Coltan Trafficking - DRC

The Maniema, North and South Kivu provinces, located in the East of DR Congo have been particularly affected by ongoing-armed conflicts for a long period. In 1994, instability in Rwanda and Burundi prompted the migration of a hundred thousand displaced people into the East of the country, which exacerbated the exploitation of natural resources. Reports by the United Nations attested to the support of the activities of belligerents through trafficking of gold, coltan, cassiterite and wolframite. This network represents the structure of interactions between private -domestic and international- mining firms, public servants and militias operating across the East border of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Burundi. Initially based on an expert report by the United Nations, the qualitative data about nodes/agents and interactions was updated with media sources to include facts between 2010 and 2015.