Topic: Reducing Violence Associated with Conflict Minerals
Country: Egypt
Delegate Name: Madeline Hawk
School: Forest Hills Eastern High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All Egypt position papers GLIMUN 2011 committees
Conflict minerals are minerals or resources mined in conditions of armed conflict as well as abuses to human rights and international humanitarian law. Conflict minerals present a danger because of their high commodity, causing some governments to turn a blind eye. In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), several areas are farmed for the precious resources they hold such as tin and coltan—both important resources for the development of cell phones, computers, and other popular electronics that the world covets. With the demand for these resources so high, whole villages are forced to dig for these minerals with little profit in return. Militias and renegade armies control these mines as well, overseeing the mining and selling the minerals in return for profit used to purchase weapons. The consequences of the mining of these minerals are people forced into hard labor, children forced or manipulated into becoming soldiers, sexual violence, and civil wars in the regions affected. In 2003, the Kimberley Process was created to prevent the illegal diamond (blood diamonds) trade. The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme has been successful in reducing violence in Sierra Leone, and Egypt supports the effects of the Kimberley Process and hopes that the effects will permeate to other affected regions.
The Arab Republic of Egypt believes that the violence associated with the exploitation of natural resources in Africa is an issue that needs to be resolved at once. Egypt held a conference in Cairo in June 2006 to discuss conflict minerals and “promote peace, stability, and socioeconomic development in Africa”. Egypt is a supporter of the Kimberley Process and believes a similar process must be instated to reduce the violence in African nations. The international community must work together to send peacekeepers into regions affected by violence, and end the illegal exploitation of conflict resources.
The Kimberley Process is an effective example of how the international community can work together to reduce the violence in African nations that are associated with conflict minerals. An extension of the Kimberley Process to prevent not only the illegal diamond trade, but all illegal resources being mined, or a process similar to the Kimberley Process that prevents the mining and trade of illegal resources must be put to action. With the high demand for these minerals for everyday uses of developing nations (cell phones, computers), the mining for these minerals will not end, and if farming for minerals does not end, the violence—sexual and physical, child enlisted soldiers, and civil strife in these regions will not end.
The Arab Republic of Egypt believes the violations of human rights occuring in nations farmed for their resources is an issue that needs to be dealt with immediately. With the help of the international community, a consensus of a plan to prevent the mining and trade of illegal resources can be made. Once regulations are placed on mining and trade, the violence will decrease, and Africa will find the peace and stability it desires.
