tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1209670742820403516.post5601066875341226103..comments2024-02-24T06:10:42.255-08:00Comments on Congo Siasa: Is the focus on conflict minerals justified?Jason Stearnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11454449854081540397noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1209670742820403516.post-90325498876149464162011-05-23T05:10:40.597-07:002011-05-23T05:10:40.597-07:00I leave early July, unfortunately. BTW, I am stayi...I leave early July, unfortunately. BTW, I am staying with the Maheshe family, they remember you fondly & say Hi.David Aronsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09530153464205125811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1209670742820403516.post-3269064279568180212011-05-21T11:11:07.126-07:002011-05-21T11:11:07.126-07:00@TIA - We absolutely have to address the livelihoo...@TIA - We absolutely have to address the livelihoods question, and I think that some advocacy groups put the cart before the horse in this one: First, we should have tried to set up certification/auditing/oversight schemes THEN work on legislating due diligence. I should point out, however, that electronics companies were initially probably scaremongering, as well, as there is nothing in Dodd-Frank that says their supply chains have to be 100% conflict free or even tagged & traced (although some advocacy groups were pushing for that) . <br /><br />As for the impact on livelihoods - I am sure it is happening (although I am a bit concerned that almost all the press on this is being pushed by the industry). Difficult to say how many people have lost their jobs. I have seen estimates for diggers in Bisie as low as 2,000 (other estimates for 10,000), which makes it hard for me to believe that 300,000 diggers are out of a job. But there has certainly been a huge impact that could have been mitigated. <br /><br />@David & TIA: Some of the things we hoped would happen are beginning to materialize: MSC is looking at a deal that would give them rights to SAKIMA mines in the Kivus, which means most of the big tin mines. They would invest $10 million in tagging and tracing. This means that fears of pushing the trade out to India/China would probably not be justified, although it is of course far to soon to tell. Also, this weird investment by the biggest Indian jeweler in gold also suggests that people may be investing in certification in that much messier supply chain, as well. <br /><br />On the downside, while FARDC units are slowly apparently withdrawing from Bisie and Omate, they remain elsewhere (like Misisi). In addition, Bosco's faction has probably benefited the most of the export bans, as he runs a lot of the smuggling rings across the lake and Ugandan border. So his power has increased. <br /><br />David - I hope to see you in Bukavu, I'll be there in early July. Will you still be around?Jason Stearnshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11454449854081540397noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1209670742820403516.post-56546654314371818292011-05-21T09:07:57.186-07:002011-05-21T09:07:57.186-07:00I'm not a big fan of long back-and-forths, so ...I'm not a big fan of long back-and-forths, so let me just make this one offer. I'm in Bukavu now, and will be for the next six weeks. What developments on the ground would tend to persuade or dissuade you of the wisdom of the conflict minerals legislation?David Aronsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09530153464205125811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1209670742820403516.post-67215536022553953692011-05-19T13:16:21.109-07:002011-05-19T13:16:21.109-07:00Hey, Jason, I thought the FP piece was excellent ...Hey, Jason, I thought the FP piece was excellent and was glad to see the statement backed by more than just a token civil society group or two. One thing I want to push you on: what about the livelihoods question? Is it better for those low-income miners to be completely out of work (which is what seems to be happening now) than to be working in horrible conditions for horrible people? I'm not sure, but I do think we have to address it. PACT is reporting 300K out of work, with impacts on up to 1.5 million. That's a significant problem, could drive young miners to join violent groups, and is likely to be more destabilizing than not.texasinafricahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05098411373776559793noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1209670742820403516.post-1922282426676818392011-05-17T11:37:57.747-07:002011-05-17T11:37:57.747-07:00@ David: Thanks for this. I don't think the st...@ David: Thanks for this. I don't think the steps should be symbolic. Simple things, such as joint DRC-international oversight mechanisms composed of independent experts can be set up in 2-3 months and have real impact. Certification can also be begun now, especially in places like Bisie, but it will inevitably take a lot of time to implement on a wide basis. <br /><br />Yes, there is a risk that it can disproportionately impact low-income miners. But, then again, the current racketeering and profiteering from the mining by armed groups and politicians is also taking its toll on low-income communities. So I think we do need to act, but in an intelligent way, understanding the risks.Jason Stearnshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11454449854081540397noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1209670742820403516.post-57239698498122321702011-05-17T07:16:32.295-07:002011-05-17T07:16:32.295-07:00Thanks Jason, much appreciated. I am familiar with...Thanks Jason, much appreciated. I am familiar with some of Vlassenroot's work so will pursue it further, cheers for the UN info. <br />Currently reading a De Waal piece on the political marketplace within patronage systems, fascinating stuff.