Due diligence as a conflict prevention tool in Democratic Republic of the Congo
Keywords:
armed conflicts, sanctions on raw materials, conflict minerals, due diligence, Democratic Republic of the CongoAbstract
Revista CIDOB d’Afers Internacionals, nº 125
Quadrimestral (May-September 2020)
ISSN:1133-6595 | E-ISSN:2013-035X
DOI: doi.org/10.24241/rcai.2020.125.2.61
This paper explores mandatory due diligence schemes in supply chains as conflict prevention tools in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Drawing on reports and fieldwork, it argues that their impact on violence in the region has been ambiguous. One reason for these mechanisms’ shortcomings is that they address the role minerals play in this conflict from the perspective of "conflict resources" and "resource conflicts". Giving consideration to the "resource curse" would help address how the militarisation of competition between elites and weak state institutions make minerals factors of conflict. In practice, this would mean recognising that international measures against transnational money laundering and illicit capital flows are vital to tackling the link between minerals and conflict.
>> The full text articles are available in Spanish language
References
Abbott, Kenneth y Snidal, Duncan. «Strengthening international regulation through transnational new governance: Overcoming the orchestration deficit». Vanderbildt Journal of Transnational Law, vol. 42, n.° 1 (2009), p. 501-577.
Aula, Ilari. Consuming conflicts: Consumer responsibility for armed conflicts in DR Congo and Nigeria. Tesis doctoral. London School of Economics and Political Science, 2019.
Autessere, Séverine. «Dangerous Tales: Dominant Narratives on the Congo and Their Unintended Consequences». African Affairs, vol. 111, n.° 443 (2012), p. 202-222.
Bieri, Franziska. From Blood Diamonds to the Kimberley Process: How NGOs Cleaned Up the Global Diamond Industry. Farnham Surrey: Ashgate, 2010.
Biersteker, Thomas; Eckert, Sue E. y Tourinho, Marcos (eds.). Targeted sanctions: The impacts and effectiveness of United Nations Action. Nueva York: Cambridge University Press, 2016.
Biersteker, Thomas; Eckert, Sue E.; Tourinho, Marcos y Hudáková, Zuzana. The effectiveness of UN targeted sanctions findings from the Targeted Sanctions Consortium (TCS). Ginebra: The Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, 2013.
Bloem, Jeffrey R. «Good Intentions Gone Bad? The Dodd-Frank Act and Conflict in Africa’s Great Lakes Region». Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, Annual Meeting, 5-7 de Agosto de 2018, Washington, D. C.
Callaway, Annie. «Powering Down Corruption». The Enough Project, (30 de octubre de 2018) (en línea) [Fecha de consulta: 21.05.2020] https://enoughproject.org/reports/powering-down-corruption
Carisch, Enrico; Rickard-Martin, Loraine y Meister, Shawna. «Commodity Sanctions». En: Carisch, Enrico; Rickard-Martin, Loraine y Meister, Shawna (eds.). The Evolution of UN Sanctions: From a Tool of Warfare to a Tool of Peace, Security and Human Rights. Cham: Springer, 2017, p. 111-132.
Collier, Paul y Hoeffler, Anke. «Greed and Grievance in Civil War». En: Oxford Economic Papers, vol. 56, n.° 4 (2004), p. 563-595.
Cuvelier, Jeroen; Van Bockstael, Steven; Vlassenroot, Koen y Iguma, Claude. «Analyzing the Impact of the Dodd-Frank Act on Congolese Livelihoods». Social Science Research Council, (2014) (en línea) [Fecha de consulta: 21.05.2020] https://www.ssrc.org/publications/view/analyzing-the-impactof-the-dodd-frank-act-on-congolese-livelihoods/
Diemel, Jose y Hilhorst, Dorothea J. M. «Unintended consequences or ambivalent policy objectives? Conflict minerals and mining reform in the Democratic Republic of Congo». Development Policy Review, vol. 37, n.° 4 (2019), p. 453-469.
Drezner, David. «Sanctions Sometimes Smart: Targeted Sanctions in Theory
and Practice». International Studies Review, vol. 13, n.° 1 (2011), p. 96-108.
