USA/AFRICA:'Conflict minerals' Finance Gang Rape in Africa

What does the financial reform package recently signed into law in the US have to do with preventing mass rape in Africa? Quite a lot, it seems, but one has to search deeply within the 2,300-page document to find Section 1502, which focuses on "conflict minerals". Conflict minerals help finance fighting and sexual violence on an unprecedented scale in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The US Congress and President Obama have shown great leadership by including this amendment in the final law. It is now time for Europe's leaders to step up to the plate, as a sign of universal resolve to protect the most vulnerable.

More than 200,000 rapes have been reported since war began in the Democratic Republic of the Congo more than a decade ago. The eastern part of the country has been labelled the rape capital of the world. Control of Congo's natural resources and minerals has always been contested, and these vast riches have fuelled the country's conflicts. They have helped enrich militant groups, who have employed sexual violence as a tactic of war. One such resource, coltan, is so widely used in mobile phones that it has been said that we are all carrying a piece of the Congo in our pockets. But conflict minerals cannot be allowed to continue fuelling conflict and the consequent sexual violence. Although it is complicated to track conflict minerals, this cannot become an excuse for not trying. After all, neither American nor European consumers want their MP3 players and mobile phones to be funding gang rape in Africa.

The newly adopted US financial reform law stipulates that any company doing business that involves minerals must disclose annually whether conflict materials originating in the DRC or an adjoining country were used in the process. This applies not only to electronics companies, but to all publicly traded US firms that use gold, cassiterite, tungsten or coltan in their products. Companies are required to exercise due diligence on the source and chain of custody of these materials, and measures to ensure oversight shall include an independent audit of the report.

Within 180 days, US secretary of state Hillary Clinton and USAID chief Rajiv Shah have to submit to the US Congress a strategy to address the linkages between human rights abuses, armed groups, mining of conflict minerals and commercial products. This strategy is expected to include a plan to promote peace and security in the DRC as well as adjoining countries. It is also expected to comprise efforts to develop stronger governance and economic institutions that can facilitate and improve transparency in the cross-border trade involving the natural resources of the DRC. In this way, these resources can finally be used for the betterment of the people of Congo.

Furthermore, Clinton is expected, in accordance with the recommendation of the UN group of experts on the DRC, to submit a "conflict minerals map" to Congress. This map must clearly show mineral-rich zones, trade routes and areas under the control of armed groups in the DRC and adjoining countries, and will be made public. This is a very important initiative, which I welcome as the UN special representative on sexual violence in conflict. It indicates a firm resolve and commitment to tackle the causes of the conflict at its roots.

Clinton must report back to Congress before Christmas. In the meantime, I urge European legislators and governments to follow the lead of the Obama administration and the US Congress and work to pass a comprehensive package pertaining to the trade in conflict minerals.

This issue touches us all directly in terms of our daily lives and conveniences, and as such there is no place to hide from our collective responsibility. And neither is there any time to lose, when the lives of so many are at stake, and the bodies of women and girls continue to be used as fodder in a war fuelled by mineral resources.