Is Your Electronic Gear Funding War in Congo? - Photo District News

In the past two weeks, media coverage of a UN report about the funding of rebel groups in the eastern Congo has highlighted the connection between the trade in minerals used to make laptops, cellphones and digital cameras, and the ongoing violence that has killed more than 5 million people.

 

Articles have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and elsewhere. A report on CBS's 60 Minutes last Sunday reported that the armed militias terrorizing civilians in eastern Congo are fighting for control of the area's wealth of minerals, such as gold, tin, tantalum (also known as "coltan"), and tungsten which can be used in a variety of electronic devices.