Topic: Reducing Violence Associated with Conflict Minerals
Country: Turkey
Delegate Name: Louis Hochster
School: Ann Arbor Community High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All Turkey position papers GLIMUN 2011 committees
Conflict minerals are minerals mined under conditions of various human rights abuses including slave labor, sexual assault, and massacres. Various ores classified as conflict minerals are columbite-tantalite or Coltan from which tantalum is extracted. Tantalum is used in the production of capacitors. Cassiterite contains large quantities of tin which are used in solder and cans. Wolframite is the main ore of tungsten. Tungsten is very dense and is used in weights. Also a very small amount is used in the vibration function of cell phones. Gold is used in jewelry electronics and as currency. Also blood diamonds are frequently classified with conflict minerals. A single ton of tungsten can sell for over $20,000 (USD) as a result the mining of conflict minerals is a great lure to many militant groups as a way to finance their exploits.
Most of the mining of conflict minerals is done in the eastern half of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) which is part of the Great Lakes region of Africa. The Great Lakes region is where almost all of the conflict mining takes place, although most of it is done in the DRC.
The Republic of Turkey in 2010 voted to pass Resolution 1952 which extended the measures of Resolution 1807 (2008) which included an arms embargo, financial and travel sanctions. Furthermore Resolution 1952 also recommended that all States especially those in the region regularly publish statistics on natural resources such as gold, cassiterite, coltan, wolframite, timber, and charcoal. In addition Resolution 1952 encouraged the DRC to continue to take measures to address the threat of corruption within the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The Republic of Turkey does not in any way support these groups, and it calls out to its fellow States to stop the atrocious human rights violations taking place in the DRC and other places in the Great Lakes region.
