Coltan, War, and Money: Exploring Corporate Harm Creation in the Democratic Republic of Congo

“Neither the life of an individual nor the history of a society can be understood without understanding both,” (Mills, 1959). The epistemology presented by C. Wright Mills is understood as a method of equating one’s own personal history and background with the history and context of the society the person is living in. By looking beyond our immediate selves we can better understand our experiences in a broader sense. The sociological imagination exists when we relate the both the biography and the history of ourselves with the world as a whole. This integration offers a valuable perspective on individuals and the historical narrative which inevitably shapes all of humanity. The Democratic Republic of Congo is a blatant example of a country whose historical and institutional context should be recognized before examining the central issues of mineral extraction and its ramifications. Christopher Mullins and Dawn Rothe, in their article “Gold, diamonds and blood: International state-corporate crime in the Democratic Republic of the Congo” (2008), chronicle the nation’s history of conflict and delve into the realm of transnational corporations and the destructive mining industry within the African nation. Using the notion of the sociological imagination in this capacity, we are able to examine the issues mobilized by corporate operations within the DRC by acknowledging the economic, political, and historical forces which have paved the way for corporate transgressions.

Natural resources with high value such as gold, silver, diamonds, copper and coltan have been extracted from the DRC dating back to the 1870s with Belgium’s involvement in the region. Access to the high concentrations of these lucrative minerals has long caused conflict in DRC with neighbouring nations and transnational corporations exploiting the territory, specifically the Northern Ituri region. The more recent civil war of 1998 spurred political and economic chaos in the region which is still being felt and is continuously being utilized and exploited by transnational corporations. The fall of legitimate governmental agencies in DRC has spawned a district controlled and run by military powers.  Various “transnationals, undeterred by the wanton violence and gross violations of international law and human rights, enter the Congolese jungles to negotiate with warlords over access to the minerals.” (82). Although licensing for mineral extraction in the Ituri region was given to Anglogold Ashanti Ltd., the contracts are moot since the real authoritative voice of Ituri are the militia powers. It is these individuals who negotiate with transnational corporations and either grant or deny access to the mineral rich territories. Lack of governmental weight in the mineral mining industry in the DRC is problematic and difficult to regulate. The United Nations has named numerous nations whose corporations are suspected to have engaged in problematic transactions with militia warlords, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States included.

As mentioned previously, both the first and second Congolese wars need to be recognized to comprehend the institutional mechanisms which allow the expropriation of minerals in the DRC. The conflict in DRC demonstrates how the eradication of colonial empires can predispose nations to corrupt takeovers by the elite or military powers. Social chaos ensues and “ethnic tensions undergird broader economic and political competitions between groups combine to give rise to active paramilitary groups struggling for supremacy in an essentially uncontrolled, and often uncontrollable environment,” (93). Although the cause and extent of the civil wars is beyond the scope of this work, it is important to grasp a general understanding of the institutional decline of DRC. When the DRC was finally granted independence from Belgian rule in the 1960’s the nation experienced discord when an indigenous government was situated and furthered when a coup deposited power to Mobutu Sese Seko. Seko ruled for 25 years and was one of the most corrupt leaders of the DRC, transferring the country’s vast wealth into his own personal capital. Ethnic tensions and the Rwandan genocide played a role in the overthrow of Seko in 1996. These national disparities enabled neighbouring countries Rwanda and Uganda to invade the DRC ultimately battling for control of the lucrative territory of the DRC.  Both nations exploited the region using the most of the profits accumulated from the mining industry to fund their respective militias.

            In addition to the obvious lucrative earnings Uganda and Rwanda enjoyed through the expropriation and sale of the valuable minerals from the DRC, they also received supplementary fiscal assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), a global financial organization as a result. For example, “In 1995, 3.09 tons of gold were exported from Uganda totalling US$23 million, while only 0.0015 tons were produced within the legal borders of the state,” with similar patterns in coltan, coffee and timber exports (91). Despite the discrepancy in export and production values, the IMF recognized the increase in exports as a progressive surge in the Ugandan economy thus increasing its evaluation of Uganda’s ability to repay IMF loans. Both Uganda and Rwanda were then granted additional debt relief packages and given increased lines of credit. A cycle ensues as these loans are not assisting the greater populace, but rather get cemented within the elite and usually corrupt authorities’ possession. The loans either directly or indirectly get funnelled back into the imposing nations’ militias furthering the expropriation of the profitable minerals.

As stated previously, the removal of imperial powers creates an atmosphere which allows economic and social chaos to run rampant. Numerous records show that since the ejection of Belgian rule from the DRC the unstable country and its civilians have experienced massacres, genocide and forced slavery into various industries. The groups who fight over the territory of the mines have persisted in control through diverse mechanisms such as maintaining forced labour practices and the use of extortion and terror tactics. Those in command are certainly not concerned with international mining operation guidelines allowing crimes against humanity to transpire without hesitation. The role of transnational corporations in transactions with the commanding warlords seems to illustrate complicity in the human rights violations creating a need for sanctions. Through the globalized economy, transnationals are exploring countries to conduct business in which tend to have weak judicial systems, allowing for corporate malfeasance (among other things) to exist without penalty. The need for an international body to govern such actions is present and may possibly be the only realistic solution to the issue of corporations dealing with illegitimate authoritative sources on the ground in the DRC.

Currently, various guidelines are in place to ensure corporations abide by principles to protect against human rights violations. For example, in 2003, the United Nations approved a set of standards titled “The Norms on the Responsibilities of Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises with Regard to Human Rights” which recognizes the significance of corporations’ behaviour with regards to human rights. “This compact is a reminder to transnationals that, even though they are not state actors, they are citizens of the international order and are obliged to follow all principles established in the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, including those related to forced labour, bribery, unlawful extraction of resources and the need to compensate workers fairly,” (86). Another illustration is the “Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development” (OECD) which was signed in 1960. The first part outlines standards expected from corporations in eliminating forced labour practices. This demand is extensively accepted, however in states such as the DRC, warlords who are in power in certain regions enslave locals and force them to work in mining with general immunity since the state has difficulties in enforcing provisions like the OECD.  The second element requires that corporations do not engage in bribery; however it is noted that in the DRC, to even begin negotiation into excavating contracts requires dealings with the local warlords. The United Nations has some influence on pressuring corporations to comply with the outlined standards of behaviour however nothing really compels the actors to fulfill the requirements. If a standard is breeched, “the only real course of action is the issuing of a report condemning the behaviour of the companies and calling for them to cease their actions,” (87).

Recognizing the difficulties and limitations in reprimanding corporations that engage in or aid human rights violations in countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo is imperative. The need for innovative and effective methods of disciplining transnational corporations is required along with the recognition of various forces in place which allow these acts to occur without recourse. The DRC lacks a legitimate government with the power to ensure human rights are protected in excavating regions and external mechanisms in place such as the UN standards have very little strength to enforce requirements in these regions. A greater understanding of the history of the nation can aid the endeavour of protecting the country and its citizens from the harms of transactions between corporations and military-controlled regions in the DRC. 

Works Cited:

C. Wright Mills. The Sociological Imagination. New York, Oxford University Press, 1959.

Christopher W. Mullins & Dawn L. Rothe (2008) "Gold, diamonds and blood: International state‐corporate crime in the Democratic Republic of the Congo", Contemporary Justice Review: Issues in Criminal, Social, and Restorative Justice, 11:2, 81-99, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10282580802057678