November, 2009

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In a hard-hitting segment last night, 60 Minutes highlighted the role of gold in fueling Congo’s deadly war in which hundreds of thousands of women have been raped and over 5 million people have died.

In addition to highlighting the hidden cost of the gold and other conflict minerals used in our jewelry, cell phones, and electronics, the segment detailed the Central African players and forces involved on the ground.

In a hidden camera encounter with a trader in Uganda, the 60 Minutes crew demonstrated the ease with which conflict minerals can be smuggled and traded.  The episode pointed out that in 2007, Uganda itself produced about $500 worth of gold, but actually exported $75 million, almost all of which came from the conflict zone in Congo.

Correspondent Scott Pelley posed pointed questions to the jewelry industry, which is aware of what is happening in Congo but has yet to set standards to trace and audit their gold. Matt Runci who represents retailers as head of the trade group Jewelers of America and the Responsible Jewelery Council, had this to say:

"There is absolutely no place and no need for debate around the question of whether any illegally sourced mineral ought to be part of the industry supply chain. It should not be.”

Unfortunately the Council has yet to act on Mr. Runci’s words, though it says it is “developing a system for the industry that will, one day, trace gold to its source,” and as Runci adds, “[the Council] stands ready to work with stakeholders and with government to achieve that end.”

When pushed on the issue, Runci reinforced the need for pressure on corporations like Walmart, the largest gold retailer in America, to declare and trace the source of their gold.

Remember blood diamonds? It was a consumer campaign demanding that the diamonds we purchase not finance war, and it was the catalyst for peace in three West African countries (Liberia, Sierra Leone and Angola). We must do the same now for Congo by demanding conflict-free jewelry and electronics.

Join me tomorrow (along with International Rescue Committee’s Brian Sage and Run for Congo Women’s Lisa Shannon) at 4:30 p.m. EST/1:30 p.m PST for an activist call focused on the humanitarian impact of conflict minerals and about what we can all do to help end the sordid trade.

To learn more visit our special conflict minerals page.
Additional interviews and new web extras from the segment are now available on the 60 Minutes website.

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A powerful segment on CBS’ 60 Minutes last night demonstrated with stark clarity how the trade in conflict gold is a major source of funding for armed groups that target civilian populations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Gold also plays a key role in electronic devices, making up two-thirds of value of the metals inside cell phones and personal computers.  A jewelry industry spokesperson interviewed for the show seemed genuinely perplexed about how to ensure that gold does not finance the conflict in eastern Congo. Yet the supply chain in gold can be made conflict-free through the same three steps that Enough has recommended for other conflict minerals:

1)    Trace: Companies must determine the precise sources of their minerals.
2)    Audit: Companies should conduct detailed examinations of their mineral supply chains. Credible third parties should conduct and/or verify these audits.
3)    Certify: In order for consumers to be able to purchase conflict-free electronics and jewelry made with Congolese minerals, a certification scheme that builds upon the lessons of the Kimberley Process will be required.

The gold trade differs from that of other minerals in several important ways:

•    Gold is much more valuable by weight compared with other minerals. As a result, it is easier to smuggle small amounts of gold that are valuable.
•    Gold is easier to refine than the other minerals and can be smelted into metal earlier in the supply chain, making it more difficult to trace.
•    Because of gold’s importance as a store of value in the international financial system, legislative efforts to curb the import of gold into the United States are more complicated than in the case of other minerals.

These complications do not mean that that a transparent supply chain is impossible, but consumers will have to generate sufficient pressure on the industry to take the necessary action. Because more than 80 percent of gold in the United States is used in jewelry, and nine percent of worldwide gold is used in electronics, concerted consumer action has enormous potential to clean up these supply chains.

How does U.S. legislation address Congo’s gold trade?

Gold is cited as a source of financing for armed groups in eastern Congo in both the Senate (S.891) and House (H.R. 4128) versions of legislation on conflict minerals. But because of the complicating factors described above, gold has not been included in the sections of the legislation that mandate more traceable and transparent supply chains. However other critical aspects of legislation, including a U.S. government strategy to address this issue, the mapping of militarized mining sites, and ensuring that State Department human rights reports cover the issues related to the trade in conflict minerals, do incorporate coverage of the gold trade.

