"Today’s hidden costs of critical minerals mining in DRC recalls Dag Hammarskjöld’s death 1961", 10 September 2024

Dag Hammarskjöld, although not a widely recognised name today, was a significant figure in global diplomacy as the second secretary general of the United Nations. At just 47 years old, when he was appointed in 1953, he remains the youngest person to have ever held this prestigious position. The Swedish diplomat and economist met a tragic end in 1961, when his plane crashed in Ndola, Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia), claiming his life and that of several other UN staff members. The crash occurred during his mission to mediate a ceasefire in the Congo Crisis. 

While initial reports attributed the tragedy to pilot error, new evidence suggests the plane was shot down in an assassination plot, possibly with the complicity of British colonial authorities who may have sought to protect their mining interests in the Congo...

Despite the absence of a definitive conclusion regarding who was behind Hammarskjöld’s death, Björkdahl’s investigation suggests a motive. “It’s clear there were a lot of circumstances pointing to possible involvement by Western powers. The motive was there — the threat to the West’s interests in Congo’s huge mineral deposits,” Björkdahl remarked. Hammarskjöld’s unwavering commitment to the UN Charter and international law placed him at odds with the interests of powerful nations, making him a target during a time of intense geopolitical struggle...

Hammarskjöld’s fatal dedication to supporting Congolese sovereignty in the face of resistance from those threatened by the loss of control over the region’s resources finds a troubling parallel in the present-day conflicts in the eastern DRC. These conflicts are similarly fuelled by the involvement of foreign actors with vested interests in the region’s wealth. Sixty-three years after Hammarskjöld’s death, Western nations and transnational corporations continue to be deeply implicated in the exploitation of the DRC’s mineral wealth, often at the severe expense of local populations.

These actors, through both direct and indirect means, perpetuate instability to maintain access to valuable resources such as cobalt, nickel and coltan — minerals critical to the “just” transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy. The rhetoric surrounding the energy transition often portrays it as an unproblematic solution to the climate crisis, conveniently overlooking the ongoing violence, displacement and poverty experienced by Congolese (and other African) citizens as their nations’ wealth is syphoned off for the benefit of the Global North. This historical context underscores the persistent crises that arise when foreign powers prioritise their economic gains over the sovereignty and well-being of African nations.