Editor’s Note: The Dear Hillary Campaign for the Congo is a network of students and activists dedicated to advocating for peace in eastern Congo. The campaign was started at St. Michael’s College in Vermont to call on Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to step up as a leader for peace in Congo. This post was written by St. Michael’s student and Dear Hillary Campaign leader Leah Ziegler.
The Dear Hillary Campaign for the Congo is sending Secretary Clinton postcards to encourage the establishment of a certification process for Congo’s conflict minerals.
Last year 2,000 people in the Congo and 15,000 individuals from around the world sent Secretary Clinton birthday postcards, which resulted in a meeting with the Ambassador at Large for Global Women's Issues Melanne Verveer. This year, the Dear Hillary Campaign is celebrating Secretary Clinton's birthday, October 26, again by sending postcards.
The postcard birthday greeting reads:
Dear Secretary Clinton, Happy Birthday! On behalf of the people of Congo, we respectfully request that you take the lead in convening a certification system for DRC’s conflict minerals, so that the minerals sector in eastern Congo no longer fuels rape and instability.
Concerned individuals, advocacy groups, and non-profit organizations dedicated to ending the conflict in the Congo, which has killed over 6 million people in the last 15 years, have rallied behind the Dear Hillary Campaign to get individuals in their communities to sign postcards. The campaign and our friends at the Enough Project believe that the establishment of a certification process will lead to transparency of the mineral supply chain and will help end the violence in eastern Congo.
Interested in joining the movement? It is not too late—everyone appreciates a belated birthday card (it is the thought that counts). Go to our website and request your pre-stamped postcards or download one.
Happy Birthday Secretary Clinton, let’s celebrate more happy birthdays in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.