Beyond conflict minerals Discourses, policies and realities in the Democratic Republic of Congo Dr. Sara Geenen 28 November 2014

2 OUTLINE 1.Conflict minerals 1. Discourse 2. Contextualization 3. Policies 2.Beyond conflict minerals

Conflict minerals 3 Discourse

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Autesserre, S. (2012) “Dangerous Tales: Dominant Narratives on the Congo and their Unintended Consequences”, African Affairs, 111 (443): 202–222.  Argument she makes?  Exclusive focus on 3 main narratives has worsened the situation because other issues remained unaddressed and focus has even exacerbated these 3 problems 1. Illegal exploitation of mineral resources as cause of violence 2. Sexual abuse and rape as main consequence and weapon of war 3. Reconstruction of state authority as main solution 5 Discourse

Nuance 1. minerals did not cause the conflict  Historical: colonialism + neopatrimonialism + dictatorship  Weak institutions, weak security apparatus  Political : multipartyism, Mobutu’s strategy was to divide and rule  Socio-economic marginalisation, no opportunities for young people  Ethnic: issue of citizenship for migrants from Rwanda and Burundi  Ethnicity as a mobilizing factor  Localized conflicts over resources, land and power  Spill-over from Rwandan genocide 6 Contextualization

7 Plunder of mineral resources Financed war efforts Control over mineral resources became an incentive to continue fighting for some groups Contextualization Nuance 2. changing role of minerals

8 Contextualization Nuance 2. changing role of minerals

Nuance 3. mineral resources and predation: history 9 Contextualization

Nuance 4. illegal taxation part of broader governance pattern IPIS report : total of 800 mines visited Involvement of armed groups in about 200 Involvement of national army in about 200 What is ‘involvement’? Degree of violence and coercion? Illegal taxation in educational sector/ health sector/ trade etc. 10 Contextualization

Nuance 5. Pockets of violence Mapping by Christoph Vogel 11 Contextualization

12 Nuance 6. Importance of Congo’s minerals for world supply Claim in advocacy campaigns: 80% of global coltan reserves in DRC => reality only about 10% Strategic importance only for cobalt and industrial diamonds CobaltShare in global production Diamonds (industrial) Share in global production DRC38%DRC28% Canada13%Australia25% Zambia12%Russia20% Russia10%South Africa12% Cuba6%Botswana10% Contextualization

Nuance 1. minerals did not cause the conflict Nuance 2. changing role of minerals Nuance 3. minerals and predation part of longer historical pattern Nuance 4. illegal taxation part of broader governance pattern Nuance 5. pockets of violence Nuance 6. importance of Congo’s minerals for world supply 13 Contextualization

Due diligence: acknowledge and disclose where minerals come from (consumers/ companies) Traceability: track down minerals through entire supply chain Certification: label products and/or producers according to certain standards 14 Production (mines) Local traders (mines) Intermediary traders (national trade hubs) Master traders (regional trade hubs) SmeltersJewellersConsumers Policies

Dodd-Frank legislation, USA Section 1502: a disclosure and due diligence requirement that calls on companies to determine whether their products contain conflict minerals – by carrying out supply chain due diligence – and to report this to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Mandatory for American companies to disclose information No sanctioning if they are found to buy conflict minerals 15 Policies

Voluntary guidelines For companies, smelters, refiners,… How to perform due diligence Depends on traceability and certification… 16 Policies

‘International Tin Research Institute initiative’ (iTSCi) By tin industry Bar-coded tags with unique reference numbers Mine tag and trader tag to be added at first 2 points in supply chain: extraction and local processing, information kept in database 17 Policies

‘Solutions for Hope’ project By Motorola and AVX ‘Conflict-free tin initiative’ By Dutch foreign ministry, Philips, Motorola Closed pipelines and a defined set of key suppliers 18 Policies

Opportunities Transparency and traceability Prevent de facto embargo Community-based interventions Challenges Scaling up Accessibility of sites and feasibility Political will and capacity Risks Exclusion of many (vulnerable) actors New rent seeking opportunities 19 Policies

De facto embargo as from 2011 (Dodd-Frank + governmental ban) caused Unemployment Difficulties in health, education Shortages of foreign currency/ devaluation of local currency Increased smuggling and further ‘informalization’ of gold mining and trade (latest report UN Group of Experts ) 20 Beyond conflict minerals

Gold: low volume/ high value More than 98% estimated to be smuggled out 21 Kampala Bujumbura South Kivu official production South Kivu real production (est) Below 100 kg/ year Over 4800 kg/ year Beyond conflict minerals

22 In order to understand impact of such policies, need to better understand local realities… HISTORY Artisanal gold mining and trade since 1970s Economic crisis, failing state, weak institutions Artisanal mining and trade sustained local/ regional economy/ individual livelihoods Beyond conflict minerals

LEGAL FRAMEWORK No law enforcement What is legal/illegal? No artisanal mining zones ‘Illegal’ taxation practices part of everyday governance patterns 23 Beyond conflict minerals

24 PRACTICES AND NORMS: a few examples Teamwork and output sharing Credit and debt relations between miners and traders Beyond conflict minerals

25 Beyond conflict minerals

Mining shaft Miners and shaft managers Loutra Processing in different phases Local trade Small and intermediary traders Regional trade Master traders and export houses (comptoirs) Beyond conflict minerals

27 Beyond conflict minerals

Impact of certification? Risks… Pressure on social relations E.g. ‘informal credit and debt system’ Barriers of entry for small miners and traders, exclusion of intermediaries E.g. cooperatives E.g. loutra => crushing mill 28 Beyond conflict minerals

Conclusion Discourses : need to be contextualized (6 nuances) Policies : well-intended, but implemented without due attention for potential risks and negative impacts Realities : existing practices and norms may clash with legislation, guidelines and rules imposed ‘top- down’