RDC,

danger of riches

The balance of the long conflict of the DRC is devastating, but the conflict remains in a threatening silence. Although different Agreements of Peace and the elections of 2006, today, the end of the hostilities in the east of the country is not a reality: the conflict continues and human rights are continuously violated . The civil population has suffered deaths, forced displacements, illegal exploitation of natural resources, sexual violence, children’s recruiting, impunity, etc. It’s a conflict beyond its own boarders: with several actors, responsibilities, interests and factors- historical charges and antecedents, struggles for the power, the control for the resources and the land, the role of the RDC, Rwanda and the international Community, armed groups, etc. A country that at the same time has its own history and internal tensions: its colonial past, the struggle for Independency and Mobutu’s dictatorship of more than thirty years.

The plundering of the natural resources becomes a powerful engine that perpetuates the war. Coltan, diamonds, gold, copper, cobalt, wood and land makes the RDC one of the most potential riches country of Africa. A rich country, but richness limited to a few, as civil society has not seen increased its quality of life and welfare. Many agents participate in the chain of exploitation and plundering of the natural resources: armed groups, international economical western multinationals, countries and politicians. This chain of interventions and interferences causes important impacts at social, cultural, economical and environmental level. It is immersed in the opacity of the economical and political international transactions .The last step of this chain is the consumption of the western countries: the resources finally reach our hands converted in cell phones, laptops, computers, jewel, etc.The conflict of the RD of Congo confirms once again how unsustainable is the unstoppable consumption of the western countries, which goal is to increase the levels of production and financial enrichment exploiting the natural resources.

With this campaign we want to rescue the conflict of the DRC from forgetfulness offering a critic and alternative information; we want to visualize the struggles of entities and activists from the DRC. The main aspects of the campaign are the following: causes of the conflict, peace process, the role of the natural resources, the denunciation of the violation of human rights, sexual violence, the pygmee people and the links of the DRC with the countries of the Great lakes region. .