The Democratic Republic of the Congo's mineral wealth continues to play a central role in the country's conflict dynamics. Despite the upsurge in displacement and atrocities during 2009, multinational companies continue to purchase minerals from the war zone, providing crucial fuel for the violence, notes the latest strategy paper from Enough, the anti-genocide project at the Center for American Progress.

"Digging In: Recent Developments on Conflict Minerals," details the continuing links between the minerals trade and ongoing violence in eastern Congo. "Finally breaking the cycle of mineral-fueled violence in eastern Congo will require a coalition of private and public actors ranging from the largest of multinational electronics and jewelry companies all the way to the most knowledgeable and dedicated Congolese civil society voices," says research associate David Sullivan, the paper's co-author, who recently returned from a trip to Congo.

"The pursuit of mineral resources by armed groups on all sides of the conflict accelerated during 2009," argues co-author Noel Atama, Enough's Congo-based field researcher. "But unprecedented levels of international attention, including legislation pending in the United States, has also upped the pressure to clean up the trade, spurring action from the Congolese government and the private sector."

READ the strategy paper.