Calls to Ban ‘Conflict Gold’ Ignore Reality on the Ground

New UN investigative report may fuel international efforts to ban DRC minerals

(Washington, D.C. – December 9, 2009) The United Nations just held a press conference on a new investigative report examining how mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo is helping fuel a bloody war that has made the eastern DRC the deadliest place on earth since World War II. The seriousness of the conflict associated with mining in eastern Congo cannot be overstated and deserves the attention of the UN and international media. The report by the UN’s group of experts will raise awareness of the ills of conflict gold and help educate the world about the plight of men, women and children surviving by artisanal and small-scale mining in the eastern provinces of the DRC.

“We applaud the UN investigators for completing such an exhaustive survey on the trade routes for minerals being mined in the conflict-ravaged provinces of the East,” said Assheton Carter, vice-president for Pact, an international NGO that works in the DRC on mining and conflict issues. “But artisanal, or small-scale, mining makes up roughly 90 percent of the mineral exports of the DRC – supporting 18 percent of the population directly or indirectly. A call for a blanket ban on minerals sourced to the DRC may make consumers feel better, but disregards the reality that small scale mining provides a means for survival for millions.”

It is estimated that there are two million daily laborers, including women, children, youth and men, and more than one million workers in the diamond mines of Kasai alone. These diggers come from all walks of life: demobilized or acting soldiers, teachers supplementing their monthly wages, students making money for their tuition fees during the holiday breaks, women who have been widowed as a result of war or HIV/AIDS, orphaned children with no economic alternatives, single parents trying to earn enough to send their children to school, and those who have been raised in the mines by their fathers and forefathers for generations. Outright bans on mineral exports from DRC will have devastating effects on these communities. What is needed is a more international attention and commitment toward improving the working conditions of these people while helping. We need to build a system where these groups have access to a more equitable and sustainable supply chain that recognizes them as integral components.

“These people have been invisible to development agencies and international public donors. More money from large, foreign mining companies has gone toward improving the practices and well being of small-scale miners than public donor fund,” said Carter. “Artisanal miners must be viewed as a worthy recipient of humanitarian and development aid for there to be a lasting solution. Rather than abandon the Congolese people, we believe decision-makers and newsmakers should better understand efforts already underway to help enforce government agency regulations and encourage legitimate businesses that certify and trace sources of responsibly mines precious metals and gems.”


Since 2005, Pact (www.pactworld.org) has been on the ground in the DRC working with small scale mining communities, government agencies and business in the copper belt and cobalt mines of southern Katanga Province to the gold fields of the Ituri District in the east. Pact has offices in 24 countries with programs in 59 worldwide. Our mission is to build empowered communities, effective governments, and responsible private institutions that give people an opportunity for a better life.