1. United States
2. N.Y.
3. Letter

For over 600 years, the lands of the Congo have been ravaged by external greed. From the Kongo Kingdom and Twa people impacted by the Transatlantic Slave Trade to the unspeakable horrors of King Leopold II’s Congo Free State, this history is a brutal lesson in extraction. The 20th century continued this pattern. Uranium from the Shinkolobwe mine powered U.S. atomic bombs, yet brought no benefit to the Congolese. After independence, the promise of Patrice Lumumba was crushed by a Western-backed coup, leading to the corrupt dictatorship of Mobutu Sese Seko. The subsequent First and Second Congo Wars, fueled by neighboring nations and resource hunger, became the deadliest since WWII. Today, this neocolonial exploitation continues through the mining of cobalt and coltan, minerals powering our modern devices. This trade finances violent groups like the Rwanda-backed M23, perpetuating a devastating conflict in Kivu that claims countless lives and threatens the vital Congo Rainforest. We demand a decisive break from this complicit history. We call on you to: 1. Impose stringent sanctions on the M23 militia and the Rwandan government for its support. 2. Enact and enforce legislation to halt the import of exploited Congolese minerals into U.S. supply chains. 3. Redirect crucial funding and diplomatic support to bolster Congolese civilian efforts for transparency, democracy, and self-determination. We explicitly do not support military intervention. The solution is to end the economic engine of war and empower the Congolese people. The world’s thirst for technology must no longer be quenched with Congolese blood. The time for transformative action is now.