BLOG: Consumer Power: Why We Should Demand Conflict-Free Minerals from the DRC

The laptop on which I am typing right now is the cause of great guilt. As much as GAB has posted about the armed conflict and systematic rape in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and as much as I have personally educated myself on the situation, my choice to spend (a lot of) money on this contraption is incongruent with these good intentions.

In February of 2009, I heard Eve Ensler and Dr. Denis Mukwege speak on the crisis in the DRC. Most of you are probably familiar with Eve, the founder of V-Day and author of the Vagina Monologues, but fewer of you have heard of Dr. Denis Mukwege, a gynecologist and founder of one of the only hospitals in the DRC that treats survivors of rape and mutilation. Dr. Mukwege has not only treated tens of thousands of victims, he has a been an eloquent and graceful force to stop rape as a weapon of war in the DRC. After listening to the two impassioned speakers, one white, American, male audience member offered to go to the Congo and “try to help”. Both Eve and Dr. Mukwege encouraged us to find other ways to help, as a non-Congolese person, especially a white one, usually becomes a burden on the community to protect. It is not helpful for untrained, albeit well-meaning, volunteers to hop on a plane to Central Africa.

So how can we help? And what does this all have to do with the Apple Store in Soho?

As someone with some discretionary income for gadgets like a laptop, I have the power to help stop this conflict. The most recent figure states that over 500 women were raped in the span of a few weeks, mostly in the Kivu province in the eastern part of the country. Since we know rape is one of the most under-reported crimes, this number is staggering and gut-wrenching. Why are the rapes so concentrated when the entire country is engaged in a civil war? Because Kivu province is rich in minerals like tantalum, tungsten, and cassiterite. Rape is a crucial tool used to guarantee control of these much sought-after minerals that garner large sums on the international market. By organizing mass rapes, armed forces brutalize and intimidate small towns, terrorizing them into forced submission, and thus guaranteeing access to, and profit from the distribution of, the minerals.

Let's repeat: systematic rape is used as a tool to make money from minerals used to manufacture goods. The UN has clearly documented the sales of these minerals to companies, mostly in the US and China. They are then used in the manufacturing of ubiquitous products such as cell phones, cars, and the laptop I'm typing on right now, which I bought in the sunny, air-conditioned Apple Store in SoHo far away from war, terror, and violence.

A new US law calls on the companies to report annually to the Securities and Exchange Commission if their products use any minerals that were either directly imported from the Democratic Republic of Congo or smuggled through nine neighboring countries and trace the supply chain from the original mine to final production. This way, consumers will be able to knowingly purchase goods that have not been mined at the expense of women's bodies.

Handing your credit card to a hipster genius bar employee may not seem like a radical act, but if consumers insist on purchasing conflict-free goods, the supply will increase, and companies will be forced to purchase minerals from other sources. (Or they will lie about their sources. I'm not so naive I don't see that as a glaring possibility, but here's hoping.) It's not helpful, realistic, sustainable, or, frankly, smart for everyone to relocate to the DRC in an effort to stop the rape and murder occurring there daily. By using what power we do have, however, we can collectively increase the demand for the conflict to stop, and hopefully give the women (and men, and children) of DRC the peace and stability they deserve.