Mining and Violent Conflict in the DRC

One of the main tenets of the resource curse theory is that areas richly endowed with resources are often political unstable and prone to conflict. Research by Sachs and Warner (2001) empirically demonstrated that states with a high abundance of natural resource exports had abnormally slow economic growth in general, relative to other countries. The study became the basis of a growing recognition of the need to address the problems that natural resource abundance can create in developing societies.

Theory and Empirical Evidence
Collier and Hoeffler (2005) argue that the struggle over natural resources is often the source of conflict within societies. They suggest that violent conflict is normally self-perpetuating, since the income gained from controlling natural resources often fuels and sustains expensive fighting. Such contestation has multiple outcomes. It can undermine a government’s ability to provide services and implement reform, whilst at the same time increasing the burden on state security and healthcare systems. Equally, the political economy of violent conflict damages national economic performance, as resources are diverted from more productive activities.

Evidence supports the premise that natural resource endowments increase the risk of conflict. Bannon and Collier (2003) suggest that in a low-income country where primary commodity exports exceed 25% of GDP face a risk of civil war of 30%. By contrast if primary commodity exports were only 5% of GDP in a similar low income country, then conflict risk is reduced to 6%.

Current Situation in the DRC
Much of the fighting in the DRC has been over the control of the mineral reserves. The impact of conflict goes beyond the immediate effects of the gunfire – millions have died from malnutrition and disease that have resulted from years of instability. The militarisation of mining is prolonging the violence and trauma, after war officially ended in 2002. . The instability within mining regions makes the regulation of the extractive industry extremely difficult.

A Global Witness report in 2009 concluded that the mining industry and the continuing violence in the DRC were inextricably linked. It suggested that:


 * There are a wide range of actors involved in the militarisation of mining, from rebel groups to Congolese national army (FARDC) commanders.
 * Miners are frequently exploited, and their human rights are abused as they are forced to work in dangerous conditions.
 * National and provincial governments struggle to keep track of mining products, and they are often smuggled into neighbouring nations.

Sexual and Gender-Biased Violence
"We are their meat, their animals. We have nothing to say"

Miner from Shabunda, South Kivu. 28 July 2008.

In particular, sexual and gender-biased violence (SGBV) continues to be a problem within the DRC. SGBV has been a significant feature of the conflict – the physical and psychological burden of the fighting has been disproportionately harsh on women and children. A report by the American Journal of Public Health (2011) suggested that a woman is raped almost every second in the DRC. Indeed, a recent Global Witness report suggested that the wealth that armed groups obtain from the extraction and processing of minerals fuels the ongoing violence in the provinces of North and South Kivu. This region of the DRC has been marked by continued small-scale violence since the signing of the peace agreement in 2002. Of course, mining is not the only reason for this, ethnic tensions and acute poverty also drive the violent conflict. Nonetheless, in seeking to exercise control of territory and resources, Margot Wallstrom, U.N. Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, suggests that “sexual violence has become a tactic choice for armed groups, being cheaper, more destructive and easier to get away with than other methods of warfare.”. The trauma of such conflict is largely borne by women and children - the UN described the sexual violence as 'the worst in the world... the sheer numbers, the wholesale brutality, the culture of impunity — it’s appalling'.

=References=