NDP introduces conflict minerals bill to battle resource exploitation in Congo

OTTAWA – NDP foreign affairs critic Paul Dewar has introduced a bill to fight the spread of so-called “conflict minerals” in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Dewar says that minerals from the war-ravaged nation have been used to fund an armed conflict that has claimed more than five million lives.

Dewar travelled to Congo four years ago and was struck by the scale of the violence in the resource-rich African country.

He’s launching an awareness campaign with the help of Quebec students, and the organizations Canada Africa Partnership and STAND Canada.

The campaign is similar to the efforts more than a decade ago that led to controls on the spread of blood diamonds, which were used to finance rebels in West Africa.

Dewar says he wants grassroots support so politicians of all stripes will back private member’s legislation aimed at preventing the use of the minerals in electronic devices such as cellphones.