Digging for Transparency: How U.S. Companies are Only Scratching the Surface of Conflict Minerals Reporting
Publisher: Amnesty International and Global Witness
Date: 2015
Topics: Extractive Resources, Governance
Countries: Congo (DRC)
Democratic Republic of Congo’s minerals are exported, smelted, and sold internationally, where they end up in cell phones, laptops, or as pieces of jewelry. We know that some of these minerals sourced from conflict areas have funded violence, abuses, and corrupt criminal networks. And yet, the response of international companies and states has been too slow and timid to make the necessary fundamental changes.
Members of Congress in the United States showed great courage in 2010, when they passed Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. This landmark legislation requires companies listed on U.S. stock exchanges to check whether their mineral purchases are funding warring parties in Congo and report on the findings.
But that is not without its controversy. Some corporations have stepped up and shown leadership - by identifying and visiting the mines and smelters where their minerals are extracted and processed. But others have turned their back on the problem. They have shamefully tried to use the courts to throw out the law while hiding behind powerful industry associations like the National Association of Manufacturers and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.