Clean Trade in Natural Resources

The resource curse strikes many countries that export oil, gas, gems and metals. These countries are at higher risk for authoritarian rulers, civil wars, economic dysfunction, and environmental damage. Resource-cursed countries today include Burma, Sudan, the DRC, Zimbabwe, Nigeria and Turkmenistan. One major cause of the resource curse is a colonial-era policy of importing states in Europe, North America and Asia that still defines "business as usual" in international trade. The resource curse can be fought-to the advantage of both exporting and importing countries-by replacing this harmful policy with policies based in the deepest principles of modern international politics and law.

Speaker: Leif Wenar

More information:

• Radioreportage - Coltan Mining and Eastern Congo’s Gorilla’s’ (2001)
• Article - ‘Congo’s coltan rush’(2001)
• ‘Blood on Your Phone? Unlikely it’s “Conflict Coltan” (2008)
• Reportage - ‘De bloedige strijd om coltan in Congo’ (2008)