Can I buy conflict-free jewelry?

The No Dirty Gold campaign is an effort to end destructive impacts of gold mining, including the sourcing of gold from conflict areas, such as eastern Congo. A list of retailers that have signed on to support their 10 Golden rules is available here.

Tiffany & Co.: According to their website: “The majority of the gold and silver used in Tiffany & Co. jewelry workshops is obtained from a single U.S. mine that meets high
standards of social and environmental responsibility.”

Wal-Mart: Wal-Mart’s Love Earth jewelry line is a completely traceable line of jewelry that allows consumers to trace the supply chain for their jewelry online, back to specific mines of origin. However this is only one line of products, and Wal-Mart’s current target is to make 10 percent of its diamonds, gold, and silver traceable by 2010.

Fair Trade Gold: The Alliance for Responsible Mining, or ARM, has pioneered a set of standards for fair trade artisanal gold. For more on this effort, visit their website.

Photo: Miners bring gold powder to gold dealerships, where it is weighed and tested. (Grassroots Reconciliation Group/Sasha Lezhnev)

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If you happened to catch 60 Minutes last night, then you know that not enough has been done to ensure that our consumer purchases, such as gold necklaces and cell phones, aren't fueling some of the world's worst human rights abusers in Congo.  Last night's "Congo Gold" episode revealed how the mining of gold and other conflict minerals fuels Congo's war, the deadliest in the world.  Now learn how to stop it.

Join us tomorrow for a special discussion with Enough’s John Prendergast, International Rescue Committee's Brian Sage, and Run for Congo Women’s Lisa Shannon, to get an update on the humanitarian crisis, find out what's being done to end the scourge of Congo's conflict minerals, and learn how you can be a part of the solution.

Date: Tuesday, December 1
Time: 4:30 p.m. EST/1:30 p.m. PST
Congo's Conflict Minerals Conference ID: 44050208
Toll-free Dial-in: 887-254-9825
International Dial-in: 281-913-8965

Photo: A gold miner in eastern Congo (Reuters/Finbarr O'Reilly)

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After an eventful trip to eastern Congo in June and many months in production, an all-new segment called CONGO GOLD aired on CBS’ 60 Minutes tonight. Visit our special conflict minerals mini-site to learn about what you can do to end the suffering in the Congo. 

Enough’s John Prendergast traveled to war-torn region with the 60 Minutes film crew to investigate and capture on camera the connection between the mining of gold and other precious minerals in eastern Congo and the violence that has contributed to the deaths of over 4.5 million people in the past decade.

Here’s how John Prendergast described their trip in an op-ed for the Boston Globe:

Being held at gunpoint by 30 drunk and angry militia in the middle of the night on a deserted road in one of the most dangerous war zones in the world was not our plan when we started out the day. But my traveling companions and I were digging into the links between the illicit mining of Congo's "conflict minerals'' and a deadly war, and we didn't expect a walk in the park. We had visited a gold mine contested by some particularly vengeful armed groups, and this militia had lost out in controlling the mine and wasn't happy about the result. After hours of negotiations, guns poked into ribs, and death threats, we emerged relatively unscathed and $1,000 poorer. Congolese civilians, however, are rarely so fortunate.

For 41 years, 60 Minutes has been telling the world's most compelling stories in 12-minute segments, educating generations of families and expanding their horizons. Tonight millions learnt about the deadliest war in the world deep in the jungles of Central Africa and our own links to it.

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MALAKAL, Upper Nile State, Southern Sudan – “No one wants to give up Malakal,” a Sudanese civil society leader from the Shilluk ethnic group – and former southern liberation army soldier in Sudan’s 23-year long civil war – told me. Today, almost five years after the Comprehensive Peace Agreement that ended this war was signed, Malakal remains a strategic town that neither the Khartoum regime nor the semi-autonomous Government of Southern Sudan seem ready to relinquish without a fight.

