Conflict Minerals – In Anticipation of EU's Legislation, Learn from the US

Oct 12, 2016 | Camillo Giovannini and Christopher T. McClure
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In the last two decades, there has been an increasing international focus on the so called “conflict minerals” which are mining operations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and neighboring countries. The main issues are the armed groups actively engaged in mining operations in this region that by exploiting workers and indigenous people are involved in abuses of the basic human rights and are using proceeds from the sale of conflict minerals to finance regional conflicts.

The first measure toward this issue was taken on 21 July 2010 when the United States Congress put in place a normative act (Dodd-Frank Act) that requires certain public companies to provide disclosures about the use of specified conflict minerals emanating from the DRC and other nine countries. The EU falls behind the USA, having just recently agreed on a framework to stop the financing of armed groups through trade in conflict minerals, after negotiations between the Commission, Council and Parliament, but the law still needs to be finalized and enacted.