Canadian Interests in the DRC

Ever since my trip to South Africa in 2009, where I had the opportunity to interview Congolese refugees about their experiences of armed violence in the deadliest war since WWII I have struggled with the question of why average Canadians should care. The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is very distant from Canada geographically, it is the site of a complex conflict which is difficult to describe at best, and the scale of death is certain to deter any call for Canadian boots to arrive on the ground there. 

The introduction of the Conflict Minerals Act by Paul Dewar in March has been an avenue for me to start talking to other Canadians about the conflict, some of the stories that I've heard directly from people who have experienced the war why morally we are required to intervene. In addition to founding the KW Just Minerals Campaign, since my return to Ottawa I've been working with Partnership Africa Canada and Paul Dewar's office to assist with public outreach pertaining to conflict minerals. 

Through this process I have learned about how deeply Canadian mining and electronic corporations are invested in the minerals which are extracted from the DRC, some of which are extracted and sold by groups who use the profits to buy guns and attack civilian populations. I also have become familiar with various initiatives in addition to Paul Dewar's bill which are being undertaken to curb those practices.

Yet, when Canadian Foreign policy seems to continue to shift away from any promotion of human rights, sustainable development and international law, and in the context of emerging information about atrocities occurring in the Central African Republic, Syria and South Sudan I began to wonder whether the Congo was relevant.

It is, and turns out that the answer lies precisely where I started.

This evening I attended a CIC event which featured a discussion of the role of NATO in Afghanistan which featured two prominent scholars in the field and one retired commander of the Canadian Armed Forces, Lt. General Andrew Leslie. When commenting on the possibility of future engagement of Canadian forces in peacekeeping missions, Leslie suggested that Canadian foreign policy is now driven primarily by economic interests which for numerous reasons prevent the commitment of troops to peacekeeping missions, which is particularly relevant in the DRC because of the commercial economic interests of Canadian mining companies. 

He went on to highlight that historically there was another case in which Canada chose to exercise its commitment to human rights and international law over its economic interests in another African country which held their potential for lucrative mining investment. That case was when Canada chose to impose sanctions against the Apartheid South African government. 

I believe that the majority of Canadians still hold the same values that led us to oppose Apartheid during the 1980's. We believe in human rights, racial and gender equality, freedom and democratic governance. In fact research has found that Canadians strongly link their identity to the promotion of these values through our foreign policy. 

As Canadians we either have the opportunity to allow the government to continue to act in the economic interests of large corporations through our foreign policy or to represent fundamental values which make up both our individual and collective identity. By standing up for human rights and democratic values in a country where we do have a vested economic interest, we will be demonstrating an even stronger commitment to those values.

To conclude, I think that Canadians should not only support the Conflict Minerals Act but also greater efforts towards achieving sustainable peace in the DRC because it represents a Canadian identity that is founded upon human rights, equality, freedom and democracy.

Sign the conflict minerals petition: http://petition.ndp.ca/conflictfree