Big Conflict In The Democratic Republic Of The Congo

Over a period from 1960-1965, the first Republic of the Congo experienced a period of serious crisis. There was a terrible war for power that displayed senseless violence and the desperation to rule. There were many internal conflicts among the people. The country eventually gained independence from Belgium. For many countries this would be a time for celebration. Unfortunately for the people of the Congo this became a time to forget. Almost immediately after independence and the general elections, the country went into civil war. Major developed cities like Katanga and Kasai wanted to be independent from the Lumumba government. Different factions started to fight the government and Katanga and Kasai tried to secede from the rest

The worlds copper needs can easily be met from other mining company’s and locations around the world that are safer and more practical. The mine would most often than not destroy the worlds most valuable salmon habitat and kill a ton of fisherman’s jobs. Fisherman can take up to 50% of the pacific salmon

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is one of the largest African countries located in central Africa. Congo is a country that has grown out of a history of Belgian colonisation. Congo also has a long history of an unstable government with a lot of problems with internal corruption. Being a land rich on natural resources with a poor government, Congo has been the perfect target for foreign exploitation of the lands resources. There is a high demand for cobalt from first world countries and the demand keeps rising every year. The current battery technology enables big technology companies to sell small handheld technological devices. Congo is one of the worlds leading supplier of cobalt. Almost half of the worlds cobalt was mined there. This cobalt can be found in any rechargeable battery such as the battery of a laptop or a smartphone. A cobalt rich battery has enabled us to have phones small enough to can fit in our pockets. These litihium-ion batteries can contain up to 10 grams of refined cobalt. Refined cobalt is the most expensive element in these batteries. Today, several Chinese companies are buying cheap cobalt from Congolese miners who working under dangerous conditions. The Congolese people are poor and desperate enough to do the hard and dangerous work. Families are forced involve their children in the mining work to be able to survive. The work pays less than minimum wage. The foreign mining business in Congo has caused Congolese people to sacrifice their

In chapter three of Extracted, the author one of those minerals considered as conflict-minerals, gold. Throughout this chapter, the author did not use the term conflict-minerals. He calls them precious metals or metal commodities. The author talks about how obtaining these minerals by waging war on countries that had them created a complex society. For example, the British Empire was built on gold, the Persian Empire, and may more.

These minerals are most commonly known as conflict minerals because many believe the trade for these minerals is funding the third world war. Most of the technology we can’t live without is funding a country that is tearing itself apart with war. In the Congo, women and young girls are being sexually traded for weapons, everyone is working hours longer than any of us have ever known, and these people are not being paid well enough for their work. All of these issues and more are being explained by many people across the country.

Mining companies haven’t improved the conditions of these communities rather, they’ve mistreated and abused their power. Something’s that attribute to mining is displacement of communities, poor work conditions, mining induces violence and conflict. Therefore, turning a blind to these issues is an easy way to disregard the fact that Canadian policies are false and

That is exactly what Glancore is doing to the Zambian people. Glencore is not allowing them to have fresh water drink or fresh air to breath. The chemicals from their product is contaminating their land and making life ever more than unsafe. Glencore’s response to the pollution that they have created is that if they spend all of their money on anti-pollution aid then they won’t have any money to spend on making copper. Because of this kind of irresponsibility, in 2005 the acid spills from Zambia contaminated drinking water in a nearby township. In 2008 a similar accident occurred sending several residents to the hospital. There were stages in the towns where people were turn on their taps and blue water came running out. This is because Glencore was pumping sulfuric acid into the top soil and the water supply. Along with the contaminated water and soil, the air is very toxic as well. The production of copper also emits high volumes of sulfuric dioxide and dust. This can create digestive problems and create acid rain that destroys

Reducing inequality determines the capability of the state to manage resources and conflicts. The government can organise geographic distribution of income. This measure ensures the balance distribution of wealth across regions and helps reduce inequality. It also answers the challenge for balancing the growth between minerals sector and non-mineral sector. Moreover, this tool assists the local government and community to take advantage from resource revenues (Ross 2007). By doing so, the government is not only reducing inequality, but also the risk of

Between 1885 and 1908, Belgium’s Leopold II ruled Congo, a region in central Africa, as his personal colony, exploiting the resources and inhabitants for his own gain. Leopold allowed and encouraged Europeans and other Westerners to enter Congo and set up companies whose primary purpose was to gather rubber, which was abundant but difficult to get to in the Congo, using the Congolese as the laborers for the Europeans. Rubber gathering in Congo brutally exploited the inhabitants of the Congo, while at the same time robbed Congo of wealth, as the rubber was “sold” to the Europeans at prices far below what the rubber was actually worth. Only when others, specifically the British and the Americans, revealed the horrible conditions of the

In short form, Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act mandates disclosure of conflict minerals originated in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) and due diligence in sourcing those conflict minerals. Conflict minerals include gold, tantalum, tin, and tungsten, which are used in many popular consumer products used and manufactured throughout the globe. The use of conflict minerals is a growing concern for consumers due to the fact that in the DRC where these minerals can be mined cheaply, an alarmingly high amount of human rights violations are committed by Congolese warlords and

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is the eleventh largest country in the world and has over $29 trillion in unexploited minerals and natural resources (News about Congo). Given this fact, how is it that the DRC ranks 172 in economic freedom? The simple answer is the country is afflicted with inadequate security, shoddy governance, and a long-lasting humanitarian crisis. It is imperative that the United States (U.S.) understands the framework surrounding the operational environment, strategic implications, and how they can use its instruments of national power as a strategy to affect the DRC. Social redistribution is a method that will assist in achieving U.S. strategic goals due to the ineptness and limited capacity

Similarly, mankind mining of the same minerals is found to be unprecedented. Man digs, drills, crushes, extracts, and processes minerals based on his needs (Bardi,

The issue of asteroid mining used to seem out-of-this-world metaphorically and literally, but today, the issue is slowly becoming reality. As technology and research progress, the pros and cons of asteroid mining have become more apparent. One issue is the way minerals and metals from asteroids will be treated on the market because first, a company or industry must “claim” an asteroid as theirs for mining. Therefore the questions start appearing, is that ethical, moral, legal? By looking at the gasoline extraction industry and comparing it to the asteroid mining industry, hopefully it will give humanity a glimpse of what could happen if asteroid mining ensues.

This IMF project was to help 16 countries in sub-Saharan Africa that produce and deal in diamonds, gold, and precious minerals to strengthen their defenses against money laundering, smuggling, and terrorist financing.

There is a difference between a country ensuring that it enjoys the benefits of its own natural resources and a country driving away foreign investment. In most cases, foreign mining companies are not opposed to increasing the stake of the local population. As part