Congo women miners to become peace ambassadors
Tuesday April 30 2019
A child and a woman break rocks extracted from a cobalt mine in Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo on on May 23, 2016. PHOTO | AFP
Congolese women involved in artisanal goldmining are being trained in conflict prevention and resolution that will see them become peace ambassadors in the resource-rich but war-torn country.
Female artisanal miners are easy prey for armed groups and also face the risk of government security forces confiscating their gold mined under harsh conditions in remote locations in northeastern and eastern DRC.
“Women and girls in artisanal mining communities face risks due to the isolated nature of mining sites; mineral wealth attracts armed groups or public security forces,” said Joanne Lebert, the executive director of IMPACT of Canada which is training the miners in Ituri Province’s Mambasa territory.
Women’s organisations have teamed up with IMPACT for the training.
DRC’s strong industrial mining sector gave way to artisanal and small-scale mining activities in the 1990s due to prolonged conflict, corruption and mismanagement.
The informal and largely ungoverned and unregulated nature of mining poses a myriad social risks, including forced labour, sexual violence, child labour and ease of capture by corrupt elite interests or non-state groups.
“Women need the space and support to raise their concerns and propose solutions on these issues that are key to their security,” said Ms Lebert.
The United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 in 2000 incorporated women’s active participation in peace building and decision-making, as well as a gender perspective, into peacekeeping operations.
Vast mineral deposits in east and northeastern DRC are a catalyst for conflict, with militias and warlords vying to control the resources and creating a cycle of violence. Proceeds from minerals are used to buy guns and bullets thereby fuelling instability.
Illegally mined cobalt, coltan and diamonds are associated with human-rights abuses or financing of conflict in eastern DRC. Smuggling networks comprise Congolese citizens and foreigners.
Dorae Inc in May 2018 deployed blockchain technology to trace cobalt, coltan and diamonds mined in DRC, with the aim of ensuring that natural resources are not termed “blood minerals.”
IMPACT has teamed up with technology firm Consensas to deploy blockchain to trace gold mined from small mines.