As the capital of Upper Nile state, Malakal falls squarely within the South’s borders as determined at independence in 1956 and affirmed by the 2005 CPA. However, despite the fact that Malakal is undoubtedly in the South, it remains a strategic town that both the Khartoum regime and the Government of Southern Sudan seek to control. Upper Nile is the only state in the South where the governor is from Khartoum’s National Congress Party, or NCP. The CPA dictated that one of the 10 states in southern Sudan would have a NCP-appointed governor, and, unsurprisingly, Upper Nile was the state chosen for this high-level NCP representation.

Since the CPA was signed, there have been two serious clashes between Sudan Armed Forces, or SAF, troops from the North and SPLA troops from the South, which highlight Malakal’s status as a battleground whenever North-South tensions ignite. Although the SAF and SPLA troops are supposed to be working together as “Joint Integrated Units” (another CPA provision), the local wisdom in Malakal is that the JIUs are the biggest security threat to civilians. They have moved to separate barracks across town from each other, and are now not even attempting to be joint or integrated.

In this environment of mistrust, a political drama is unfolding. Upper Nile state governor Galwak Deng Garang, appointed by the NCP in 2008, was recently ordered to relinquish his post to Dr. William Adok, a lesser known man from the Shilluk ethnic group (a minority group in southern Sudan whose population lives almost exclusively in Upper Nile). Given that the governor was appointed by his own party, the NCP, the decree signed by President of Southern Sudan Salva Kiir was viewed only as a formality; the decision was clearly driven by Khartoum, although rumors abound regarding who exactly within the NCP pushed this move. 

The governor himself maintains that President Bashir—a close friend from their time together in the northern army—was not behind this decision. Above all, Governor Deng Garang stressed in an interview with Enough last week that he has not been personally informed of the decision to remove him, and that it is humiliating to him that neither the southern Sudanese President Kiir nor President Bashir have contacted him directly. 

While the governor’s rationale sounds fairly reasonable, his decision to hold onto his position has stirred tensions yet again in this already volatile town. Nuer youth have posted petitions claiming that they will protect Governor Deng Garang and attack anyone who attempts to remove him or to welcome his replacement. Voter registration numbers in Malakal have dropped markedly in the past week according to the Upper Nile State High Committee. The already restless JIU troops—both the northern and southern contingents—have reportedly received visits from the governor, and one story circulating the streets of Malakal is that the governor may have paid the northern SAF troops to guarantee their support in case he needs it. The governor, a former Major General, has also taken to wearing his SAF military uniform, although he was not in uniform when Enough interviewed him at his residence overlooking the Nile river.

The ongoing standstill over the Upper Nile governorship may not be broken without a serious deterioration of the security situation on the ground here in the state capital. Meanwhile, absent news from Khartoum or Juba, Governor Deng Garang is holding onto his post, and the waiting game in Malakal continues. “I can’t predict the weather,” a Darfuri trader explained to me via my Arabic translator, “but I would not be surprised if things get stormier in the days to come.”

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The latest U.N. Group of Experts report on Congo was leaked to the press today. It’s unfortunate that such a hard hitting report is hitting the headlines on one of the worst news days of the year, but it’s hard to understate the importance of some these findings.

Jason Stearns has excerpts from the report, and Africa Confidential has a special report with the most in-depth analysis of the report's findings. News articles are focusing on the report’s indictment of the U.N.-backed Kimia II offensive: "Military operations have ... not succeeded in neutralizing the FDLR (Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda), have exacerbated the humanitarian crisis in the Kivus and have resulted in an expansion of CNDP military influence in the region."

Among the biggest eyebrow raisers:

• Continuing Congolese support for the FDLR: Congolese army commanders continue to provide logistical support to their ostensible enemy, the FDLR rebel group in South Kivu province, and a senior Congolese politician is linked to efforts to supply another rebel faction with food and arms in exchange for minerals and timber.
• Conflict minerals continuing to finance all sides: Although many mines have changed hands from the FDLR to Congolese army units consisting of former CNDP rebels, these armed groups are continuing to sell to the same networks of Congolese and international companies cited in previous reports. In addition, the FDLR continues to profit from these networks, with a major Congolese export company transferring funds from the FDLR to its diaspora leadership in Germany.
• The FDLR’s international support network is wider and deeper than previously reported, and includes support from Spanish charities affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church.
• Regional complicity: Burundian networks are deeply involved with the FDLR, who use Burundi as a rear base and channel for the gold trade; government authorities are apparently aware of Tanzanian involvement in resupplying FDLR forces with arms and ammunition; and Uganda’s gold traders remain very involved in the conflict minerals trade. In addition, international traders previously linked to Rwanda’s systematic exploitation of Congolese minerals during the 2000-2001 era continue to be deeply involved in the trade.

