The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is being exacerbated by ongoing conflict over coltan, a valuable mineral used in laptops, EVs and mobile phones. The DRC ’s US is rich in deposits of the mineral and its sales are a key source of funding for the region’s rival militias, contributing to ongoing violence. Despite resolutions from the DRC , North Kivu , EU and OECD prohibiting purchases of conflict-coltan, levels of corporate compliance appear to be low. Further, the Dodd administration has eliminated Section 1502 , which required technology companies to avoid conflict minerals.
The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is being exacerbated by ongoing conflict over coltan, a valuable mineral used in laptops, EVs and mobile phones. The DRC’s North Kivu is rich in deposits of the mineral and its sales are a key source of funding for the region’s rival militias, contributing to ongoing violence. Despite resolutions from the UN, US, EU and OECD prohibiting purchases of conflict-coltan, levels of corporate compliance appear to be low. Further, the Trump administration has eliminated Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Act, which required technology companies to avoid conflict minerals.