What You Can Do

We all have a role to play to ensure human rights are respected in product value chains. Conflict Minerals, currently defined as tin, tantalum, tungsten, and gold, are ubiquitous, existing in almost all devices with electronic components. Plastic parts may even contain traces of tin. It is up to each of us to learn about from where the minerals in our products originate and under what conditions they were mined. It is also important to support systems that work to minimize conflict, cut off the revenues that support conflict, and incentivize responsible mining practices.

 

Companies

  • Create and publicly state a policy that acknowledges the problem of conflict minerals and communicate what the company is doing to eradicate them from its supply chain.

  • Implement internal management systems and procedures aligned with the OECD Due Diligence Guidance to ensure raw materials are responsibly sourced.

  • Join multi-industry efforts, such as those listed below in Partners & Initiatives, to leverage industry and multi-stakeholder efforts to encourage transparency, credibility, and responsible mining in the Great Lakes region of Central Africa.

  • Participate in multi-stakeholder efforts to encourage stronger diplomatic solutions for the Great Lakes region to end the violence and empower local communities through economic development and capacity building.

 

Investors

  • Review our annual publication Mining the Disclosures as well as companies’ websites to see which companies score the highest and lowest in our ranking of their efforts. Promote best practices in dialogues with companies and reward those companies who are taking action on this issue.

  • Be part of the investor dialogues on this issue, sign statements, and let lawmakers know you support Section 1502 and mandatory disclosure regulation.

  • Spread the word to friends and family about conflict minerals from the Congo to help raise public awareness of the people who have perished there, the little boys who are forced to be child soldiers, and the women who are being sexually abused every month.

 

Consumers

  • Before you purchase products with electronic components, check out our Mining the Disclosures report as well as companies’ websites to see if they have developed policies on conflict minerals. Reward those companies who are taking action on this issue.

  • Spread the word to friends and family about conflict minerals from the Congo to help raise public awareness of the people who have perished there, the little boys who are forced to be child soldiers, and the women who are being sexually abused every month.

Partners & Initiatives

There are a number of initiatives companies and investors can participate in which are designed to add more transparency and/or accountability to corporate value chains and promote responsible mining in the DRC and elsewhere. RSN participates in the RMI's Multi-Stakeholder Calls and is a full member of the European Partnership for Responsible Minerals (EPRM) and the Public-Private Alliance for Responsible Minerals Trade (PPA).