EITI-Initiative pour la Transparence des Industries Extractives au Congo. «2017
Democratic Republic of Congo EITI Report». EITI, (2019) (en línea) [Fecha de consulta: 21.05.2020] https://eiti.org/files/documents/rapport_final_
itie_congo_2017.pdf
Enough Project. «Resource Page - Conflict Minerals: A Broader Push for Reform Is Essential». Enough Project, (30 de octubre de 2014) (en línea) [Fecha
de consulta: 21.05.2020] https://enoughproject.org/blog/resource-page-conflict-minerals-broader-push-reform-essential
Enough Project. «11 Letters from Congolese Civil Society Groups in Support
of the U.S. Conflict Minerals Law». Enough Project, (4 de abril de 2017)
(en línea) [Fecha de consulta: 21.05.2020] https://enoughproject.org/blog/
seven-letters-congolese-groups-support-us-conflict-minerals-law
Enough Project. A Comprehensive Approach to Congo’s Conflict Minerals -
Strategy Paper. Enough Project, (24 de abril de 2009) (en línea) [Fecha de
consulta: 21.05.2020] https://enoughproject.org/reports/comprehensiveapproach-conflict-minerals-strategy-paper
Eriksson, Mikael. Targeting Peace: Understanding UN and EU targeted sanctions.
Farnham/Abingdon: Ashgate, 2011.
EURAC. Accompanying Measures to the EU Regulation on Responsible Mineral
Sourcing. Bruselas: European Network for Central Africa, 2017 (en línea)
[Fecha de consulta: 21.05.2020] https://www.eurac-network.org/sites/
default/files/position_paper_-_eng_accompanying_measures_to_the_eu_
regulation_on_responsible_mineral_sourcing_-_march_2017.pdf
Geenen, Sara. «A Dangerous Bet: The Challenges of Formalizing Artisanal Mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo». Resources Policy, vol. 37, n.° 3
(2012), p. 322-330.
Geenen, Sara. «Trump Is Right on Congo’s Minerals, but for All the Wrong
Reasons». The Conversation, (22 febrero de 2017) (en línea) [Fecha de consulta: 21.05.2020] https://theconversation.com/trump-is-right-on-congosminerals-but-for-all-the-wrong-reasons-73320
Gilberthorpe, Emma y Papyrakis, Elissaios. «The Extractive Industries and Development: The Resource Curse at the Micro, Meso and Macro Levels». The Extractive Industries and Society, vol. 2, n.° 2 (2015), p. 381-390.
Giumelli, Francesco. Coercing, Constraining and Signalling: Explaining UN and
EU Sanctions after the Cold War. Colchester, ECPR Press, 2011.
Global Witness. «Sinews of War: Eliminating the trade in conflict resources». Global Witness, (noviembre de 2006) (en línea) [Fecha de consulta:
05.2020] https://cdn.globalwitness.org/archive/files/import/the_sinews_of_war.pdf
Global Witness. «Global Witness leaves Kimberley Process, calls for diamond
trade to be held accountable». Global Witness, (2 diciembre de 2011) (en
línea) [Fecha de consulta: 21.05.2020] https://www.globalwitness.org/en/archive/global-witness-leaves-kimberley-process-calls-diamond-trade-be-heldaccountable/
Global Witness. «Regime Cash Machine». Global Witness, (21 de julio de 2017)
(en línea) [Fecha de consulta: 21.05.2020] https://www.globalwitness.org/
en/campaigns/democratic-republic-congo/regime-cash-machine/
Grupo de Expertos de Naciones Unidas . «Interim Report of the Group of Experts on the Democratic Republic of the Congo». Naciones Unidas, (25 de
mayo de 2010) (en línea) [Fecha de consulta: 21.05.2020] https://www.undocs.org/S/2010/252
Grupo de Expertos de Naciones Unidas . «Final Report of the Group of Experts on the Democratic Republic of the Congo». Naciones Unidas, 23 de enero de 2014) (en línea) [Fecha de consulta: 21.05.2020] https://www.undocs.org/S/2014/42
Grupo de Expertos de Naciones Unidas . «Final Report of the Group of Experts
on the Democratic Republic of the Congo». Naciones Unidas, (10 de agosto
de 2017) (en línea) [Fecha de consulta: 21.05.2020] https://www.undocs.
org/S/2017/672/Rev.1
Grupo de Expertos de Naciones Unidas . «Midterm Report of the Group of
Experts on the Democratic Republic of the Congo». Naciones Unidas, (18 de
diciembre de 2018) (en línea) [Fecha de consulta: 21.05.2020] https://www.
undocs.org/S/2018/1133
Haber, Stephen y Menaldo, Victor. «Do Natural Resources Fuel Authoritarianism? A Reappraisal of the Resource Curse». American Political Science Review, vol. 105, n.° 1 (2011), p. 1-26.
Haufler, Virginia. «The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme: An Innovation
in Global Governance and Conflict Prevention». Journal of Business Ethics,
vol. 89, n.° 4 (2009), p. 403-416.