Not surprisingly, Africa Confidential reports that China is pushing to delay the Security Council’s discussion of the report, and that there may be efforts to water down its recommendations. Let’s hope the United States pushes back on these efforts. Stay tuned.

Photo: Woman passes Congolese soldiers on the road. (AP)

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The Sudanese government is restricting and threatening international peacekeepers’ activities in Darfur in violation of an agreement signed by both parties, said a United Nations report released Monday.

The 20-page document from Secretary General Ban Ki-moon reported that the hybrid A.U.-U.N. peacekeeping operation in Darfur, or UNAMID, has been barred from investigating areas of fighting and patrolling at night in internally displaced, or IDP, camps. The U.N. documented several instances in which UNAMID personnel were threatened, shot at, or denied access by government officials. Since January 2009, there were at least 42 incidents in which a UNAMID patrol was denied passage by a government official.

“The repeated incidents of Government officials preventing access to UNAMID patrols are a direct violation of the Status of Forces Agreement with the Government of the Sudan and a serious impediment to the Mission’s capacity to implement its mandate,” says Ban.

According to the report, the security situation continues to decline, with attacks on UNAMID personnel growing bolder, taking place even in the residential neighborhoods of U.N. staff members. Clashes between the Sudanese government and rebel groups, and between Chadian and Sudanese forces, continue.

Aside from security issues, the U.N. report also gave a bleak assessment of ongoing efforts toward a Darfur peace settlement and the feasibility of holding elections in Darfur in April as planned. Ban noted in particular, “the failure of the parties to the conflict to commit to a comprehensive negotiated settlement to the crisis.” The involvement of civil society in negotiations, though, was encouraged, especially as armed movements remain unready to engage.

Elections would be facilitated by the conclusion of a political settlement, the report said, noting the many political and security-related issues in Darfur that impede free and fair elections.

The reach of humanitarian efforts has also decreased, the report said. Since the expulsion of international NGOs in March this year, international presence in remote areas has been reduced by 50 percent. Relief assistance for malnutrition is “stretched beyond capacity.”

All around a gloomy outlook. Obama administration, take note.

Photo: UNAMID (AP)

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PANYAGOR, Jonglei State, Southern Sudan — As we bumped along a potholed, badly rutted and unpaved road in a hired 4x4 car on our way to Duk Padiet, site of a deadly attack in September 2009, our Dinka language translator Mabior said, “For many people here, there are only two things, sleeping and eating. People have given up on hoping for more.”

Mabior, a 23-year old student at John Garang Institute of Science and Technology in Bor, the capital of Jonglei state, told me that he thinks people are waiting for tomorrow to go and fight, there is no other way, as he put it “things have just gone to fighting.” He said that after John Garang—the leader of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army, or SPLA, during the war, and the man attributed with making the landmark 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement a reality—died, the people of the South knew that the chance of unity and a “New Sudan” that represented the diversity of its peoples was no longer possible. As a local government official in the rural town of Panyagor told me, “after Garang died, unity became just a slogan.”

Mabior was a very young boy when the brutal Bor massacre of 1991 occurred, which worsened a deepening split within the South’s main rebel movement, the SPLA. But his village was close to Bor, and he heard about the horrors of that day. As an educated man, working as a journalist and studying to become a pharmacist, Mabior is well aware of the sentiment of his fellow southerners, who he says are justified in their fears and lost hope. Traveling through one part of Jonglei state, one of the few areas that has a small semblance of basic infrastructure (an unpaved but functional road) made it abundantly clear that the idea that “peace dividends” have not reached the local level is no slogan.

• Darfur and Southern Sudan
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