I like to think of myself as an informed citizen, yet I was recently placed in a state of shock when faced with a world crisis. No, I am not referring to the earthquake in Haiti, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, or the conflict between Israel and Palestine. Today I am going beyond the media focus, and shining light on one of the world's most devastating secrets, the brutality in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
With a higher death toll than Afghanistan and Iraq combined, I am deeply disturbed that I can not recall hearing about this crisis on the news. In fact, I am embarrassed to say, that I myself had no idea of the extent until my politics teacher brought it to our attention. Since then, I have researched and read numerous articles to attempt at grasping the injustice occurring over the Atlantic Ocean. I have read and read, and can not help but feel a knot in my stomach when realizing the devastating reality. The amount of corruption and violence that has taken place in the state is impossible to grasp. It is estimated that 5 million people have died of the fighting and the outcomes the fighting has caused(illness and hunger). In addition, the abuse and sexual violence the women(young girls) have faced is unheard of in the Western society. I do not mean to bring emotion into politics, but as this blog entry continues, I challenge you to not feel disgusted and empathetic towards the situation. With Canada's reputation as a peacekeeping country, the validity of the human security agenda is tested and evaluated. Congo is a prime example of an extreme violation of human rights, and the manner in which Canada reacts will unveil its true colors. A further examination of Canada's role within Congo will be given to explore the extent to which Canada's foreign policy on human security agenda has been applied or lack there of. Yet, before analyzing and tackling Canada's human security agenda, a background summary is essential in order to truly understanding the brutality the country has/does currently face.
Background Information on the Republic of Congo
The Democratic Republic of Congo has a history filled with violence and corruption. The current conflict is a result of the ongoing conflicts throughout the years including the Rwandan Genocide, First Congo War, Second Congo War and its after math.
With a higher death toll than Afghanistan and Iraq combined, I am deeply disturbed that I can not recall hearing about this crisis on the news. In fact, I am embarrassed to say, that I myself had no idea of the extent until my politics teacher brought it to our attention. Since then, I have researched and read numerous articles to attempt at grasping the injustice occurring over the Atlantic Ocean. I have read and read, and can not help but feel a knot in my stomach when realizing the devastating reality. The amount of corruption and violence that has taken place in the state is impossible to grasp. It is estimated that 5 million people have died of the fighting and the outcomes the fighting has caused(illness and hunger). In addition, the abuse and sexual violence the women(young girls) have faced is unheard of in the Western society. I do not mean to bring emotion into politics, but as this blog entry continues, I challenge you to not feel disgusted and empathetic towards the situation. With Canada's reputation as a peacekeeping country, the validity of the human security agenda is tested and evaluated. Congo is a prime example of an extreme violation of human rights, and the manner in which Canada reacts will unveil its true colors. A further examination of Canada's role within Congo will be given to explore the extent to which Canada's foreign policy on human security agenda has been applied or lack there of. Yet, before analyzing and tackling Canada's human security agenda, a background summary is essential in order to truly understanding the brutality the country has/does currently face.
Background Information on the Republic of Congo
The Democratic Republic of Congo has a history filled with violence and corruption. The current conflict is a result of the ongoing conflicts throughout the years including the Rwandan Genocide, First Congo War, Second Congo War and its after math.
The Rwandan Genocide occurred in 1994 and is a direct link to the current crisis in the DRC. This genocide was accountable for the deaths of 800 000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus. By 1996, the war and genocide in neighboring Rwanda had spilled over to the DRC (then Zaire), as the Tutsi rebels took control of Rwanda and waves of refugees fled into Hutu camps in the DR Congo. This was followed by a coalition of Rwandan and Ugandan armies invading Zaire under the cover of a small group of Tutsi militia to fight the Hutu militia, overthrow the government of Mobutu, and ultimately control the mineral resources of Zaire. With the expansion of Alliance des Forces Démocratiques pour la Libération du Congo-Zaïre (AFDL), in May 1997, Mobutu fled the country and Kabila marched into Kinshasa, naming himself president and reverting the name of the country to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, thus ending the Frist Congo War.
The end of the First Congo War set the foundation for the Second Congo War(also referred to as African World War and the Great War of Africa) which took place between 1998 and 2003. Like the names suggests, this was the largest war in modern African history, and furthermore the deadliest conflict worldwide since World War II, killing 5.4 million people.
By June 2003 all foreign armies except those of Rwanda had pulled out of Congo. Much of the conflict was focused on gaining control of substantial natural resources in the country, including diamonds, copper, zinc, and coltan. Despite the signing of peace accords in 2003, fighting continues in the east of the country. In eastern Congo, the prevalence of rape and other sexual violence is described as the worst in the world.
