How the West’s exploitation of Natural Resources is Fuelling a Silent Genocide in Congo
Photo Courtesy: Axel Fassio/CIFOR, Flickr
Since the end of the Rwandan genocide, instability in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been constant. In 1994, the Hutus of Rwanda sought refuge in the country, and conflicts between armed groups and the army have been raging without interruption ever since. This situation is escalating tensions between the DRC and Rwanda because Congo’s government is accusing Rwanda of financing the M23, an armed group partly responsible for the violence happening in the country. In the North Kivu and Ituri regions, fights are raging, forcing thousands of people to flee their homes and resulting in even more victims. The International Rescue Committee estimates the death toll due to these conflicts to be 5.4 million since the 1990s, an astonishing number largely unknown by many in the West and inadequately addressed by the international community. Indeed, even though the United Nations has sent 20,000 peacekeepers to the country, their impact has yet to be seen, prompting inquiries into the role of the West in perpetuating the silence surrounding this genocide.
Like many other countries in Africa, Congo was colonized during the 19th century by a European state. After enduring decades of exploitation and suffering, Congo gained independence from Belgium in 1960 and officially became the DRC. Oscillating between dictatorships and transition governments, the country has suffered from political instability since its liberation from Belgium’s yoke and has struggled to become a stable and profitable country. Despite its independence from the West in the 1960s, the DRC has remained highly dependent. Remarkably, Congo is one the world’s richest countries in natural resources, holding approximately 70% of the world’s coltan and a third of its cobalt. Moreover, the country is rich in diamonds and copper, making extraction of its natural resources attractive to less resource-endowed countries, especially those in the West. Consequently, Western countries are currently conducting an exploitation of these resources, making the country entirely dependent on its exportations. Statistics from the World Bank in 2005 revealed that 90% of the DRC’s revenues were derived from its minerals and exportations, representing 96% of the country’s GDP in 2021. As a result, the economy of Congo is highly dependent on the value of its natural resources, thus entwining the nation’s prospects with Western Countries. This interdependency severely limits the country’s possibilities in terms of political action, it is bound to its dependence on Western countries and constrained in its political maneuverability.
The West's continuation of exploitation of African Countries, including Congo, underscores the enduring remains of colonialism in a world that has yet to effectively address the dichotomy between the North and the South. There is a lack of recognition regarding the deep-seated implications of colonialism in the development of newly independent countries, coupled with the silence surrounding the events in Congo. Astonishingly, the UN has yet to qualify the events as a genocide, and recognition of these atrocities remains weak in many countries, particularly in Europe.
The current president of the DRC, Felix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, recently implored France to help in the conflict, highlighting France’s ambiguous role in the genocide in Rwanda and seeking reparations. However, the response from French President Emmanuel Macron, was dismissive, stating, "Since 1994, and it is not France's fault, I'm sorry to say it in such blunt terms, you have not been able to restore the sovereignty, neither military, nor security, nor administrative, of your country".
The prevailing silence surrounding the genocide in Congo is due to a lack of will from countries exploiting the resources of Congo. They are officially denouncing the actions of M23 and the instability of the country while being one of the causes of the latter. After giving African countries their independence, they patronized these new states by establishing an economic dependence to access their precious resources, nourishing instability in the continent. The West greatly contributed to the instability that led to the genocide currently happening in Congo and is now fueling the silence around this event. To help put an end to this massacre, a lot can be done by European countries, but the starting point would have to be to recognize its implication and the strong consequences of colonialism.