and by more than one attacker. One official from the NGO International Medical Corps, which has been documenting rape cases in the region, claimed that the rebels in this case were “systematically” raping the population and “most women were raped by two to six men at a time,” in several instances “in front of their children and their families.”

Although the conflict in eastern Congo remains one of the world’s most complex, one thing is for certain: widespread sexual violence and atrocities committed against civilians are not abating, and in many regions they continue to increase. A year ago Secretary of State Hillary Clinton condemned the use of rape as a weapon in the region, calling it “evil in its basest form.” Secretary Clinton pledged $28 million to fight sexual violence in the Congo and support victims of rape. This support can’t come fast enough—but it will also not be enough. Concerned citizens worldwide must continue to raise their collective voices to pressure U.S. leaders, their national representatives, and other western governments to not only take stock of the horrific human rights abuses occurring in the region, but to take action as well. There is a moral imperative at play for those of us who value women and children in our society, who believe in the strength of community, and who feel that no human should have to endure a daily existence of fear for rape, amputation, or forced cannibalism.

The road to peace in eastern Congo is long and cobbled with significant obstacles. Complex issues remain, including the predatory behavior of the Congolese army, grievances around land rights and citizenship, and the utter lack of accountability for human rights violators. There is no silver bullet that will stop horrifying incidents like this. However, the impetus to act against the use of rape as a weapon of mass destruction goes beyond the usual geopolitical and economic considerations of foreign policy. There is a human need for action against such atrocities. Those responsible for ordering and committing these abuses must be held accountable, and communities who have endured such trauma must be given support to heal. Thus far our leaders have yet to show they are interested in moving beyond empty rhetoric and throwing money at problems. We must continue to raise our voices for the citizens of Congo and to pressure our leaders to take action to stop those groups responsible for these unconscionable acts.

Photo: Three Congolese women (Enough)

FAQs About Conflict Minerals Regulations

Enough Team — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 13:29:11 -0400

The recent passage of provisions on conflict minerals from eastern Congo in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act has brought unprecedented attention to the linkages between trade in minerals crucial to electronics and other industries and the ongoing conflict in Congo. These provisions have been welcomed by the State Department, the Congolese government, a diverse coalition of NGOs, and by leading companies.

But the passage of the legislation also raises important questions about how it will be implemented, its potential unintended consequences, its linkages with other initiatives to curb resource-fueled conflict, and how it fits with wider peace-building efforts in the Congo. Alongside these important issues, there are ripples of discontent and complaints from various industry representatives about burdensome reporting requirements, and warnings about de facto boycotts on minerals sourced in the region and massive job losses causing increased instability.

To help put these concerns in context and provide more information about Enough’s approach to conflict minerals and peace in Congo, we’ve put together a set of frequently asked questions. Take a look, and let us know if you have more questions about conflict minerals regulations.

Click here to go to the conflict minerals regulation FAQs.

Photo: Tin ore (Sasha Lezhnev/ Grassroots Reconciliation Group)

A Long Path Toward Conflict Minerals Certification

Aaron Hall — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 09:29:27 -0400

When debating the merits of the argument for a more rigorous tracing and auditing system for conflict minerals originating in Congo, one need not look any further than Rwanda to understand the necessity. Rwanda has no large-scale mining industry, and several NGO and aid agency sources say a significant part of the country’s minerals exports—its largest export sector accounting for over 35 percent of total annual export earnings—are smuggled from Congo’s mineral-rich North Kivu province, which has strong social and economic links with elements of Rwandese society.

The Rwanda Geology and Mines Authority, or OGMIR, has touted a recent pilot project using scientific analysis of ore composition to certify the origin of conflict minerals as an “advanced…process of certifying mineral supply chains and upgrading mineral extraction to good practice standards universally accepted.” This initiative is not as helpful as the OGMIR makes it out to be. At best it is one step forward on a much longer path, but certainly not the final one. No evidence has been shown that microscopic analysis of ore composition would allow minerals sourced in Africa’s Great Lakes region to be traced back to the mine of origin—for starters, simply mixing ores from various locations could confound the whole process. A more comprehensive certification process is necessary to ensure that minerals exported from countries like Rwanda are not originating from militarized mines in eastern Congo.

Smuggling of materials from eastern Congo to neighboring countries like Rwanda for export is all too easy. The current U.S. legislation is also just one step toward certification of conflict-free products and a minerals trade that benefits the Congolese people. Achieving the transparency necessary for certification will require more than a handful of companies in Rwanda “volunteering” to have their mineral ore audited for composition. Input from a combination of companies, governments, and consumers to create a transparent, rigorous, and credible system of certification that is able to trace through both human and scientific systems is necessary. We have suggested starting with a framework of tracing, auditing, and certifying for companies and countries to prove their mineral supplies are conflict-free.

