A More Peaceful World

Resources form a surprisingly low salient causes of current wars, although they may be an underlying factor in many more.

Oil and Gas

The Iraq war fought by Bush and Blair was about Iraq’s oil, as was Trump’s illegal action against Venezuela, and the present (2026) war of aggression against Iran chosen by Trump and Netanyahu is also built on the desire for Iran’s oil. In future, as gas and oil become more scarce, will be an even more important cause, unless we make a major transition to the energy income we get from the sun (we will need to harvest 1/8,000th part of solar energy to meet our present energy needs).

Other resources

Sudan has a complex history of political differences of ethnicity, and regions, boiling down to a struggle between two military leaders, but it is all made more intense by mineral resources of Gold, Copper, Iron, Chromium, Uranium  and Oil. 

Kivu, a province on the eastern border of the Democratic Republic of Congo, has resources of Gold, Coltan, Cassiterite, and Wolframite (Iron, Manganese and Wolfram ore). The 70-120 odd militias in the Kivu province have exploited the trade in these minerals, helping to finance their operations. It is probable, that these minerals serve to maintain the violence in the province. 

In Colombia, coca is the resource that motivated and financed the FARC guerrillas.

What can be done to inhibit the ability of armed gangs to exploit resources?

KIMBERLEY PROCESS CERTIFICATION SCHEME

“Blood diamonds” was the name given to diamonds sourced from war-torn areas. In 2003, the UN set up the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme “to ensure that diamond purchases were not financing violence by rebel movements and their allies seeking to undermine legitimate governments”.

There are three steps to the scheme:

1. The country producing the diamonds must ensure that a traded diamond does not finance a rebel group
2. Every diamond gets a Kimberly Process certificate
3. No diamond is to be imported from, or exported to, a non-member state.

The Kimberley Process has been criticised, but it is at least a start and may serve as a model for other precious materials. It could also possibly be extended to goods which come from mines where the human rights of the workers are not respected. 

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