By: Priscila Néri, Posted: Oct 22 08

Congo, Democratic Republic of the

Child soldiers, Corporations and human rights, War crimes

Coltan, DRC, humanitarian, Mass Killings, rape, violence, war

This video from the Pultizer Center helps explain the connection. In a nutshell: your cell phone most likely contains a mineral called coltan. Roughly 80% of the world's coltan comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Illegal extraction and reselling of coltan to multinational corporations have helped fuel the violence in the DRC over the past 10 years. So far, the war in the DRC has already claimed 5.4 million lives and displaced more than 1.5 million people.

So what can you do? Here's a suggestion from Break the Silence: Boycott your cell phone today. Turn it off from until 6pm NY time (10pm GMT) and change your voicemail to this message:
"Did you know that Congo has anywhere from 64 - 80 percent of the world's reserve of Coltan, a natural resource that is central to the operation of our cell phones? As we benefit from coltan nearly 6 million Congolese have died in the deadliest conflict since world war two as a result of the scramble for coltan and other minerals key to the functioning of modern technology. Join us in solidarity with the Congolese people and turn your phone off for a day."

When the CELL OUT ends, here are other ways you can stay involved:
1. Join the Global Week for Action on the DRC
2. Visit Congo Week's Take Action section.