BWA General Council Resolution 2011.3
AWARE that for 15 years the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been embroiled in war, with an estimated 5,400,000 having died due to the war and its effects and with an estimated 45,000 dying each month in eastern Congo from disease and hunger resulting from the ongoing conflict;
HORRIFIED that the conflict has fueled an epidemic of sexual violence – so much so that eastern Congo is now the most dangerous place in the world to be a woman or a girl because armed militias from all sides of the conflict use rape or other forms of abuse as a deliberate strategy to intimidate and control local populations; and
CONCERNED that one of the primary causes of the atrocities and conflicts in eastern Congo is greed for access to, and control of, the region’s vast mineral resources because seventy percent (70%) of the minerals (tin, tungsten, tantalum, and gold) needed for cell phones and laptops are found only in eastern Congo. We recognize that our dependence upon electronics that utilize these metals creates the demand that drives the greed.
The General Council of the Baptist World Alliance, meeting in Kuala Lumpur, July 4-9, 2011: RESOLVES to:
ADVOCATE with companies with which we do business for our cell phones and computers to work to create conflict-free supply chains and a conflict-free mining sector in eastern Congo;
ENGAGE in actions that encourage companies and individuals trading in minerals from eastern Congo to work for peace and promote justice in the region;
WORK for the resolution of the conflict in eastern Congo, and the elimination of rape and other forms of abuse as tools of war in eastern Congo; and
CALL on the worldwide Baptist family to pray for peace to be restored to eastern Congo and the adjoining regions; and on the African Union, the United Nations, and regional governments, including the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to address the problem of “conflict minerals,” and to restore peace and security in the region of eastern Congo.
Citations
BWA General Council Resolution 2011.3 Resolution on “Conflict Minerals”
Original Source Bibliography: Callam, Neville, editor. Baptist World Alliance 2011 Yearbook: Minutes of the General Council Meeting and Directory. Falls Church, VA: Baptist World Alliance, 2011.
Original Source Footnote/Endnote: Neville Callam, ed., Baptist World Alliance 2011 Yearbook: Minutes of the General Council Meeting and Directory (Falls Church, VA: Baptist World Alliance, 2011), pp. 133- 134.
Online Document Full Citation: BWA General Council Resolution 2011.3 Resolution on “Conflict Minerals”; https://baptistworld.org/resolutions.
In-text Online Document Citation: (BWA General Council Resolution 2011.3).