On Monday, January 27th, M23 rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo (D.R. Congo) carried out a rapid advance and took control of most of the eastern city of Goma. The group threatened to continue their advance towards the capital city of Kinshasa, but this would require them to cross 1,600 miles of dense jungle, making this move unlikely to occur. Goma is a vital trading and transport hub: gold, tin, and coltan are some of the important materials mined in the D.R. Congo. The materials are part of the reason for the ongoing conflict in the eastern part of the country. Coltan and tantalum are vital minerals in the production of electronic devices. According to the B.B.C., almost 40% of the global supply of these elements comes from the D.R. Congo. M23 has spent the past year taking control of eastern D.R. Congo, the most mineral-rich part of the country. According to United Nations (U.N.) experts, M23 earns approximately $800,000 a month from coltan taxation in mining cities like Rubaya. Numerous U.N. agencies have expressed concern about the increasingly dire humanitarian situation and reported instances of human rights violations as M23 continues its advance. 

“As M23 reportedly advances towards Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu, the High Commissioner calls for an end to the violence and for all parties to uphold their obligations under international human rights law and international humanitarian law,” said Volker Türk, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights. 

As people go about their everyday lives, it is easy to feel detached from conflicts happening around the world. If it is not happening nearby, it does not feel like there is something we can do. In the case of the D.R. Congo, there is much we can do and that is already being done. Companies like Apple have stopped sourcing minerals from the D.R. Congo and Rwanda, but other companies have not taken such actions. We as consumers can demand more accountability and transparency from tech companies to reduce how much “conflict minerals” are used in their production of electronics. We can raise awareness of the use of these conflict minerals in electronics and strive to be more conscious of where we buy these devices from and when we buy them. The International Organization for Migration’s humanitarian response plan for the region seeks up to $2.5 billion for this year and $50 million needed urgently to address the ongoing crisis in the east. The goal is to scale up life-saving assistance and continue to provide Goma and its surrounding areas with emergency shelter, sanitation, and water, among other things. The agency and its humanitarian partners on the ground are struggling to keep up with the ongoing situation. It is the responsibility of the international community to help provide aid to the agencies helping the millions displaced by this latest bout of violence. As certain countries consider closing their foreign aid agencies under the excuse of saving money, the crucial role these agencies play in providing humanitarian assistance to those in need cannot be understated. These foreign aid agencies are needed now more than ever to help prevent more suffering.

The situation in the D.R. Congo shows the long lasting damage caused by colonialism in the region. The current fighting in the D.R. Congo partly traces its origins to the Rwandan Genocide, which was the direct result of colonial action in the neighboring country of Rwanda. After the genocide, ethnic Hutus fled across the border into the D.R. Congo, fearing reprisals for the genocide. This inflamed ethnic tensions between the Hutus and the Banyamulenge, a group of marginalized Tutsis in eastern D.R. Congo. M23 was created by ethnic Tutsis who believe they must take up arms to defend their minority group. Rwanda continues to deny backing M23, but it has already been proven to provide troops and weaponry to the rebel group. Rwanda also helps export coltan and tantalum extracted in M23’s mines, ensuring the sale of these materials continues to benefit the group and fund their operations.