“Conflict minerals” and Israel’s war on Gaza

Keywords: Palestine, Gaza, Israel, DRC, mining
Abstract Type: Paper Abstract

Abstract

“Conflict minerals” are understood as those whose extraction and commodification are connected to war in central and east Africa. With a specific focus on the DRC, legislation such as the EU Conflict Minerals Regulation (2021) and the US Dodd-Frank Act (2010) responds to raised awareness of war and labour conditions in the production of minerals that are crucial to the development of advanced technologies. In terms of public awareness, the issue of conflict and supply chains is framed in terms of consumption, bringing companies like Apple, Samsung, and Tesla into critical light. “Conflict” in the supply chain is thus geographically and temporally fixed at the extractive origins of mass consumer society. In this paper we argue for a significant reconceptualisation that takes into account the increasing prevalence of technology critical elements to weapons manufacturers and contemporary military activities. Presenting evidence that links 3TG minerals (tin, tungsten, tantalum, and gold) exported from the DRC and Rwanda to producers of Israel’s military arsenal, the paper works through the debris of the earth and of war to disrupt and broaden the spatio-temporal dimensions of “conflict minerals”. As a consequence, if we are to better understand the ethics and violence of supply chains, we must focus not only on the DRC and bordering states but also supply chain “end points” in Gaza and other sites that are bombarded by advanced militaries such as Israel’s.