Edina Plans to Buy "Conflict-Free" Products

Editor's Note: The following is a press release from the City of Edina.

There has been a 20 year war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo that has claimed more than 6 million lives. The conflict, originally sparked by the genocide in neighboring Rwanda in 1994, now involves the forcible displacement of people from areas that are rich in minerals used in consumer electronics. Armed militias and paramilitary groups use violence to remove people from the land and then mine and sell the minerals, using the funds to buy more weapons and fueling an unending cycle of violence. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act of 2010 calls for electronics companies to purchase minerals only from those mines and companies that are using legitimate and nonviolent practices.

The Enough Project, a policy organization in Washington, D.C., has initiated a public campaign to generate city, state, business and private support for clear sourcing mineral and electronic purchases. To date, more than 75 colleges and universities and two other cities have passed resolutions regarding the conflict minerals trade in the Congo.

In January, STAND members of , supported by World Without Genocide at William Mitchell College of Law, proposed such a resolution to the City’s Human Rights & Relations Commission. Last month, the Commission recommended a resolution be put forward to the City Council for approval.

According to the resolution, the City will attempt to purchase products with materials designated as “conflict-free” or moving to conflict-free status, and encourages all electronic companies with which the State and City do business to address their own supply sources in combating the situation.

For more information on the Human Rights & Relations Commission, visit www.EdinaMN.gov/HumanRights or contact Lisa Schaefer, staff liaison to the commission, at 952-826-0416.