With the persistent chaos, it makes one wonder, where are the armed leaders getting all their funding? Upon doing some research, the answers discovered were quite devastating. Turns out, that many of us North Americans have a closer link to the DRC than expected. The DRC is home to many natural ressources, some of them being minerals vital to the functionning of the ever famous blackberrys, ipods, and popular electronics used today. For example, the Congolese armed groups earn approximately $85 million per year from trade in tin. Tin (produced from cassiterite) is used inside cell phone and all electronic products as a solder on circuit boards. And it does'nt stop there. Tantalum (produced from coltan) is used to store electricity in capacitors in iPods, digital cameras, and cell phones. Sixty-five to eighty percent of the world’s tantalum is used in electronic products. Congolese armed groups earn an estimated $8 million per year from trading in tantalum. Other minerals include tungsten which is produced from wolframite and is used to make cell phones or Blackberrys vibrate. Tungsten is a growing source of income for armed groups in Congo, earning approximately $2 million annually. Also, Gold which is used in jewelry and as a component in electronics. Extremely valuable and easy to smuggle, Congolese armed groups are earning between $44 million to $88 million per year from gold.
These minerals have adopted the nick name of "conflict minerals", and the reason behind which is quite obvious. The corruption within the armed forces is clear, yet businesses selfishly continue to fund these armed forces in order to get materials vital to make their products, continue production which ultimately brings in profit. This dilemma may in fact explain why there is such a silence when dealing with the fragile case of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The facts are non arguable and directly in front us, yet around the world people continue to shy away from the conflict. It may be easy for us as to ignore the crisis as it is not present in our country, yet one must place themselves in the shoes of a Congolese civilian and conclude that things can not continue on the same dark path. As Canadians, we hold high pride for our peacekeeping and morally right motives, yet how exactly has Canada involved itself within the DRC and does their plan of action correspond with their human security agenda?
With the persistent chaos, it makes one wonder, where are the armed leaders getting all their funding? Upon doing some research, the answers discovered were quite devastating. Turns out, that many of us North Americans have a closer link to the DRC than expected. The DRC is home to many natural ressources, some of them being minerals vital to the functionning of the ever famous blackberrys, ipods, and popular electronics used today. For example, the Congolese armed groups earn approximately $85 million per year from trade in tin. Tin (produced from cassiterite) is used inside cell phone and all electronic products as a solder on circuit boards. And it does'nt stop there. Tantalum (produced from coltan) is used to store electricity in capacitors in iPods, digital cameras, and cell phones. Sixty-five to eighty percent of the world’s tantalum is used in electronic products. Congolese armed groups earn an estimated $8 million per year from trading in tantalum. Other minerals include tungsten which is produced from wolframite and is used to make cell phones or Blackberrys vibrate. Tungsten is a growing source of income for armed groups in Congo, earning approximately $2 million annually. Also, Gold which is used in jewelry and as a component in electronics. Extremely valuable and easy to smuggle, Congolese armed groups are earning between $44 million to $88 million per year from gold.
These minerals have adopted the nick name of "conflict minerals", and the reason behind which is quite obvious. The corruption within the armed forces is clear, yet businesses selfishly continue to fund these armed forces in order to get materials vital to make their products, continue production which ultimately brings in profit. This dilemma may in fact explain why there is such a silence when dealing with the fragile case of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The facts are non arguable and directly in front us, yet around the world people continue to shy away from the conflict. It may be easy for us as to ignore the crisis as it is not present in our country, yet one must place themselves in the shoes of a Congolese civilian and conclude that things can not continue on the same dark path. As Canadians, we hold high pride for our peacekeeping and morally right motives, yet how exactly has Canada involved itself within the DRC and does their plan of action correspond with their human security agenda?
Canada's Role in the Democratic Republic of Congo
Canada has been active in the DRC for over 30 years, particularly since 1998. The Canadian International Development Agency- CIDA, has planned to focus on two areas of intervention: political and economic governance, and access to primary health care. In 2008-2009,CIDA's disbursements for projects and initiatives in the Democratic Republic of the Congo was worth about $54.23 million. As generous as a contribution this may sound, when compared to Canada's mission in Afghanistan, Canada is estimated to spend about $18.1 billion(approximately $1,500 per Canadian household). More specifically and comparable to the 2008-2009 Congo statistic, Canada spent $1.5 billion on military and $466 million dollars on development aid in 2006 alone. These numbers do not rank any where near each other, which makes one wonder, why is Canada vastly more committed to Afghanistan than it is to the DRC? Is it because Afghanistan is in more need of help? It is needless to say, the state of Afghanistan is disastrous, but Congo's history and current state clearly demonstrate comparable, if not worst circumstances. From a political point of view, one can only begin to dig deeper in order to unveil the true reasons for Canada's commitment/ lack there of in different places around the world.
As mentioned above, the DRC holds many valuable minerals vital for the functioning of many electronics which corporations are dependent of. This may begin to explain Canada's hesitation to take full action in the DRC. This exploits Canada's human security agenda, which values the individual over the state, as Canada proves to have a national security state of mind evident through its course of action. Due to the lack of attention of this current crisis, Canada has proven to be lucky, thus far. Yet, as more individuals begin to realize the true situation, Canada's reputation is put on the line. How will the government reason the violation of human rights occurring in the DRC for the production of a fancy blackberry? It stuns me that they have thus far been successful, yet the days are numbering before the brutality in the DRC finally take the headlines, leaving the entire world in a state of embarrassment and shame.
