Mining, Conflict and Peace in the DRC

The Center for Sustainable Economies invites you to a Conversation with Karen Hayes, Extractive Industries Program Director, Pact.

Mining, the mainstay of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), is also at the heart of pervasive economic, political and social instability. Understanding the role of corporate actors in the mining sector sheds light on multifaceted conflict dynamics and provides insights into possible entry points for effective intervention.

The DRC is one-quarter the size of the Unites States, accounts for a significant proportion of global copper deposits and has 33 percent of cobalt deposits worldwide. In addition, the country has sizeable deposits of gold, diamonds and uranium, as well as commercially viable timber. The country is strategically nestled between central and southern Africa, with far-reaching implications for trade and regional stability. Furthermore, trans-border conflict has a tendency to embroil neighboring states creating humanitarian crises, intensify war economies and compromise governance in eastern, central and southern Africa.

Join USIP’s Center for Sustainable Economies to discuss relationships between corporate activity and peace promotion in DRC’s mining sector.