QC & Conflict-Free Tech!!

A statement from President James Muyskens of Queens College about the urgency of CUNY issuing a PROCUREMENT POLICY such that we will favor technology companies that work hardest to empower Congolese miners that operate free of the brutal exploitation that currently drives the conflict in the DRC:

"Thanks again for coming by my office to talk with me about the QC STAND’s initiative in support of human rights in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The issue you and STAND are addressing is of increasing importance as the world becomes more and more dependent on the technologies that require tin, tungsten and other minerals. Universities are major beneficiaries of these technologies and so we have a moral duty to ensure that our benefits do not come from exploited labor. As president of Queens College I am eager to work with you and the emerging coalition of universities in seeking effective steps to put an end to the kind of abuse that is too often part and parcel of the mining process.

The task before us is immense. But, as the Chinese proverb states: “A trip of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” I am honored to partner with QC STAND in taking these first steps. These include getting a critical mass of higher education institutions on board, starting with CUNY and expanding to many other institutions across the nation. This will require an educational campaign that raises awareness of the ethical, social, scientific and technical issues that arise from the mining processes. So here’s how we can begin: While QC STAND reaches out to students across the CUNY campuses, I will work with the college’s CIO to reach out to the campus administrators who make technology policy and purchases -- with the goal of creating a university-wide technology procurement policy that will give priority to companies with demonstrated commitment to purchasing their minerals only from unexploited, nonviolently-operated mines.

While raising awareness of the issues and building support within CUNY and beyond, it will also be important to lay the groundwork for political action that will result in enforcement of current laws and passage of new laws. Presently, enforcement of existing laws far too often depends on the good will of the companies that refine them and those that purchase them for use in manufacturing. The best minds within our universities and sympathetic political strategists will need to propose stronger and more enforceable laws.

As more and more universities join the cause, teams of experts from around the world and from the Congo will need to counteract the current lack of political will on the part of the Congolese leadership to improve the plight of their people, lack of concern on the part of the largest purchasers of raw minerals (China, India), and ambivalence on the part of the end users (US, Europe, Japan). It will be essential that the primary aim of all these efforts is to benefit the Congolese.

I commend QC STAND for its call to universities to do the right thing and its commitment to be a positive force for change in the lives of strangers in far off Congo. I am honored to be a partner in this noble initiative."

Thank you, Dr. Muyskens! So, QC, we've got work to do: who's got friends at other CUNYs?!?!?!

For more info on conflict-free tech, check out: http://bit.ly/caSbwM and http://bit.ly/fHYeeg and http://bit.ly/gY05un