Humphreys, Macartan. «Natural Resources, Conflict, and Conflict Resolution Uncovering the Mechanisms». Journal of Conflict Resolution, vol. 49, n.° 4 (2005), p. 508-537.
IPIS-International Peace Information Service. «Analysis of the Interactive Map of Artisanal Mining in Eastern DR Congo, 2015 Update». IPIS, (2015) (en línea) [Fecha de consulta: 21.05.2020] https://ipisresearch.be/publication/analysis-interactive-map-artisanal-mining-areas-eastern-dr-congo-2/
IPIS-International Peace Information Service . «Mapping Artisanal Mining Areas and Mineral Supply Chains in Eastern DR Congo». IPIS, (2019a) (en línea) [Fecha de consulta: 21.05.2020] https://ipisresearch.be/publication/mapping-artisanal-mining-areas-mineral-supply-chains-eastern-drc/
IPIS-International Peace Information Service . «Assessing the Impact of Due Diligence Programmes in Eastern DRC: A Baseline Study». IPIS, (2019b) (en línea) [Fecha de consulta: 21.05.2020] https://ipisresearch.be/publication/assessing-impact-due-diligence-programmes-eastern-drc-baseline-study/
IPIS-International Peace Information Service y DIIS-Danish Institute for International Studies. «“Everything That Moves Will Be Taxed”: The Political Economy of Roadblocks in North and South Kivu». IPIS, (2017) (en línea) [Fecha de consulta: 21.05.2020] https://ipisresearch.be/publication/everything-moves-will-taxed-political-economy-roadblocks-north-southkivu/
IRIN News. «Who Pays the Hidden Price for Congo’s Conflict-Free Minerals?». The New Humanitarian, (14 de febrero de 2017a) (en línea) [Fecha de consulta: 21.05.2020]
IRIN News. «In Support of Dodd-Frank Conflict Minerals Regulation». The New Humanitarian, (28 febrero de 2017b). (en línea) [Fecha de consulta:
IRIN News. «How Advocacy Gave Trump Ammunition on Conflict-Free Minerals». The New Humanitarian, (6 de abril de 2017c) (en línea) [Fecha de consulta: 21.05.2020] https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/investigations/2017/04/06/how-advocacy-gave-trump-ammunition-conflict-free-minerals
iTSCi. «ITSCi Views on Al Jazeera Fault Lines “Conflicted: The Fight Over Congo’s Minerals». iTSCi, (14 de noviembre de 2015) (en línea) [Fecha de consulta: 21.05.2020] https://www.itsci.org/2015/11/14/itsci-views-al-jazeera-fault-lines-conflicted-fight-congos-minerals/
iTSCi. «Comments on January 31, 2017, Statement on the Commission’s Conflict Minerals Rule». iTSCiI, (16 de marzo de 2017a) (en línea) [Fecha de consulta: 21.05.2020] https://www.sec.gov/comments/statement-013117/cll2-1646104-148416.pdf
iTSCi. «ITRI Comments on the UN Group of Experts Final Report». iTSCi, (5
de septiembre de 2017b) (en línea) [Fecha de consulta: 21.05.2020] https://
www.itsci.org/2017/09/05/itri-comments-un-group-experts-final-report/
Keen, David. «Greed and Grievance in Civil War». International Affairs, vol. 88
(2012), p. 757-777.
Koch, Dirk-Jan y Kinsbergen, Sara. «Exaggerating Unintended Effects? Competing Narratives on the Impact of Conflict Minerals Regulation». Resources Policy, vol. 57, (2018), p. 255-263.
Lake, Milli. «Building the Rule of War: Postconflict Institutions and the MicroDynamics of Conflict in Eastern DR Congo». International Organization, vol. 71, n.° 2 (2017), p. 281-315.
Le Billon, Philippe. «The political ecology of war: natural resources and armed
conflict». Political Geography, vol. 20, n.° 5 (2001), p. 561-584.
Le Billon, Philippe. «Fatal Transactions: Conflict Diamonds and the (Anti)Terrorist Consumer». Antipode, vol. 38, n.° 4 (2006), p. 778-801.
Le Billon, Philippe. «Diamond Wars? Conflict Diamonds and Geographies of Resource Wars». Annals of the Association of American Geographers, vol. 98, n.° 2 (2008), p. 345-372.
Le Billon, Philippe. Wars of Plunder: Conflicts, Profits and the Politics of Resources.
Nueva York: Oxford University Press, 2013.
