Date of Award
5-2025
Document Type
Thesis
Publisher
Santa Clara : Santa Clara University, 2025
Degree Name
Licentiate in Sacred Theology (STL)
Director
Léocadie Lushombo Wabo
Abstract
This thesis examines how mining corporations in DR Congo's coltan sector can turn from perpetrators of structural violence to agents of sustainable peace. Research identifies seven forms of corporate complicity in violence: economic exploitation, financial misconduct, political interference, environmental degradation, disingenuous peace initiatives, worker rights violations, and supply chain manipulation.
These practices create “distant markets causing distant harms” and constitute "sinful structures" systematically harming vulnerable people. Restorative Justice offers a transformative framework for addressing these injustices. Drawing from Desmond Tutu's work, the research establishes a three-dimensional model for corporate conversion: individual moral awakening among leaders, communal engagement fostering collective responsibility, and institutional reform integrating social responsibility into core business strategies. This process reorients corporate agency from profit-maximization toward moral responsibility, service to the common good, and solidarity with communities. The thesis proposes five implementation pathways: industrialization respecting human dignity, fair wages with attention to ex-combatants, track-two diplomacy, community involvement through inclusive business models, and supply chain transparency.
These practices create “distant markets causing distant harms” and constitute "sinful structures" systematically harming vulnerable people. Restorative Justice offers a transformative framework for addressing these injustices. Drawing from Desmond Tutu's work, the research establishes a three-dimensional model for corporate conversion: individual moral awakening among leaders, communal engagement fostering collective responsibility, and institutional reform integrating social responsibility into core business strategies. This process reorients corporate agency from profit-maximization toward moral responsibility, service to the common good, and solidarity with communities. The thesis proposes five implementation pathways: industrialization respecting human dignity, fair wages with attention to ex-combatants, track-two diplomacy, community involvement through inclusive business models, and supply chain transparency.
This research contributes to theological ethics by bridging Catholic Social Teaching with Business Ethics and Peace Studies, creating an integrated basis for extractive industries in conflict regions. Grounding recommendations in reflection and experience demonstrates how mining corporations can fulfill their moral responsibility to become peace agents in an area devastated by resource-driven conflict.
Recommended Citation
E Didier, Cimalamungo Bahizire, "From Corporate Complicity to Peace: Restorative Justice for Mining Corporations in Kivu's Coltan Sector" (2025). Jesuit School of Theology Dissertations. 152.
https://scholarcommons.scu.edu/jst_dissertations/152
