March 6, 2017
This Rule is one of the few useful actions the US has been able to take to try to stop the violence in Congo, which has killed more people than the Syrian civil war, and has persisted so much longer.
Since implementation began in 2013, the Rule has gradually led to improvements in the rule of law in the mining sectors of Congo, Rwanda, and other Great Lakes countries, contributed to improvements in humanitarian conditions in Congo and a weakening of key insurgent groups, and resulted in tangible benefits for U.S. corporations and their supply chains.
Over 100 Congolese civil society groups and other individuals have responded, saying that a suspension or weakening of the Rule would lead armed groups to go back to mines and cause a new humanitarian crisis. Additionally, companies, investors, activists, NGOs - including the Enough Project - and others have come out publicly in support of the Rule. I do not want to be part of the problem, and I want the goods I buy to not be part of this problem as well. Please do not modify this Rule.