The ongoing conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has been significantly shaped by the March 23 Movement (M23) rebels, who have seized control of key mineral-rich areas in the eastern region of the country.
This insurgency, which re-emerged in 2021 after a period of dormancy, has roots that trace back to the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide in 1994. The M23, primarily composed of ethnic Tutsis, claims to protect the rights of the Tutsi minority in the DRC, but its actions have raised serious concerns about the exploitation of the country’s vast mineral resources.
Brandon Marc Finn, PhD, is a research scientist at the School for Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan and he also leads the school’s Informal Sustainability Lab. In February, he contributed an article he co-published with Patrick Brandful Cobbinah at The University of Melbourne to TheConversation.com: “DRC: history is repeating itself in Lubumbashi as the world scrambles for minerals to go green.”
The DRC is endowed with immense mineral wealth, including cobalt, coltan, gold, and tin, which are needed to produce electronics, including smartphones and electric vehicle industries. The M23 rebels‘ control over mineral resources has turned the conflict into a lucrative enterprise. As Finn notes in his interview with BLKNewsNow.com, the DRC is arguably the most mineral rich country in the world — and yet also one of the poorest.
Children have also been widely exploited due to the battle for mineral resources in the DRC, and cases of sexual violence against women and girls has jumped since M23 rebels expanded their incursion into the eastern region.
Join BLK News Now! as we discuss why the global community should keep its eyes on the DRC, the increasingly dire humanitarian crisis unfolding in Congo, which has already displaced millions of people, who can shape the DRC’s future, and more.
Dr. Finn’s recent article “DRC: history is repeating itself in Lubumbashi as the world scrambles for minerals to go green” can be found here. Dr. Finn can be followed on BlueSky and here on LinkedIn. He can also be found at InformalSustainabilityLab.com.
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