Letter of Support for Conflict Free Initiative

Below is my letter of support for Weber State University's conflict-free initiative.  Learn more at their blog at: http://wsucongo.blogspot.com

To the Administrators and Board Members of Weber State University

My name is Zachary Stickney.  I am a senior political science major and presidential scholar at Weber State University and have long been an active and engaged member of the campus community.  I have served as President of Weber State STAND,   President and Student Area Coordinator of Utah for Amnesty International, and have been active in varying capacities in Weber State’s Young Democrats chapter, Pi Sigma Alpha, the Richard Richard’s institute for politics, decency, and ethical conduct, and have participated in Model United Nations of the Far West, an organization for which I am currently serving a one-year Board of Directors position.

As a student of international law and human rights activist, I am deeply troubled by the ongoing atrocities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).  Worse still, I am troubled by the possibility that, as consumers of electronic devices, we may be inadvertently involved.   Weber State University and its supporters are not to blame for the crisis in the Congo.  However, I do believe that, as major consumers of electronic devices, we have a major opportunity and responsibility to use our leverage to help ensure our products are conflict free.  

As you may be aware, this conflict-free initiative has already had a number of successes nationwide.  Highly respected universities, including Stanford University and Cornell University, have already passed resolutions similar to the one we are proposing for Weber State University.  In addition, the Enough Project and other human rights organizations have proposed legislation in the United States congress calling for increased regulation and transparency in the trade of conflict minerals.  This is truly a nation-wide and historic movement.

Increased transparency in the trade of these minerals will not solve the many problems the DRC faces alone, but it will help ensure that the rebel groups facilitating the conflict will become increasingly financially isolated and unable to fund their activities.  It will also help relieve the burden of the international peacekeeping presence currently stationed in the DRC.  With our help, lives can be saved, violence can be prevented, and order and hope can begin to be restored to the hopeless.

I strongly encourage you to vote in favor of a resolution calling for increased transparency from Weber State University’s electronics suppliers.  In addition, I would like to request a symbolic resolution calling for solidarity with the people of the Congo and for a peaceful resolution to the conflict.

Kind regards,

Zachary J. Stickney
Student
Weber State University

WSU Conflict Free Initiative Petition

To:  Administration and Board Members of Weber State University
 
We, the undersigned, representing students, alumni, and faculty of Weber State University, as well as concerned citizens of the Weber State community, would like to express our deep concern for the ongoing crisis in the eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The DRC is home to one of the world's longest lasting and most deadly conflicts. Nearly 6 million people have been killed from the consequences of violence, making this conflict the deadliest since World War II.

Though this conflict may seem unrelated to the students, alumni, faculty, or community members of Weber State, in truth there is at least one deep and terrible connection. The DRC, particularly the eastern provinces of North and South Kivu, is a major world supplier of tin, tungsten, tantalum, and gold. These minerals are extremely valuable and are used in the production of many electronic devices, including cell phones, computers, MP3 players, video game consoles, and so on.

Unfortunately, one of the side effects of the ongoing crisis in the DRC has been the takeover of Congolese mines by violent rebel groups. These groups capture these highly profitable mines, enslave the local population to excavate them, and use the money to further fund this vicious cycle. In addition to physical slavery in the mines, there have also been hundreds of thousands of cases of sexual slavery and rape throughout the region, leading human rights organizations such as the Enough Project and Human Rights Watch to label the DRC as the "worst place in the world to be a woman." These rebel groups use rape as a weapon of war to defeat their enemies by tearing at the social fabric of their communities.

Weber State University, its students, alumni, faculty, and members of the local community are not responsible for these atrocities. However, as major buyers of electronic equipment, we have considerable leverage to help end the crisis and ensure that our products are created from minerals gathered from legitimate sources. We, the undersigned, would specifically encourage Weber State University to:

• Use its leverage as a consumer of electronics equipment to pressure electronics companies into tracking their supplies and ensuring that the minerals used in their products are purchased from ethical sources;
• Pass a symbolic resolution in solidarity with the people of the Congo and encourage other universities or institutions of learning to do the same;
• Encourage students, alumni, faculty, and the greater Weber State community to learn more about the conflict in the DRC and be active in seeking a peaceful resolution.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned


Click Here to sign the petition online!