2024-08-29 05:00:04
In the mountains of Masisi, in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the gunfire has fallen silent. Rwanda and its allies, the Congolese rebel group 23 March Movement (M23), control the territory today, especially the Rubaya mining area, but Rwandan soldiers are officially no longer there and Masisi no longer exports ore. Yet almost every day, bikers under the control of armed men load bags of coltan in their luggage and head to the Rwandan border. From this ore, better known as coltan, tantalum can be extracted, an important metal for making portable electronic devices such as smartphones.
The United States was moved by this situation on July 8 and worried about its effect “The illegal trade and exploitation of certain minerals, particularly gold and tantalum in the Great Lakes region through artisanal and semi-industrial mining, continues to play a role in financing conflict”The US State Department did not hesitate to name its allies Rwanda and Uganda as the main recipients of these so-called “blood” minerals. Because they come from conflict areas.
This statement has been issued, designated press release, “Responding to private sector demands” Who wants to see Washington clarify? “Potential risks of using minerals mined, transported or exported from eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Uganda to manufacture products”It builds on the work of the United Nations Group of Experts, its mandate in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), and reports from civil society.
But for US giant Apple and potentially hundreds of other companies, the public stance comes at an inopportune time. The Congolese government has hired two law firms – Amsterdam & Partners in the US and Bourdon & Associés in France – to investigate the mineral supply chain. 3T (tin, tungsten and tantalum) is produced in the Democratic Republic of Congo and illegally exported. Their mission: to determine the legal actions Kinshasa can take against Apple and all potential beneficiaries of this fraud.
‘An open secret’
“With or without the M23’s intervention, some Congolese coltan has been exported to Rwanda. It’s an open secret.”Gregory Mthembu-Salter, a former UN expert investigating illegal mineral extraction, explains Yet the DRC and Rwanda have been using a traceability system called ITSCI (Tin Supply Chain Initiative) for fifteen years that is supposed to eliminate fraud, but the US is careful not to do so.
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