The Democratic Republic of the Congo - A Least Developed Country
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- Created on: 02-03-16 16:31
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- The Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Resources in the DRC
- rich in gold, diamond, cobalt and copper
- attracted many people to the country which has resulted in violence
- "the resource curse"
- said to have around 50% of world's total cobalt
- attracted many people to the country which has resulted in violence
- supplies of coltan used in mobiles and cassiterite used in food packaging
- much of the coltan is illegally exported through Rwanda
- Lubumbashi in the south is known as the mineral capital of the DRC
- precious tropical hardwoods
- siphoned off through Uganda
- much of the coltan is illegally exported through Rwanda
- siphoned off through Uganda
- 13% of the world's hydropower so could power much of Africa
- Glencore entered the DRC in 2009
- with their investment the region is able to make three hundred thousand tons of copper cathode each year
- invested nearly five million dollars in two regions
- created 12,500 jobs for nationals
- rich in gold, diamond, cobalt and copper
- Colonialism under Belgium
- in the early 20th Century, Belgian forces arrived and enslaved millions
- King Leopold ruled the country as his own territory
- terrible human rights abuses
- in the early 20th Century, Belgian forces arrived and enslaved millions
- Mobutu Dictatorship
- he was backed by the West during the Cold War due to strategic interests
- meant brutal dictatorship could continue
- ruled for 32 years
- liberation war eventually toppled him
- made an obstacle for development
- seized power in 1965
- set about trying to crush internal rebels and unifying the nation
- changed it to Zaire
- he was eventually seduced by wealth and once he got the country to a certain point used the riches for himself
- country gradually slipped from his control
- 1994 Rwanda genocide hastened his downfall
- more than 2 million Hutus fled into the DRC among them the militiamen responsible for the genocide
- allied themselves with Mobutu's government and began to attack ethnic Tutsis
- eventually Tutsi militias backed by Uganda overthrew Mobutu's government
- allied themselves with Mobutu's government and began to attack ethnic Tutsis
- more than 2 million Hutus fled into the DRC among them the militiamen responsible for the genocide
- 1994 Rwanda genocide hastened his downfall
- country gradually slipped from his control
- set about trying to crush internal rebels and unifying the nation
- he was backed by the West during the Cold War due to strategic interests
- Role of TNCs
- child labour
- tech companies such as Apple, Samsung and Sony have been accused of using cobalt mined by child labourers
- Apple said "underage labour is never tolerated"
- Samsung said it had a zero tolerance policy towards child labour
- Sony said it was working with suppliers to address human rights issues
- as young as seven
- face health issues and are prone to fatal accidents
- work up to 12 hours a day for one or two dollars
- Unicef said 40,000 children were working in mines in southern DRC in 2014
- tech companies such as Apple, Samsung and Sony have been accused of using cobalt mined by child labourers
- bulk of the world's cobalt is sold by China's Huayou Cobalt and its subsidiary Congo Dongfang Mining
- UN report finds that 85 multinational companies have violated ethical guidelines
- 12 from UK
- examples include Afrimex, Barclays Bank and Euromet
- child labour
- Failed State
- people in the DRC expect very little from the state
- expect little from upcoming elections
- ordinary citizens are poor, hungry and under-informend
- expect little from upcoming elections
- government unable to provide decent education or health services
- hardly has any roads or railways
- brutal militias still control provinces in the east
- "**** capital of the world"
- cases of numerous journalist killings and beatings
- starting a business takes 65 days
- bottom of the HDI out of 187 countries
- on the Failed States Index the DRC is in the critically failed category
- central government can't control its borders with nine countries leading to "the resource curse"
- international community also to blame as they implement contradictory plans
- on the Failed States Index the DRC is in the critically failed category
- absence of national sovereignty
- important decisions made by international forces such as UN
- Monusco looks after security sector
- UK involved in reinforcing governance programmes
- churches look after primary school education
- on an artificial life-support system
- whilst it is a failed state the Congolese society has not failed
- positive change will come from the people
- people in the DRC expect very little from the state
- Conflict
- slowly recovering from Africa's first world war
- led to the loss of five million lives between 1994 and 2003
- starvation or disease
- this war along with the liberation war which brought down Mobutu have created overwhelming obstacles to development, state-building and well-being
- led to the loss of five million lives between 1994 and 2003
- the resources in the country dived the population and brought conflict that was both from internal and external sources
- independence struggle in 1960s saw the country almost disintegrate
- slowly recovering from Africa's first world war
- Conflict Resolution
- most of the country has now found peace and the central government has slowly reasserted control
- first democratic elections in more than four decades saw Kabila's son Joseph elected as president
- UN peacekeeping mission has been in the country since 1999
- one of the biggest with almost 20,000 personnel
- mandated with protecting civilians and helping reconstruct the country
- also played a big part in the elections
- launched military operations
- Congolese government believes it is now capable of maintaining law and order and wants the UN to leave
- Resources in the DRC
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