Does your smartphone fund conflict in the DRC?
Governments and analysts disagree on how to address the use and mining of conflict minerals.
Armed groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo make millions each year from illicit mining of “conflict minerals” used in cell phones and computers.
Conflict mineral mining generates between $300 million and $1.4 billion per year, and thousands of Congolese families live off the industry.
The US government attempted to curb the purchase of conflict minerals from the DRC by passing the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act, which included a provision requiring public companies to report buying material with minerals that are not “conflict-free.”
However, critics argue that the legislation has allegedly deprived one to two million already impoverished people of their livelihood.
In this episode, journalist and foreign policy analyst Mvemba Dizolele and Sasha Lezhnev, a policy consultant with the Enough Project, join The Stream to discuss conflict minerals from the DRC.
What do you think? How should governments, companies, and consumers respond to the conflict mineral trade? Send us your thoughts and comments on Facebook or Twitter using hashtag #AJStream.
These are some of the social media elements in this episode of The Stream: