\nWatch our campaign video on YouTube.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

GU SRC Motion on Conflict Free Campus<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Petition to<\/strong>: David Newall (Secretary of Court), Professor Anton Muscatelli (Principal)<\/p>\n

Gold, tin, tungsten, and tantalum are found in the electronic products we use every day, such as computers, mobile phones, and MP3 players. These minerals are now known as \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcconflict minerals\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 because they are extracted from mines controlled by armed groups who use violence and mass rape to control local populations. These armed groups generate an estimated $144 million each year by trading in conflict minerals 1<\/a><\/sup>.<\/p>\n

The Democratic Republic of Congo is one of the countries worst affected by this illicit trade, with an estimated death toll of over six million2<\/a><\/sup>; and hundreds of thousands of women and children having been raped 3<\/a><\/sup>. Children are also forced into mines, undertaking heavy labour and 80% of the population lives on 30 cents or less per day 4<\/a><\/sup>. The sheer scale of this forced labour amounts to modern slavery.<\/p>\n

This is a conflict that major electronics companies have known about for nearly two decades, yet little has been done to prevent the use of conflict minerals in our everyday technologies. While it is an inescapable reality that we are all going to keep using our mobiles and other essential consumer electronics, this should not be at the expense of fuelling the deadliest conflict in the world. Companies that use these minerals in their manufacturing processes must ensure that these minerals do not come with the cost of human lives.<\/p>\n