Lezhnev, Sasha y Prendergast, John. «Strategic Pressure». Enough Project, (2017)
(en línea) [Fecha de consulta: 21.05.2020] https://enoughproject.org/reports/strategic-pressure-blueprint-drc
Lopez, Edwin y Burt, Andy. «SEC Suspends Conflict Mineral Rule Enforcement». Supply Chain Dive, (11 de abril de 2017) (en línea) [Fecha de consulta: 21.05.2020] https://www.supplychaindive.com/news/SEC-conflictmineral-rule-dodd-frank-enforcement/440175/
Marriage, Zoë. «The Elephant in the Room: Offshore Companies, Liberalisation and Extension of Presidential Power in DR Congo». Third World Quarterly, vol. 39, n.° 5 (2018), p. 889-905.
Mejía Acosta, Andrés (2013): «The impact and effectiveness of accountability and transparency initiatives: the governance of natural resources». Development Policy Review, vol. 31, n.° S1 (2013), p. 89-105.
Ndagano, Patricia. «No, cobalt is not a conflict mineral». African Arguments, (5 de mayo de 2020) (en línea) [Fecha de consulta: 21.05.2020]
Nest, Michael. Coltan. Cambridge; Malden: Polity, 2011.
Nillesen, Eleonora y Bulte, Erwin. «Natural Resources and Violent Conflict». Annual Review of Resource Economics, vol. 6, n.° 1 (2014), p. 69-83.
OCDE. «Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas». OCDE, (2018) (en línea) [Fecha de consulta: 21.05.2020] https://www.oecd.org/daf/inv/mne/mining.htm
Oxfam. «‘For me, but without me, is against me’: Why efforts to stabilize the eastern Congo are not working». Oxfam Lobby Briefing, (2012) (en línea) [Fecha de consulta: 21.05.2020] https://www.oxfamblogs.org/eastafrica/wpcontent/uploads/2010/09/DRC-Stablisation-brief.pdf
Parker, Dominic P. y Vadheim, Bryan. «Resource Cursed or Policy Cursed? US
Regulation of Conflict Minerals and Violence in the Congo». Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 4, n.° 1 (2017), p. 1-49.
Parker, Dominic P.; Foltz, Jeremy D. y Elsea, David. «Unintended Consequences of Economic Sanctions for Human Rights». UNU-WIDER, Working Paper, (2016) (en línea) [Fecha de consulta: 21.05.2020] https://www.wider.unu.edu/publication/unintended-consequences-economic-sanctions-human-rights
Portela, Clara. European Union Sanctions and Foreign Policy. When and Why do
they Work? Londres: Routledge, 2010.
Prendergast, John. «Can You Hear Congo Now? Cell Phones, Conflict Minerals, and the Worst Sexual Violence in the World». Enough Project, (2009) (en
línea) [Fecha de consulta: 21.05.2020] https://enoughproject.org/reports/
can-you-hear-congo-now-cell-phones-conflict-minerals-and-worst-sexualviolence-world
Prendergast, John. «Briefing under the agenda item “Maintenance of International Peace and Security” on corruption and conflict at the UN Security Council». Enough Project, (2018) (en línea) [Fecha de consulta: 21.05.2020]
Radley, Ben y Vogel, Christoph (2015): «Fighting Windmills in Eastern Congo?
The Ambiguous Impact of the ‘Conflict Minerals’ Movement». The Extractive Industries and Society, vol. 2, n.° 3 (2015), p. 406-410.
Reuters (2019): «Congo Miner SMB Leaves ITSCI Responsible-Sourcing Scheme over Cost». Reuters, (8 de enero de 2019) (en línea) [Fecha de consulta:
Ross, Michael. «How Do Natural Resources Influence Civil War? Evidence from Thirteen Cases» en International Organization, vol. 58, n.° 1 (2004), p. 35-67.
Ross, Michael. The Oil Curse: How Petroleum Wealth Shapes the Development of
Nations. Princeton; Londres: Princeton University Press, 2012.