As the situation exists today, there is no way governments in the Great Lakes region can ensure that all conflict minerals originating from any respective country are “accounted for” and “mined with international good practice,” as OGMIR suggests its pilot program would do. We have no legitimate method of knowing for sure whether these minerals exported from neighboring countries like Rwanda passed through the hands of armed groups in Congo or whether they came from another source. That is why we need more definitive proof from a transparent trace, audit, and certify system.

Through the recently passed U.S. legislation, the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, has nine months to write regulations regarding the disclosure of conflict minerals from the Congo and its adjoining countries. From that point, companies would then have almost an entire year to meet their first reporting requirements, putting the initial reporting period sometime around January 2012. In addition, the U.S. government, international NGOs, and partners from the region have been working to establish certification schemes for the past two years. The writing has clearly been on the wall that regulatory reform was on the way. Therefore, it is difficult to argue, as the OGMIR has, that the timing for implementation is sudden and was not clearly studied to avoid hurting the mining industry in the region.

Countries such as Rwanda are inexorably linked to the conflict minerals trade in eastern Congo. It is commendable that such nations are enthusiastic about moving towards a legitimate certification system for mineral extraction in the region. However, it is critical that input be taken from all stakeholders, and that rigor and transparency drive any process.

Photo: Gold mining in eastern Congo. (Reuters)

Enough Said Blog Setting Up Shop in Nairobi

Laura Heaton — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 14:20:25 -0400

At the Enough Project, our policy and advocacy work has always been driven by the research we collect firsthand in the countries where we focus. As the lead editor and writer for Enough Said, I’m excited to bring our blog’s daily reporting even closer to the conflict zones we cover. Over the next two weeks, I’m making the transition from our Washington, D.C. office to Nairobi, Kenya, where I’ll be monitoring Sudan, Congo, the Lord’s Resistance Army, and increasingly, Somalia.

From my new vantage point, I’ll be more tuned in to the dynamics that unfold in the regional hub, and have the chance to report more frequently from the field alongside our researchers. We’ll also be working to boost our multimedia content on the blog. Through raw video, fresh photos, and audio clips, we’ll aim to give Enough Said readers a more intimate glimpse into the day-to-day observations and findings of members of the Enough team who live in the conflict zones or who travel there. We’ll also be looking for new guest contributors from the region – people who have their finger on the pulse as civil society leaders, survivors, conflict mediators, local researchers, and activists.

I’ll be back up to my regular posting schedule (with 5 Best Stories and such) the first week of September, this time with a dateline of Nairobi. In the meantime, I’d like to know: What you’d like to see us cover more on this blog? What are you especially interested to hear more about during the upcoming months?

As always, thanks for reading and commenting.

5 Best Stories You Might Have Missed This Week

Laura Heaton — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 09:12:14 -0400

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.

Sudan expert and human rights lawyer Bec Hamilton recently returned from Sudan, where she was barred from traveling outside of the capital. But being stationary in the North didn’t prevent her from reporting on one of the most highly contested regions of the country – Abyei. Here’s her report for NatGeo News Watch, based on a meeting with a member of a ruling Misseriya family from the area.

We knew it wouldn't be long until Maggie Fick, our former researcher in southern Sudan appeared on our blog again. This time, she's posting on U.N. Dispatch (a new regular gig, so keep an eye out) aimed at, as she explains it, “keeping readers up to speed on how issues surrounding the holding of the referendum relate to the threat of a return to North-South war and the possibility of serious internal southern conflict following the referendum.” Here’s a link to her first three.

This IRIN feature piece describes how the International Criminal Court is trying, and failing, to bring to justice accused war criminals in eastern Congo. The piece makes note of a number of obstacles the Court has bumped up against in recent proceedings, focusing on the case perhaps most frustrating of all – that of Bosco Ntaganda, aka The Terminator.

With the (unsurprising) re-election of Rwanda President Paul Kagame this week, Congo Siasa blogger Jason Stearns muses about Kagame’s frequent references to creating an African Singapore. Stearns uses a quote from a Rwandan presidential advisor to highlight why some say democracy isn’t realistic in post-conflict country: "The issue here is how do you ensure political cooperation when confrontational politics will almost certainly lead to renewed violence?" Stearns makes note of a number of different theories on the topic, which are also interesting to consider in relation to other contexts, like, say, southern Sudan.

