| Popis: |
Conflict minerals have long been among the leading causes of violence in part of the Global South. For many years there was little attention to the issue despite an enormous dependence on conflict minerals by advanced and emerging economies. In recent years however it seems that countries of the Global North have finally begun to take notice. Despite this attention efforts rarely equal success and the attempts by the developed world to end or reduce the trade in conflict minerals are no exception. The Kimberley Process, arguably the most successful effort so far, has generally been decried as ineffective and unproductive by several NGOs and some governments. This paper examines the issue of conflict minerals, their relationship with war and violence, and their role in the global economy in order to explain the failure of the developed world to end the trade of conflict minerals. The paper seeks to understand the lack of international attention to some of the worst atrocities since the holocaust and explores recently attempted solutions and the obstacles therein. The Democratic Republic of the Congo is used as a case study as the Second Congo War and the continuing violence in the country illuminate the murky complexities of the conflict mineral trade, from raw minerals to finished products. |
