the democratic republic of the congo or the sea, could be one of the richest countries in the world. that's because of what lies below the ground here, lost resources such as gold, cobalt and colton. but the dsp is not rich. in fact, many congress, these people among the world's poorest congo, is basically a re, sol, send out country. but it is also a resource cost country, and it's home to possibly the deadliest conflict since world war 2 white people are distracted by the, by the world. a 215 from other natural associates. we're going to look at how the d . c became a losing ground to the power hungry. i'm a corporate and how even it's neighbors have a hand in the exploitation. the,

this is the democratic republic of the congo, also known as the d. c. o, sometimes just the congo not to be confused with its neighbors, the republic of the congo. the dsp is the largest country in sub saharan africa, and it's boarded by 9 countries. one of them are one that actually plays a big role in this tragedy. we'll come back to that later. an estimate to a 110000000 people live here in the d. c. 3 at the 4 of them often don't have access to even the basics, shelter, clean drinking water and enough food. one and 12 children here dies before the age of 12. the d. c is among the 5 porous countries in the world. it's this misery that drives hundreds of thousands of companies to work in mining sites like this one. and that's why we want to start the story. this is dangerous work in dangerous conditions. and so just a few dollars

a day child labor threats and violence often reported not to mention the vast environmental damage. all these things are happening because of the rush for riches under the ground. an estimate to $24.00 truly in the us dollars worth of minerals lie beneath the surface of a country that is effectively one of the richest countries in the world. certainly the wealthiest country now with all kinds of resources that you can imagine some of which has already been been discovered. this is paul non to yeah. he works at the african center for strategic studies in washington dc. you talk to any resource name, it does give a home go in plenty for instance, gold for jewelry and electronics, cobalt use of batteries like an electric cause. the d. c has more than half of the world's cobalt reserves. carpet vital for solar panels and colton. it's literally

everywhere electronic devices, for example, and your smartphone an estimated 60 to 80 percent of global colton reserves are in the d. c. so you can imagine everybody wants a piece of this pie, the militia groups controlling and former mines, or huge multinational companies that have set up massive industrial complexes. this map shows some of the d. s. these major industrial cobalt copper and gold mines. so who owns these mines? well, the se has a minority set and many of them, but almost all a majority foreign and somebody switch company, glen, call, then they're off ends from canada and the united arab emirates. but the most important play it here is china. the red dots, a majority chinese, on mountains. since the 19 ninety's china has been forwarding ties with the d. c, gaining more and more control of the, the seas of valuable natural resources. or by the way, this huge mine was owned by

a us company until the 2010th was sold up to a chinese the stuff the us government never grits because it could really use those results is to build electric cause chinese companies control 70 percent of the cup of mining and 50 percent of the cobalt mining in the d. c. let's take this huge capa and cobalt mining site. it's been majority chinese zone since the d. c. and china struck a deal in 2008. the 2nd means agreement. the deal was about investment and the 10 full access to the mine, china attached to build roads, schools and hospitals. sounds like a win win situation. right? but not much of the promised investment has materialized companies. people still have to make do with roads like this. so where did old the money actually go? mostly last incorruption. a key reason for poverty in the country. the d. c is around a $162.00 out of

a $180.00 on transparency international corruption perceptions index. this basically means corruption is everywhere in the country, including and deals with multinational companies, whether you're a pin or chinese. but it's not just outside us to blame commodities. people have had governments thrusted upon them. that's a really of the list to take that one kind of very much. it been a 1960 that was hope for a new start. this was the year, the d. c. gain independence. and it's 1st prime minister, patrice, remember, even today, many in the d. c. c, him as a national hero. remember, had a vision for a just nation. the country is not true, results is, should be used for the benefit of its citizens. but just months later, the member was captured by his opponents, unmerited, with the tacit backing of belgium under us. they wanted him out of the way, fearing he was getting too close to the soviet union during the cold war or so the

congo has never recovered from the tragedy. and i think this is the 1st reason why the country is in the repeats of cycles of trouble increases. what is your name? telephone stability income because this matters meant by successive problems. this is beverly a chang speaking a security expert based. and because cynical when she says governments that haven't actually been many, that's because dictated. joseph desiree mabood to ruled for 32 years. members who with his distinctive left footprint hot, we names the countries that yet and he grew. i was hearing me rich looting the national causes at the people's expense weston countries including the us, were willing to turn a blind eye. they wanted to keep him close to them and away from the soviet union because he guessed it. they of course wanted priority access to the countries. the result is once the us even send member to several planes and