Glenna Gordon at the blog Scarlett Lion points out this new compilation of music from around the continent called “Songs About Leaving Africa.” I’ll soon be on my way to Africa (more on that soon…), but the line-up looks great. Scarlett Lion provides a few good links for sneak peeks and commentary from the artists.

The Future of DR Congo (is in Our Living Room)

Enough Team — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 15:53:27 -0400

The Panzi Hospital guest house in Bukavu has become the hangout every night for new and old friends. We may not have running water but we have plenty of beans and rice to share and a large family room for those of us living here (Scott, Catherine, my 17-year-old daughter Arianna, Raphael, and myself) and the five or more young men and occasional women who visit. Over bottled water and packages of cookies, this group of 16 to 24 year-olds talks politics (“Will Kabila be re-elected?”), economics (“What is the U.S. housing crisis?”), education (“What does it cost to go to college in the U.S.?”), sports (“Are there girls soccer teams in the Congo?”), families (Why do families in the U.S. only have one or two children?”), relationships (“What are the top four qualities you look for in a girl/boyfriend?”), and pop culture (“What is the restaurant Hooter’s?”). This last question led to a lot of laughs. When it came to women, there was clearly no cultural divide for the men in the room!

We tease each other, try to improve our Swahili, French, and English, make friendship bracelets, help Ari and Emmanuel make flashcards for their class, listen to music on Scott’s computer, dance, draw pictures, and talk about the future of Congo. I tell them, “The future of Congo is sitting in this living room.”

Too often the Democratic Republic of Congo is portrayed negatively. In particular, the men are maligned as corrupt, misogynist, and violent. I’d like to offer an alternative view by introducing you to some of our friends. (These young men gave me permission to use this information. However, I’ve used pseudonyms here, chosen by them, to protect their identities.)

Meet Kongo. He is 19 years-old and in his first year at the University of Bukavu, studying international relations. He’d like to work in the embassy one day with the goal of making his country a better place. Kongo speaks many languages including English, Italian, and Spanish. He is fluent in all three and learned the latter two strictly from books. As my daughter Ari is also fluent, the two carry on conversations – a bizarre marvel in our Congolese living room. I actually met Kongo last year. He is still just as sweet and shy now as he was then – only much taller! Some days he would go with me to visit the women at the hospital, translating their Swahili and my English. He never asked me for a thing although I knew his family was poor. Kongo was and is so thin. He has no cell phone, no internet access, and can’t afford the $1 for an hour of internet at a café. He and his five siblings are raised by his mother alone, who is putting everyone through school on her salary as a tailor. Before I left last year, I asked Kongo what I might give him as a gift of thanks for all his help. He said what he wanted most was a French/English dictionary. He has invited me to meet his mother tomorrow. I am excited to visit his home! Kongo would like to write a book. When I asked him about what, he said it would be about how Congolese men need to respect Congolese women. As I write this, Kongo and two other young men are cooking the beans for tonight’s dinner! They were convinced we didn’t know what we were doing (they’re right). This is the next generation.

Meet Mutula. He is 15 years-old. He is the youngest of the crew who visits the guest house. He is charming, wise beyond his years, and mischievous, with a brilliant smile and perhaps has a photographic memory. He is in the equivalent of ninth grade, and dreams of going to high school and college in the United States. If you ask Mutula what he wants to do with his life, he will tell you emphatically “be a human rights attorney or politician in Congo!” If you ask why, he’ll tell you, “Because I want to end corruption!” He and Ari have become close friends and she thinks of him like a little brother. Today she visited his home and met his family. This kid is going places!

Meet Ako. He is 26 years-old and leaving for medical school in South Africa next week. He and Scott are close friends and have known each other for four years. He has stayed most nights with us at the guest house, going virtually everywhere with us during the day, assisting with translations and arrangements. Ako is one of six kids and his father is a local pastor who could never afford medical school for his son. He is an exceptionally generous, compassionate, disciplined, respectful young man and a devout Christian. We’ve had many a philosophical conversation about Congo and life in general. He looks forward to the day he can return to Congo as a physician and work in pediatrics, hopefully at Panzi. He is a special part of our guest-house family and we will feel his absence terribly when he leaves next week.

These three remarkable young men represent so many of the youth we have met here – men and women. They care deeply about the current state of their country and they are passionate about working for change. This is the good news from Congo.

Lee Ann De Reus is an associate professor of Human Development & Family Studies and Women's Studies at Penn State Altoona and was a 2009 recipient of the Carl Wilkens Fellowship, given by Genocide Intervention Network. She is currently in Bukavu, South Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where she previously conducted research. On this trip, she is following up with the women she interviewed, working on a book with Dr. Dennis Mukwege, and assisting the Panzi Foundation. This is the second in a series of posts. (The first is here.)