Coltan from the Democratic Republic of the Congo Abstract

Throughout the world there are many resources that are being mismanaged. One resource is a mineral called Columbite -Tantalite (Coltan), which about every 6 in 10 people in America use on a daily basis and have no idea. Coltan is a mineral that is in many of our electronic devices, such as cell phones, laptops, cameras, video games and many more. The US purchases Coltan from many different countries who have this natural resource and are mining it legally. However, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is one place where we purchase Coltan from where it is illegally mined. The rebel forces in the DRC are fighting over the country’s natural resources and causing pain and suffering throughout the entire country. These rebels are forcing the young children and men, in the villages they invade, to mine for Coltan in some of the worst working conditions, brutally maiming those in the village, raping and killing thousands of Congolese people. All of this over a little mineral that is in such high demand in developed countries for our electronic devices. So as a result of purchasing these electronic devices, we are fueling the war in the Congo and enabling the rebels to continue invading villages and committing these atrocities.
There have been two bills introduced into Congress, but nothing has been done about either bill. Both of these bills state that the importation of products which contain Columbite-Tantalite from the Democratic Republic of the Congo need to be prohibited. Both bills have been introduced because the illegal mining of Coltan is causing pain and suffering throughout the Congo and over 5 million are dead due to this war over the resources. With the high demand of electronic devices, in developed countries, the rebel forces will continue to mistreat the Congolese people and their country’s natural resources, until something is done to stop them. There needs to be some kind of label on devices stating that this device is “conflict-free” so we are not supporting the rebels and the horrible things they are doing in the Congo.