Sachs, Jeffrey D. y Warner, Andrew. «Natural Resource Abundance and Economic Growth». NBER, Working Paper n.° 5398, (1995) (en línea) [Fecha de consulta: 21.05.2020] https://www.nber.org/papers/w5398
Salter, Thomas y Mthembu-Salter, Gregory. «A Response to Terr(It)or(Ies) of Peace? The Congolese Mining Frontier and the Fight against “Conflict Minerals”». Suluhu, Working Papers n.° 2, (2016) (en línea) [Fecha de consulta: 21.05.2020] https://ethuin.files.wordpress.com/2016/12/12122016-saltersuluhu-wp.pdf
Seay, Laura. «What’s Wrong with Dodd-Frank 1502? Conflict Minerals, Civilian Livelihoods, and the Unintended Consequences of Western Advocacy». Center for Global Development, Working Paper n.° 284, (2012) (en línea) [Fecha de consulta: 21.05.2020] https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2009350
Sentry. «The Golden Laundromat. Enough Project & Not on Our Watch». The Sentry, (2018) (en línea) [Fecha de consulta: 21.05.2020] https://thesentry. org/reports/the-golden-laundromat/
Signatarios de la carta. «An Open Letter». Enough Project, (2014a) (en línea) [Fecha de consulta: 21.05.2020] https://ethuin.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/09092014-open-letter-final-and-list-doc.pdf.
Signatarios de la carta. «Open Letter: Broader Push for Reform Is Essential». Enough Project, (2014b) (en línea) [Fecha de consulta: 21.05.2020] https://enoughproject.org/files/OpenLetterConflictMinerals_October_2014.pdf.
Stearns, Jason. Dancing in the Glory of Monsters. Nueva York: PublicAffairs, 2011.
Stearns, Jason. «Causality and Conflict: Tracing the Origins of Armed Groups in
the Eastern Congo». Peacebuilding, vol. 2, n.° 2 (2014), p. 151-171.
Stearns, Jason y Vogel, Christoph. «The Landscape of Armed Groups in the
Eastern Congo: Fragmented, politicized networks». Congo Research Group,
(2015) (en línea) [Fecha de consulta: 21.05.2020] http://congoresearchgroup.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/The-Landscape-of-Armed-Groupsin-Eastern-Congo1.pdf.
Stearns, Jason; Verweijen, Judith y Eriksson Baaz, Maria. «The National Army
and Armed Groups in the Eastern Congo: Untangling the Gordian Knot
of Insecurity». Rift Valley Institute, (2013) (en línea) [Fecha de consulta:
05.2020] http://riftvalley.net/publication/national-army-and-armedgroups-eastern-congo
Stoop, Nik, Marijke Verpoorten y van der Windt, Peter. «More Legislation, More Violence? The Impact of Dodd-Frank in the DRC». PLOS ONE, vol. 13, n.° 8 (2018) (en línea) [Fecha de consulta: 21.05.2020] https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0201783
Thill, Michel y Cimanuka, Abel. «Governing local security in the eastern
Congo: Decentralization, police reform and interventions in the chieftaincy of Bukavu». Rift Valley Institute, (2020) (en línea) [Fecha de consulta: 21.05.2020] https://riftvalley.net/sites/default/files/publication-documents/Governing%20local%20security%20in%20the%20eastern%20Congo%20
by%20Michel%20Thill%20and%20Abel%20Cimanuka%20-%20RVI%20and%20VNGi%20report%20%282020%29.pdf
Transparency International. «Proposed U.S. rule ill-equipped to prevent secret
payments by oil, gas, forestry & mining companies». Transparency International, (16 de marzo de 2020) (en línea) [Fecha de consulta: 21.05.2020]
UN. Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: Implementing the United
Nations «Protect, Respect and Remedy» Framework. Nueva York; Ginebra: Naciones Unidas, 2011 (en línea) [Fecha de consulta: 21.05.2020] https://www.unglobalcompact.org/library/2
Vlaskamp, Martijn C. «The European Union and natural resources that fund
armed conflicts: Explaining the EU’s policy choice for supply chain duediligence requirements». Cooperation and conflict, vol. 54, n.° 3 (2019), p. 407-425.
Vlassenroot, Koen y Raeymaekers, Timothy. «Kivu’s Intractable Security Conundrum». African Affairs, vol. 108, n.° 432 (2009), p. 475-484.
Vogel, Christoph y Stearns, Jason. «Kivu’s Intractable Security Conundrum, Revisited» African Affairs, vol. 117, n.° 469 (2018), p. 695-707.
Vogel, Christoph y Raeymaekers, Timothy. «Terr(It)or(Ies) of Peace? The Congolese Mining Frontier and the Fight Against “Conflict Minerals”». Antipode, vol. 48, n.° 4 (2016), p. 1.102-1.121.
Weiss, Thomas. «Sanctions as a Foreign Policy Tool: Weighing Humanitarian Impulses» en Journal of Peace Research, vol. 36, n.° 5 (1999), p. 499-509.
Whitney, Toby. «Conflict Minerals, Black Markets, and Transparency: The Legislative Background of Dodd-Frank Section 1502 and Its Historical Lessons». Journal of Human Rights, vol. 14, n.° 2 (2015), p. 183-200.
