Article
Rape and murder, funded by cell phones [Dem. Rep. of Congo]
[R]ape is routinely "deployed" as a weapon of war by the armed groups fighting over a nation that has some of the richest nonpetroleum natural resource deposits in the world…Armed groups in eastern Congo that control minerals, mines and trading routes generate an estimated $180 million each year…This money enables the armed groups to purchase large numbers of weapons and continue their campaign of brutal violence against civilians…Electronics companies must invest in a system to certify that the minerals used in their products are verifiably conflict-free. They must work with their suppliers to trace the minerals back to their mines of origin and have independent audits conducted of these supply chains [refers to Intel, HP, Dell, Motorola]