Is Your Cell Phone Funding the Conflict in Congo?

According to Raise Hope for Congo, a project of the Center for American Progress, your cell phone may be fueling the conflict in Congo. Here's what they have to say:

The conflict in eastern Congo, the deadliest in the world since World War II, is being fueled by a multi-million dollar trade in minerals that go into our electronic products from cell phones to digital cameras. Over five million people have died as a result of the war, and hundreds of thousands of women have been raped in eastern Congo over the past decade. The armed groups that are perpetuating the violence generate an estimated $144 million each year by trading in four main minerals, the 3 Ts and gold:

• Tin – used inside your cell phone and all electronic products as a solder on circuit boards. 53% of tin worldwide is used as a solder, the vast majority of which goes into electronics. Armed groups earn approximately $85 million per year from trading in tin.
• Tantalum (often called “coltan”) – used to store electricity in capacitors in iPods, digital cameras, and cell phones. 65-80% of the world’s tantalum is used in electronic products. Armed groups earn an estimated $8 million per year from trading in tantalum.
• Tungsten – used to make your cell phone or Blackberry vibrate. Tungsten is a growing source of income for armed groups in Congo, with armed groups currently earning approximately $2 million annually.
• Gold – used mainly in jewelry, gold is also a component in electronics. Extremely valuable and easy to smuggle, armed groups are earning between $44-88 million per year from gold.

There are things you can do. Urge your Senator to co-sponsor the Congo Conflict Minerals Act of 2009:

If passed, this bill would provide the authority and direction for the United States government to help ensure that the mineral trade stops contributing to human rights violations, including killings of unarmed civilians and sexual violence, while at the same time developing mechanisms to allow the Congolese people to benefit from these resources.

In a further positive direction, the bill demands greater transparency and accountability from companies: all companies listed on U.S. stock exchanges - including major electronics companies which are among the largest end-buyers of some of these minerals would have to disclose the origin of their supplies to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. For those minerals coming from Congo or neighboring countries, companies would need to disclose the precise mine of origin.

On the website, you can learn more about the life of a Congolese miner and the supply chain of Congo's conflict minerals. You can also take the Conflict Minerals Pledge to:

1.    contact the largest makers of cell phones, portable music players, digital cameras, PC’s, and video games, and urge them to sign the pledge;
2.    commit to only purchasing electronics from firms that have taken and are abiding by the conflict minerals pledge; and
3.    educate fellow consumers and activists about the crisis in Congo, the role of conflict minerals, and how they can be a part of the solution.

Or you can make a video to help spread the word.

Newstracker says that:

According to USGS statistics:

• In 2008, Congo supplied just under 1% of the world’s tin.

• Australia, Brazil and Canada supply the lion’s share of the world’s tantalum and niobium (aka columbium), which are the minerals extracted from coltan.  Congo’s contribution is so small, it is lumped with “other countries” at the bottom of the “World Mine Production, Reserves, and Reserve Base” lists. (However, according to “Enough!,” the figure may be as high as 30% due to a halt in Australian production)

• Congo is lumped with “other countries” for tungsten mining. China dominates the global market with ample reserves.

Still, any amount that is funding the horrors in Congo are enough to take action.

MobileActive.org says:

The report, "Can You Hear Congo Now? Cell Phones, Conflict Minerals, and the Worst Sexual Violence in the World," details how "conflict minerals" that are mined in the war-torn DRC are sold by rebel groups to purchase arms.  "The conflict in eastern DRC - the deadliest since World War II - is fuelled in significant part by a multi-million-dollar trade in minerals," the report states.

Hat tip to Jeff McIntire-Strasburg at Sustainablog for posting about the campaign.