By Amani Matabaro Tom, Fellow and Scholar at Risk, Carr Center for Human Rights Policy, ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø; Founding Director, Action Kivu; Co-founder and Executive Director, of Action for the Welfare of Women and Children in Congo (ABFEC)
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Since the colonial era, when Congo was under the absolute rule of King Leopold II of Belgium, foreign powers have been not only pillaging natural resources from the Free State of Congo (today known as the Democratic Republic of Congo, or the DRC), but also committing many atrocities throughout the nation.
For the last three decades—since 1996, during the First Congo War—the DRC has been caught in ongoing wars mainly fueled by the illegal mining operations of foreign and local armed groups, which result in local communities experiencing numerous overlapping vulnerabilities. Regardless of how the 21st century’s global tech industry revolution depends on sourcing raw materials from the DRC, it is a global humiliation and shame that the world remains silent in the face of the unparalleled lack of transparency within the supply chain of the DRC’s critical minerals, which are needed to make a successful green energy transition possible. The ongoing armed conflict in the DRC has resulted in the deaths of more than 10 million people, making it the deadliest war since World War II.
"There are more than 450 mining companies in the South Kivu Province, mostly run by Chinese nationals, but unfortunately, they are operating illegally due to a lack of compliance with current Congolese mining codes."
Looking at what is happening on the ground in Africa right now, especially in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo, we see China’s imperialism, we see human rights and the environment both at high risk, and we see rampant corruption and a lack of good governance. In December 2024 and January 2025, while the M23 rebel group backed by Rwanda has continued fighting and seizing key towns in the Eastern Congo’s North and South Kivu provinces, several Chinese nationals have been found actively involved in illegal mining operations in the South Kivu Province. On December 20, 2024, a group of 17 Chinese nationals were arrested for their direct and active involvement in illegal gold mining operations in the Walungu and Mwenga territories of the South Kivu Province, but surprisingly, after instructions were given from Congolese government officials in Kinshasa, they were released with no legal penalties or fines.
Sources from the Office of the Governor of the South Kivu Province revealed that on January 4, 2025, three Chinese nationals were arrested holding 10 gold bars and $400,000 in cash in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. These revelations were only made public and available to local and international media by the governor himself later on. These events show a systematic money laundering scheme that involves different local, regional, and foreign actors within a context where basic social services are almost non-existent for the local community, and yet there are contracts between the Chinese and Congolese governments about mineral exploitation in exchange for public infrastructures.
There are more than 450 mining companies in the South Kivu Province, mostly run by Chinese nationals, but unfortunately, they are operating illegally due to a lack of compliance with current Congolese mining codes. It is worth noting that there is escalation of violence as a result of the ongoing war fueled by critical minerals. Most of the locations seized by the M23 rebel group—including Numbi, Lumbishi, Shanje, and Minova—in the south Kivu Province are home to abundant reserves of tourmaline, perilium, cassiterite, and gold, as well as Rubaya in the North Kivu province, which is also home to most of the DRC’s coltan reserve.
"In territories with mining operations, the rate of severe malnutrition among children under five years old is high, many children are out of school, there is an unbearable degradation of water ecosystems, and the rainforest is being washed out."
According to the recent, China was just named the second global economic power after the United States. China has been invading the African continent across different sectors, including real estate, road infrastructure, telecommunication, textiles, medium and small enterprises, timber, oil, fishing, and natural resources (focusing on minerals), despite the deployment of UN Peacekeepers in the DRC.
It is worth mentioning that, in July 2024, the then-newly-elected Governor of the South Kivu Province, Professor Jean-Jacques Purusi, shared alarming revelations during his first weeks in office, stating that he found more than 450 illegal Chinese mining companies operating in the territory of the South Kivu Province alone. In territories with mining operations, the rate of severe malnutrition among children under five years old is high, many children are out of school, there is an unbearable degradation of water ecosystems, and the rainforest is being washed out. These named mining operations were temporarily suspended for their lack of compliance with the country’s mining codes: they have no permits, their production is not traced, they corrupt and engage armed forces in their activities, and they have no social responsibility commitments.
This is the first time in recent history where the people of the DRC have witnessed tangible efforts to improve governance and transparency in the mining sector, especially as far as 3Ts+G (Tin, Tantalum, Tungsten, and Gold) are concerned. However, multiple observers are rather skeptical about how far the governor can go with these efforts if he has no support from the central government in Kinshasa, and if the regional mechanisms that regulate transparency along the supply chain are not fully implemented. If that is the case, peace and stability in the Eastern Congo region will remain a long way off.
"Will the Lobito Corridor project really mean more ethical extraction, better jobs, more investment, and better cooperation with the countries that provide the needed minerals?"
While these unethical and inhumane practices are happening on a very large scale, with gold at the center of it all and mined by Chinese nationals, people are curious to see if any difference will be made by the Lobito Corridor project, jointly funded by the U.S. and the E.U. and visited by President Biden in December 2024. Will the Lobito Corridor project really mean more ethical extraction, better jobs, more investment, and better cooperation with the countries that provide the needed minerals? Will there be community participation, environmental protection, and an end to forced child labor? Will these changes contribute to the improved welfare of the local communities?
There is a need for good governance by the Congolese government to end rampant corruption and impunity. It is time to invite the end-users of the technology made possible by Congo’s minerals to keep demanding transparency and respect for human rights in the supply chain and sourcing process. Brutal economic exploitation of the DRC’s critical minerals has fueled conflict for almost three decades. Everyone in the world—Congolese and end-users alike—should be worried by the ongoing unreported human rights violations that are happening in the DRC, especially in the eastern region, which is home to abundant critical mineral reserves that the world needs to power the global tech industry.