'Conflict Minerals' Law Aimed at Congo Conflict Gets Tech Boost
The tech tools that led to the 'conflict minerals' provision of the 2009 Dodd-Frank Act can now be used to help attact the problems the law is designed to solve - conflict and corruption in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Eliot Pence outlines how mobile phones, apps, tech-supported citizen action and user-generated imagery provide different avenues for the Congolese to generate more information and data that might better inform the debate. Many companies have been unable to determine whether they were sourcing conflict minerals, and those that have made the effort have found compliance could quickly be reversed if the conflict changes course. A new approach that leverages information from the ground from individuals working within the minerals trade is necessary - and possible.
Wolframite and Casserite mining in Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
InFocus
-
While some firms have made strong submissions, most reports filed don't include enough information to show that companies operating in conflict areas, particularly the Democratic ... Read more »
-
The regulatory provision seeks to ensure that profits from the minerals used in electronics, mined in central Africa, do not fund armed groups, particularly in DR Congo. Read more »