[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 62 (Monday, April 27, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Page S4745]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  CONGO CONFLICT MINERALS ACT OF 2009

  Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, I want to pause from the press of daily 
business to consider the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo. 
I have frequently come to the floor to talk about the tragedy in 
Darfur--yet the situation in Congo is worth as much attention.
  The Democratic Republic of Congo has been devastated by civil war, 
conflict and a humanitarian crisis. Since 1998, there have been an 
estimated 5.4 million deaths. The poverty and insecurity in Congo is 
pandemic. Illegal armed groups and military forces commit widespread 
human rights violations with impunity. The conflict there still results 
in an estimated 45,000 deaths each month.
  This is a tragic situation, deserving of the international 
community's attention.
  My colleague from Kansas, Senator Brownback, and I traveled to the 
DRC together a couple of years ago. Congo is, in many ways, a beautiful 
country, rich in natural resources.
  But, like so many other places in the world, Congo's natural 
resources have also become a curse. Warring factions struggle for 
control of resources to pursue their own political aims. During our 
trip, Senator Brownback and I learned that armed factions are 
plundering the mineral resources of eastern Congo and that illegal 
trade in these minerals is essentially financing the violence there.
  We witnessed first-hand atrocities in eastern Congo--atrocities of 
horrific and inhumane proportions. Armed groups perpetrate unspeakable 
acts of sexual violence against women and girls to humiliate and 
terrorize communities and weaken their resistance.
  I have met several times with a true modern day hero, Dr. Denis 
Mukwege, who runs the Panzi hospital of Bukavu, Congo. The Panzi 
hospital specializes in treatment for victims of sexual violence. The 
hospital performs surgeries and provides psychological counseling for 
these victims, but Dr. Mukwege and his staff are overwhelmed by the 
number of women seeking assistance.
  Last year, I held a Judiciary hearing on rape as weapon of war. This 
is happening every day in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Rape and 
other forms of sexual violence affect hundreds of thousands of women 
and girls there, resulting in severe injuries, longterm psychological 
trauma, and immeasurable destructive impacts on the communities there. 
This war is being financed, at least in part, by the illegal trade in 
these minerals.
  So what can we in the United States do about this? Well, many of 
these minerals end up right here in the U.S. and in many other 
countries, because they are used for everyday electronics products. Our 
cell phones, BlackBerrys, computers, and many other commonly used 
electronics contain these minerals.
  Senator Brownback and I, along with Senator Feingold, who chairs the 
Africa Subcommittee of the Foreign Relations Committee, have introduced 
legislation to create more transparency about the end users of these 
minerals in the United States.
  The Congo Conflict Minerals Act of 2009 would require companies that 
are involved in commercial activities involving three minerals (coltan, 
cassiterite, and wolframite) to disclose the country of origin of the 
minerals to the Securities and Exchange Commission. If the minerals are 
from DRC or neighboring countries, companies would have to also 
disclose the mine of origin.
  We want to know where U.S. companies are getting these minerals, and 
we want to work with them to promote responsible practices and due 
diligence to ensure that their suppliers provide raw materials in a way 
that does not support the armed conflict or contribute to human rights 
abuses.
  In the longer-term, we hope that Congo and its neighbors will 
establish a regional framework to prevent the illicit trade of these 
minerals. In the meantime, we can take this step to work with U.S. 
companies to ensure they are not inadvertently fueling the conflict in 
the Democratic Republic of Congo.

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