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1209670742820403516.post-16037030877392941672011-05-17T06:51:06.648-07:002011-05-17T06:51:06.648-07:00But if, as you've reiterated several times, th...But if, as you've reiterated several times, this focus on conflict minerals would only be effective in an ideal world, how much of a focus should we give them in the real world? <br />In this world, the idea that we'd be able to set up a mechanism capable of providing real-time information on the mineral trade in eastern Congo seems ambitious, to put it mildly. The idea that we could then incorporate the perspectives of the relevant stakeholders—including, inter alia, the Congolese government, Fortune 500 companies, international NGOs, Malaysian smelters, and Congolese miners’ associations—to make real-time decisions about which packets of minerals are "conflict"-tainted or not seems even less realistic.<br />It also seems unlikely that Western multinationals would be willing to fund an open-ended commitment to sort out good from bad in eastern Congo, when the minerals they need are readily available from safe-harbor countries like Brazil or Australia. And even if we could do all of these things, how would we stop Congolese war-lords and Chinese entrepreneurs from trading? And how would we stop gold—likely the most valuable commodity—from flowing freely into the international markets?<br />Your answer seems to be that it’s not the actual program, once implemented, that will be effective, but the threat of instituting one. This threat may pressure the commercants to pressure the central government to demilitarize the mining zones. But how long will it take before the commercants realize the threat is empty? And in any case, how much pressure can the commercants bring on the central government? They are hardly major actors on the national scene. <br />The entire argument for focusing on conflict minerals seems to me to rest on a set of increasingly dubious suppositions about how powerful people will react. On the other hand, it seems quite likely to me that the effort will cause some disruptions and temporary break downs in the trade—disruptions that will disproportionately affect the least powerful: the miners who depend on the dollar or two they make every day to feed their families.David Aronsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09530153464205125811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1209670742820403516.post-26701189737331035292011-05-17T06:48:05.493-07:002011-05-17T06:48:05.493-07:00@Mike: Thanks. The best source on current links be...@Mike: Thanks. The best source on current links between armed groups & minerals are probably the UN group of experts reports (just google UN 1533). On past links, there has been a lot written on coltan and armed groups, some on the Annuaire des Grands Lacs (has a website) volumes. Also check out Koen Vlassenroot's work.Jason Stearnshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11454449854081540397noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1209670742820403516.post-25810731315118396092011-05-17T06:45:36.783-07:002011-05-17T06:45:36.783-07:00@ Rich - spoken like a true statistician. No, I am...@ Rich - spoken like a true statistician. No, I am not aware of a micor-level comparison of the different situations - there are of course many well-known differences between the provinces, historical, social and geographical.Jason Stearnshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11454449854081540397noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1209670742820403516.post-28495822973319851452011-05-17T02:17:05.048-07:002011-05-17T02:17:05.048-07:00Hi Jason,
Really enjoying your blog, a very relev...Hi Jason,<br /><br />Really enjoying your blog, a very relevant and b.s. free perspective. <br /><br />I am on an MA programme at the University of Sussex in the UK, and am particularly interested in this article as I am currently conducting research for a dissertation on the role of conflict entrepreneurs in the Kivus. As this article points out, it can be all to easy to overly associate the driving force of this conflict on "greedy warlords", a mistake it would be unhelpful for researchers just starting out to continue promoting.<br /><br />If you (or your knowledgeable readers) have any relevant sources of information that may point to a more accurate representation of the current role of conflict entrepreneurs within the conflict, I would greatly appreciate hearing about it.<br /><br />Cheers for the dedication to truth,<br />Mike Houghton<br /><br />m.houghton@sussex.ac.uk<br />mikeyhoughton@hotmail.comAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1209670742820403516.post-75146559534556471462011-05-16T16:55:16.815-07:002011-05-16T16:55:16.815-07:00Any one thought about comparing artisanal exploita...Any one thought about comparing artisanal exploitation of minerals in the Great Kivu to that of diamond in the Kasai or cobalt and many other related minerals in Katanga? Such study can help further identify something that is unique to east Congo tragedy.Richhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01301460106025447019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1209670742820403516.post-44775234558304322682011-05-16T16:49:54.302-07:002011-05-16T16:49:54.302-07:00Thanks Jason, once again you've taken words fr...Thanks Jason, once again you've taken words from my mounth! It could not be said any better.<br />Asante sana Mzee.Richhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01301460106025447019noreply@blogger.com