a bit to secure mining rights, he demanded that one of them be loaded with $60000.00 us dollars worth of coca cola . just stepped across a group that was refined and protected by moving to unfortunately it became part and parcel of the countries. and so it continued long often to do to test under loan cabella. then under his son, joseph, who was notoriously corrupt. again, the seas, mineral wealth was sold off to foreign investors and lots of li, low prizes. when current president felix t. so k d took office in 2019, he pledged a crackdown on corruption. but both his elections were marked by phone allegations . and so many people, nothing has changed. there have been some small, sorry. what about the government has actually met some of the time we the injectors

and they have put in place. you have a question. so we've seen how corruption and exploitation stand in the way of a brighter future will come galleys people. but there's another major huddled the bigger the reason of this will that t in the congo, especially in the eastern part of the democratic republic of congo. the you to the war, this is ruth, a longer dw corresponded and government. the complex she's talking about is happening in her region in the east of the d. c. more than a 120 different militias active here. yes, you've heard right? 120. some of them are small, local groups, others elijah militias with foreign backing. like the m $23.00 and the fcl will come back to them. these militias have different names and agendas and one way of financing those goals. exactly. we're back to the minerals look at the provinces

west hit by the conflict, dettori north key view and south keep it. that's also where many of the, the sees valuable natural resources are found. it's a conflict built, but it's also a resource to build the minerals and sounds do end up feeding. it's kind of close that i'm groups, antique territories, make them that old and run an entire operation that which then undermines the possibility of that being used for the measurement of the community. but that's much more to this complex the middle have probably added to it. but the fact of even the kind of most which cool way back to, i'm not the signing minerals. and so those just fuel the situation, but not to unpack that we need to go back in time and head. so one of the d, c's, neighbors, rwanda wet and 1994, a brutal genocide was unfolding. one ethnic group had turned against another who to

majority against the ruling could see minority. in the end, extreme is who twos killed around $800000.00, to seize on moderate hutus. during that time, many vermont and split across the board and that the se among them some of the who to perpetrators the aftermath of the rwandan genocide still influenced the conflict in eastern d. c. today. and the blame game that surrounds that. 2 of the biggest militias of proof of that the, the law started with those who to extreme is linked to the genocide. then does the m, $23.00. its members are mainly ethnic tutsis. so the victims of the genocide, the d. c accuses rolanda of supporting the m 23. and the other way around, rolanda says the d. c is working with the f d a law. both governments denied that it's messy, but bear with us. there is another key, good. the adf. it's very difficult to find pictures of them just of what they need

behind a trail of destruction. the is the most militia originated in uganda and has changed the circled as i'm extinct. decades of fighting by these group its and many others have left around 6000000 people dead since 1996 to date. so the 7000000 people in the d. c, internally displaced the u. n. reports. those people have lost everything. the congolese um is supposed to contain the conflict, but they like it seems everyone else has faced allegations of human rights abuses and corruption and maintaining an ami it's costly was up to say nationally. so see if that could be useful. maybe the digital things, infrastructure, education, and s get and so on. so many people keep on suffering while others profit. all of us have neighbors that have nothing. good neighbors, naples, that's how the exploits it come goes. governance gaps.

that is no doubt that rolanda benefits must of the, from the instability in the d. c, most of the gold rolanda exports is believe to become the leads gold smuggled across the border. while the d. c is the world's biggest colton producer, the biggest cold on export to is rolanda. but despite the smuggling, the european union struck a controversial mineral deal with for wanda, local and geo say this deal even fuse the complex. rwanda is not the only place these results is get to you and act books, found gold and other minerals from the d. c will also banks level to you kind of run the terms in, in an even the united arab emirates from the, you know, they make their way into international market. so each of the international block market, again, possibly into your smartphone. so where are we in international efforts to tackle these problems haven't worked. ceasefire agreements

have broken into pieces. the un biggest at a peacekeeping mission has logically failed the and the menu, the initiative for the time being just to ensure a level or level to keep on coming on each and every time means that there are the prospect. so is the, at least a little hope for the congo, who needs a democratic, legitimate government that is respected and given legitimacy by a city. yeah, and i've been, you'll need to help for a better future, a bright future. the government has to involve the local population in managing these resources to the city school. so that seems like wishful thinking for no one that's the longest running conflicts on uh, look, set to continue and others won't stop profiting from the countries which is.